NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Jonathan on the airplane

A few weeks ago, I, Stephen, was sitting next to Jonathan on our “short” 15 ½ hour leg of our flight from L.A.  I was talking to Jonathan and trying to prepare him for our return to the Philippines, trying to explain that we were returning so that we can tell the Agutaynens about Jesus.  Somewhere in Jonathan’s mind the translation was mixed up.  Jonathan looked up and asked, “Are we going to see Jesus in the Philippines?”  His hopes were dashed as I said, “No, we won’t see Jesus in the Philippines.”

Jonathan and Rebekah looking out a window on the airplane

The next few minutes, days and weeks since then, two thoughts have been constantly upon my mind: “Is the Gospel message to the Agutaynens clear and understandable?”  “Or is the translation in their minds getting mixed up?”

Please pray as we return to the Agutaynens:

-          that we will finish our language study and be able to clearly, accurately, and freely communicate in the Agutaynen language;

-          that we will be able to renew our friendships with our Agutaynen neighbors and friends;

-          that many will be saved for His glory.

Thank you to all of you who stand with us.  What a wonderful and indescribable day that will be when we, together with Agutaynens, worship our Lord and Savior in His presence.  And then, as Jonathan would say, “We will see Jesus!”

God's Provision

Name: Isuzu Crosswind

Year: 2004

Weight: A ton or two

Color: White

Hopefully by now you realize that we are not talking about the birth of a new child, but of the purchase of a vehicle.  We thank God for His wonderful provision and trust that this vehicle will be used for His glory for many years to come!  Thank you all for your financial support and prayers for this vehicle.  We are thankful for the Lord’s timing in enabling our friend to find this vehicle just days before our scheduled flight to our island.  We are also thankful for our friend’s continued help in completing the necessary paperwork and getting it ready to be sent to our island within a couple of weeks.  Please continue to pray for the safe arrival of this vehicle.

We arrived back to Manila to find a booming economy.  Buildings have been erected during our year’s absence, and there are construction cranes throughout the city, in the process of building yet more.  Such a contrast to the economic times in the U.S. during our year there!

Manila Traffic

As many of you know, one of our main goals for our time in Manila is to find a vehicle.  We are thankful to all of you who gave so generously toward our vehicle fund.  We set a goal of $10,000 for a vehicle, and the Lord provided all of it through you!  However, we are discovering that between the good economy here, and our devalued dollar, we have been unable to find a vehicle in our price range.

Our Filipino friend is continuing to search for a vehicle for us, and we are very thankful for his efforts.  If he is unable to find something within the next ten days, we will probably continue on to Palawan without a vehicle, and await news from him there.  We have seen God provide tremendously throughout this year for our many set-up expenses.  Please continue to pray with us that God will provide a good, reliable vehicle for our family, and additional finances for it if necessary.

Ginger and her mom

Grandpa and Luke

With grateful hearts and rested eyes, we thank God for our safe arrival to the Philippines.  As many of you know and as many of you have been praying, our journey began on Wednesday.  Ginger’s folks and uncle dropped us off at the airport in Grand Rapids.  One thing we asked you to pray for was that we could check our suitcases all the way from Grand Rapids to Manila.  God answered that prayer with a “yes.”  Our first journey was to Cleveland and then onto Los Angeles.  Our hope was to keep our kids awake until we boarded the plane in Los Angeles, even though that wouldn’t be until 3am (Michigan time).

Rebekah sleeping at the Terminal in LA

Well, all but Rebekah made it.  As you can see, Rebekah found a “comfortable” (anything is comfortable when you’re tired) seat in the LA terminal.

Luke asleep on the plane

Once we were on the plane in Los Angeles, it was just minutes before everyone in our family was asleep.  Again, all six of us slept in whatever position we could find “comfortable,” even if that meant kids sleeping on top of you.  After 15 ½ hours on this plane, we had a short layover in China.  Here we purchased two bottles of water, a Sprite and a Coke for only 13 dollars!  After we paid, a gentleman on our flight gave us $20 dollars for our drinks.  Wow, God provided through strangers!  Upon our arrival to Manila, (after four planes, thousands of miles and almost 38 hours), we arrived into Manila to find all of our 12 suitcases and had no “lost” kids.  Another “yes” from God in answer to your prayers.

Jordans transferring planes

We arrived to Manila at 11am with a couple of things we wanted to do.  Keeping our kids awake was the priority, which wasn’t hard at all.  Upon seeing old friends and friends-to-be, our kids quickly forgot about being tired.  They had no problem staying awake until dinner time.  At 7pm we put the kids into bed and in less than 2 minutes they were all asleep.  Shortly later, both Ginger and I were sleeping too.  We expected all of us to be wide awake at 2am, but no one stirred until 7am.  Another “yes” from God.  Thank you for caring for our needs and taking those before the Lord.  We already miss you all, but we are thankful for how our kids have quickly transitioned to the Philippines.  Yes, another “yes” from God.

