NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Hi Everybody!  Well, another month has flown by and we are now in the month of December!  At times it’s hard to believe that we have been here for 9 months now.  At other times, because of how challenging it can get, we feel like we’ve been here long enough to need a vacation!  But through it all, you all have been such a blessing.  Thank you for your prayers and financial support, which allows us to do everything that we need to do here.  God has certainly shown us that He can do amazing things.  We get opportunities each month to see God at work in the hearts of His people. We appreciate having all of you on such a great team to do this work right along with us.

Things overall are going very well here. We feel our language learning is going incredibly well.  We just started Phase 3 of our program and we were very encouraged at the results of our end of phase 2 exercises/beginning of phase 3 exercises. The other day, our language helper and I went out to do some language learning and at the same time locate an aluminum trash can.  It took about 5 hours and after walking to several shops and taking a couple of city buses, we got to a place that custom-made it for us.  It was quite a fun experience, and mostly done in Kiswahili.  Here are some pictures of it!

Our New Can Ready for Action!

Right now, we want all of you know to know some of the challenges that we are facing.

First, we are in the process of requesting a language evaluation.  There are several things that are hindering us from taking an evaluation at this point.  One of the tests we could take is provided over the internet.  We have to pay for it (which thanks to you all is no problem!), but our internet is very sketchy.  We are asking what happens if we lose the internet connection in the middle of the test.  Another test we could take we don’t feel is very thorough and might not provide us with an accurate assessment of where we should be focusing in the future.

Second, our employees are requesting a raise.  We have one houseworker, three full-time guards, and one part-time guard.  (If you want more information on these folks and why we have so many, please ask and I’ll explain more fully.)  We have work contracts with each of them, so we don’t feel like a raise is due at this time, and it is not part of the contract.  This obviously causes some tension around the house which is not helpful for what we are trying to accomplish.  We want to be sensitive, but we also don’t want to be taken advantage of in this way, while at the same time presenting a good witness.

Third, in our hearts we are feeling anxious about getting the ball rolling to establish our organization here (we’ve even been brainstorming a name…such as, “Ndiyo, Twende Makabila” which could be shortened to NTM and which means ‘Yes, let’s go to the tribes’!).  We are so far from being ready to do this, but nevertheless we are getting anxious to begin the process.  We will be hosting some folks from the NTM USA leadership next month, and we will use some of that time to talk about some of the issues.  Also, our first teammates will be arriving at the end of January and we are very excited to have others here in country.  They will be able to provide a lot of insight into how to get the process rolling.

Lastly, (but certainly not least) it IS December and we are truly missing being with all of our family and friends.  I think a big thing we are all missing this year is the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant.  Amy started playing Christmas music around the house yesterday and it was so funny watching the kids sing and dance to it.  We love you all and miss you very much.  We pray that the Lord showers you with great blessings at this time for the ways you serve Him and give to His work.

All for Jesus,

Rob, Amy, Shelbyanne, Emily, & Donovan

I cooked two turkeys at the same time!

          

Put the can over the turkeys...add charcoal.

Hey, that's me! Ready to unveil the turkeys after just one hour of cooking.

TAAADAAAA! Two turkeys cooked to perfection...they were delicious.

URGENT NEED! Good morning family, friends, and partners in ministry.  We HAVE FOUND A HOUSE!  We are so excited at what the Lord has opened for us!  We have bartered with the owner and he is willing to accept $1,000 per month, which is quite a wonderful bargain for what we are getting.  The only problem is that he needs ONE YEAR of rent up front…that’s $12,000.  We don’t have that much on hand.  We had budgeted for some set-up expenses, but not that much.  We have some funds set aside to furnish a home, but we need the rent payment.  We can’t let this opportunity pass us by, so we need your help and support in order to get into this building.  It’s not just a house, it will also provide the space we need for a small office and guest room for when future missionaries arrive on the field.  We are praying that the Lord would put it on your heart to give to this urgent need in order to get our feet under us.  This is the next big step in Reaching Tanzania, thank you for your part.  To give, go to www.ntm.org/rob-ellis/give.

Or, send a check to New Tribes Mission.  Make the check payable to New Tribes Mission, but designate the funds to Rob and Amy Ellis Ministry on the bottom left of the check.

NTM

1000 E. First St.

Sanford, FL 32771

Habari za jioni marafiki wangu wote!  Good evening all my friends!  This is a brief update on a couple of hot topics.