This evening, our family went outside and had a “campout”, Jordan style.  What does that mean?  Well, we took some candles outside, lit them, and roasted marshmallows for s’mores.  Jonathan decided that he likes “campouts”.  While we sat outside making s’mores, all of us thanked God for something we were able to do this last year.  Some of those things were:

Jonathan picking dandelions for Mom

-          seeing family

-          making new friends

-          attending Awana

-          picking flowers for Mom

Truly God has given our whole family a wonderful year of memories in the States.

With only a few hours until our departure, our bags are almost packed.  We greatly appreciate your prayers for:

-          safety in our travels

-          no lost luggage

-          adjustment back to the climate, culture, and ministry among the Agutaynens

-          finding and purchasing a van

Thank you for praying for these items.

As we say “good-bye”, we are reminded that it is just “until we meet again”.

Rebekah's Baptism

Abigail's Baptism

As parents, there are certain milestones we enjoy seeing in the lives of our kids: first step, first word, first day of school, first job, and so on.  However, none of these compare to the spiritual milestones: salvation, baptism, spiritual growth, and serving the Lord.  This last week we have seen both Rebekah and Abigail follow Christ in obedience by being baptized.  We are excited to see them take this step as they grow in Christ.

Dedication of Jonathan to the Lord

Likewise, we desire to see Luke and Jonathan giving their lives to Christ and serving Him all the days of their lives.  We praise the Lord that Luke has already chosen Christ as His Savior.  Yesterday, we dedicated Jonathan to the Lord at our home church.    Pray with us that Jonathan will, at a young age, be sensitive to the things of the Lord and receive Christ as his personal Savior.

Jonathan taking swimming lessons.

Abigail taking swimming lessons.

With only 16 more days left in the States, our family is making final preparations for our departure.  One room at a time, we are going through the mission home that we have been staying in.  With every item, we ask ourselves many questions.  For example, “Are we taking this to the Philippines?”, “If we aren’t taking it, are we putting it into storage?”, and “If not into storage, then what do we do with it?”  So far, we have gone through Stephen’s office, our bedroom, the schoolroom, the laundry room, and even the garage.  We just have a few more rooms left.  It is amazing how much “stuff” we can collect in 12 months!  On the other hand, each item comes with a face or a memory.  What do we mean?  As we put a book into our suitcase, we think of the pastor who gave it to Stephen.  As we pack a hat, we think of our time at Yellowstone.  As we debate about a toy, we think of Grandma and Grandpa who gave it to one of our children.  Each item sorted is a reminder of all we have for which to be thankful.  Of course, you don’t have to pack to be thankful.  As you read this, what do you see around you that you can thank God for?  Your Bible?  Your children?  “In every thing give thanks,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Luke loved playing football here in the States . . . . . . . . with no breathing problems!

As we return to the Philippines, we are reminded of Luke’s health condition when we left.  Many of you knew and prayed for Luke as he struggled with asthma in the Philippines.  Upon returning to the States last summer, we were able to wean him off his medication.  We praise the Lord that this past year, Luke has had no signs of asthma or breathing problems.  As we are preparing to return to the Philippines, we wonder if Luke maybe was allergic to something in our home in the village or something in the Philippines.  We greatly appreciate your prayers for Luke and for his health as we return.  We will try to place an update within a few months and let you know how he is doing.

Like millions of other Americans, this weekend we went to a veteran’s cemetery.  This was more for Dad, Stephen, than for anyone else.  But hopefully our kids were able to get a glimpse of the meaning of Memorial Day and the sacrifice that so many made for our freedom.  Here in Grand Rapids, more than 4,000 veterans are buried at the veteran’s cemetery.

Lord willing, we will be attending a Memorial Day Parade on Monday.  This will be another “first” for our children.  We thank the Lord to be able to give our kids these exposures to their passport country.

One more special memory in the States - Uncle Dennis playing baseball with Rebekah and Luke.

The countdown has officially begun, 38 days and counting down.  Lord willing, we will be boarding the airplane on June 29^th and beginning our journey back to the Philippines.  This has been a great year here in the States and we appreciate all the words of encouragement from many of you.  Please pray with us for:

1. All the details of our flights, connections, luggage, and so on.
2. Especially for our children as this trip will take over 33 hours.
3. As we say “good-bye” to close friends and relatives.  Rebekah said the first thing she wants to do when we arrive to Manila is to email all her friends in the States.
4. Transitioning back to the culture, climate, and ministry in the Philippines.
5. A vehicle to purchase when we arrive to Manila.

Thank you for partnering with us.