Our language training is going very well!  We feel like we are absorbing so much.  It feels almost miraculous.  God has made us with minds and tongues that are absorbing Swahili apparently, so we are loving it.  We want to ensure that the learning process continues when we return to the city, so please pray for structure, opportunity, and courage to continue progressing.

The biggest thing on our mind right now is housing.  We really, really want to settle on a place by mid-April.  We recently learned of one unfortunate development: the “realtors” (term used very loosely) want to charge us a full months’ rent as a finders fee.  Also, the way they do rent here is you pay for 6 months up front.  We have to agree to pay the finders fee in order to see any houses.  Please pray that something adequate and workable opens up for us; a house that is going to be a blessing to us and a place where we can bless others.  Please pray with us for this house.  The Lord knows our needs and our hearts.  Also pray for the Lord to provide the extra funds in order to pay these fees and other things that I’m sure are going to come up. We are close to 100% support, but are not there yet so this news is another opportunity where we are learning to place our trust in God and watch Him work.  If the Lord puts in on your heart to give, click here.

Thanks to all of you for your part on this team to reach Tanzania.  It is quite an honor to co-labor with you.

Hujambo!  Karibu! That means Hello!  Welcome!  These are two phrases we have become familiar with since our arrival in Tanzania.  We have taken a ride from end of the spectrum of emotions all the way to the other end, and  it hasn’t even been two weeks yet!  We got set up in some temporary living quarters at a convent, which has been so helpful.  They clean and cook for us while we look for housing, take our Swahili language sessions, and attempt to keep our kids occupied.  All they want to do is play in the dirt, but we quickly found out that there are several things in the dirt that their bodies are not used to and they broke out in rashes.  So…no more dirt which is kind of hard to do since it is everywhere.  Nevertheless, we are all doing excellent!  One very cool thing is that we are all growing in our walk with the Lord.  As we spend time with Him in His word and experience Him new each day, we grow closer to our loving Father.

The house hunting has not gone well.  The places we have been shown are either insufficient or still under renovations (“it should be ready in 3 weeks” is the standard answer but you know how that goes).  Anyway, the search has been called off for now because….get ready for it….we are heading north to attend a 3-week Swahili course.  We are so excited about this since diving into the language in the area where we will be living is much more difficult than we could have expected.  We need a basic working knowledge of the language in order to get around and buy food, furnish the house, and take care of our family.  This language school will give us a big head start.

We will resume the house hunting when we return in mid-April.

Please pray for our housing.  We are praying that the Lord will not only meet our needs, but also some of our wants.  We need space to make sure we are not only able to minister, but to thrive and enjoy our ministry here.  Also, the way that rent works here is that you pay 6-months of rent up-front, so that is an expense that will come out of the money that we have apportioned as set-up costs.  In order to furnish our house we are trying to raise about another $8,000.  If you would like to give toward this, please contact us or go to www.ntm.org/rob-ellis/give.  We thank the Lord for providing for us, and thank you for being a part of that.

Nothing could have prepared us for the differences that we have encountered here.  The Lord really knew what He was doing when He gave us a heart for the people of Tanzania.  It is not natural to want to be here with all the differences.  We are definitely enjoying it, even with the drastic differences in the culture, food, and tempo (all of which could be summed in the term “worldview”).  Pray that our time here results in a world of difference for the people of Tanzania and our family.

Another thing that has been on my mind lately is that our church in Fort Lauderdale is around 2500, while our church here is around 25.  Praise the Lord for the Body of Christ and how He designed it to function together.

Keep lifting us up in prayer and thanking God for the opportunity to be a part of what He is doing here in Tanzania!

Hello Everybody!  Well, we finally got our visa applications in.  The good news is that it only cost us half of what we thought it would cost us!  The other good  news is that we had almost all the paperwork that we needed with us in order to get our applications in.  Our application package was made up of almost 50 pages of documentation; birth certificates, marriage certificate, passports, diplomas, ordination certificate, etc.  Praise the Lord for the wisdom of my wife because she had pretty much everything that we needed here with us.  The one document that we did not have with us my Mom was able to find it in a closet within 5 minutes while I led her to it over the phone!  Praise the Lord for that too.  Now we are simply waiting for the application to go through and get approved.  Please be in prayer during this process for two specific things: 1) That our visas are approved.  2) That our visas are approved before our arrival on the 4th of March.   We’ll keep you posted if we get any word back anytime soon.

Thanks for keeping up with us.  The countdown is officially at 26 days until our departure for Tanzania!