NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Luke and Jonathan dressing up

Re-enactment

As we have mentioned, Rebekah and Ginger, have a short list of places we wanted to take our children to while we were in the States. Yesterday, our family took a field trip to Fort Michilimackinac in Michigan. Our children were able to see a replica of the fort that was once used by the British in the 1800′s. Not only did we see the barracks, but Luke and Jonathan dressed up as “red coats.” The climax of the visit was watching the firing of the muskets and the fort cannon. This was the last place on our list of field trips we had hoped to do this year. We are so thankful for all of the opportunities we have had to visit places all across the country, and for our children to get “live” exposure to so many historic and national landmarks of their passport country.

Windmill

This year we have had a short list of things we wanted our kids to do and to see here in the United States. That list in part was prepared by us parents, but also by Rebekah. Over the last five years in the Philippines, Rebekah has studied several different places and has asked us to go to them. Here is part of our list:

-Yellowstone
-Mt. Rushmore
-Redwoods in California
-Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb & Museum
-Thomas Jefferson Museum in Virginia
-Michigan State Capital and Museum
-Oregon Coast
-Niagara Falls
-Grand Canyon

As our travels to supporting churches have criss-crossed the States, we have been in the vicinity of all of these landmarks and museums. Some of the items on the list have been seasonal. For example, we have been waiting for this spring to arrive so we could go to Holland and see the tulips. Of course, we are not talking about the country of Holland, but the city in Michigan. Tulip Time is here and we wanted to the kids to see the tulips, windmill and klompen dancers. Our kids did have a good time, but it was probably more for mom and dad than for them.
So what is left on our list? Well the only thing left is a Michigan fort. We hope to take the kids up to Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, Michigan.

Once again, thank you for partnering and praying with us.

Rebekah

Abigail

Luke

Jonathan

We are excited that our kids do miss the Philippines.  To no surprise, they all miss it for different reasons.  For example, Rebekah longs to get back to somewhere warm.  For Abigail, she looks forward to the “special” father-daughter dates we used to have.  For Luke, he really misses his best friends Ty and David & climbing coconut trees.  For Jonathan, he just looks forward to being back in the village.

Our kids have loved their time here in the States, especially experiencing new things.  Can you imagine being five years old (Luke) and for the first time seeing a real fire truck?  What about snow sledding for the first time (both Luke and Jonathan)?  What about going for the first time to a week-long church camp (both Rebekah and Abigail)?  All the pictures of our kids (in this update) were taken at a Children’s Museum.  As you can tell, they had a great time.

As our time draws to an end here in the States, we are starting to see our kids’ hearts being torn.  They have built so many friendships and they hate to say “good-bye.”  As you already know by a previous update, our good-byes have already started.  It will be especially hard for our kids to say good-bye to their friends at Jenison Bible Church, as well as to family members.  We treasure your prayers for our kids during this time.  Here are some specific prayer requests just for our children:

-          they will continue to desire to return to the Philippines, even though it will be hard to say good-bye to their friends and family here;

-          they will adjust well to both the climate and culture;

-          they will renew their friendships with their Agutaynen friends;

-          they will be able to communicate in the Filipino language;

-          they will continue to see their part in the ministry.

Thank you for praying for our children.

This picture of Tisi and Ginger was taken the day we left the village in April 2010.

This Friday our minds and thoughts will be focused upon the death of Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God.  However, this morning our thoughts are upon a different death, the death of an Agutaynen.  Our partners sent us an email to let us know that one of Ginger’s best friends, Tisi, died today.  Apparently she was stung by a centipede, near her heart, as she slept.  She died shortly thereafter.  Our hearts ache at this time as we are thousands of miles from Tisi’s family.  Many of you have heard us share about Tisi and her story of “empty hands.”  We are saddened because we believe she died with “empty hands”, because she had not trusted Christ alone as her Savior. 

Tisi

This Sunday we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He died for God’s glory among the nations.  We pray that Tisi’s death is not in vain, but will also be used for God’s glory among the Agutaynens.  We greatly appreciate your prayers at this time for Tisi’s family and for their relationship with God.

Mission Conference at Mayfair Bible Church

Theme of the conference.

With every road trip we take, we try to do something fun with our children.  For example, this last week, we were at Mayfair Bible Church’s mission conference.  Our children actually enjoy it when we attend a church more than once.  In other words, they don’t make a new friend and then have to say “good-bye” an hour later.  So, mission conferences are fun for our children as they get several days with their new friends.  Of course, we the parents enjoy this time also as we can fellowship with many families, as well as share what God is doing in the Philippines.

Jordan children in front of a nativity scene in Frankenmuth.

Along with attending this mission conference, Stephen took the four children on a day trip to Frankenmuth.   For those who don’t live in Michigan, Frankenmuth is the home of “Bronners”, the world’s largest Christmas store.  To make the trip extra special, Stephen let our children pick one small Christmas ornament each.  Rebekah chose a poodle tangled up in Christmas lights; Abigail chose a bulb ornament with a picture of baby Jesus; and Luke & Jonathan both chose football players.  By doing this, we hope our children will have some fun memories of their time in the States for many years to come, especially as we decorate for Christmas.

Thank you again for your prayers and partnership.

One last quad ride with Uncle Paul

During this year, time after time, we will be getting ready to go visit another church or visit a family.  Often Jonathan’s response is “but Mom, I’m having fun playing with my toys at home.”  Even though a little disappointed, the kids get ready and off we go.  Once we arrive to our destination, they quickly make new friends and have a wonderful time, until . . . we tell the kids it’s time to go.  Once again, Jonathan’s response will be “but Mom, I’m having fun with my new friends.”  Well that is how the last 10 months have been over and over. 

We praise the Lord for a recent trip out West.  The Lord blessed and encouraged our hearts as we spent time with family and with those who have partnered with us in the ministry among the Agutaynens. 

One last hug with Great-Grandma

This trip was the beginning of our good-byes.  We said good-bye to four of our supporting churches and Stephen’s family.  Good-byes are never fun or easy, but we know they mean we are getting ready to return to the Agutaynens in the Philippines.

Like many of you, our kids are asking us often when we are returning to the Philippines.  Lord willing, our return will be around July 1^st.  As we don’t have plane tickets yet, we likewise don’t have a specific date for our return.  However, we hope to leave the USA by July 1^st. 

Thank you again for partnering with us.

Uncle Paul playing with Jonathan in the snow

Uncle Paul helping Luke sled

Last week, Stephen’s brother Paul made a quick stop by our place in Michigan.  We knew Uncle Paul would be coming, but we wanted it to be a surprise for our children.  And what a surprise it was!  Uncle Paul was only here for a few hours, but the nieces and nephews had a great time with their uncle.  They went sledding and just sat on his lap.  Thank you, Uncle Paul, for stopping in.  We love you!

Abigail and her T&T friend

Occasionally we will receive an email or a letter from an Awana Sparky or a T&T kid.  They usually need to ask a missionary some questions to pass a section in their books.  These questions are usually the same.  Some things like, “What country do you work in?”, “What do you do as a missionary?” and the list of questions goes on.  Well, we decided to put all of this right here at your fingertips.  Just to the right of this article, you will see a list of “pages” on our blog.  One of these is “Awana Kids”.  Just click on this, and you and your Awana child can find the answers to their questions.  However, we would still love to hear from these kids and personally thank them for their interest and prayers.

Parents and Awana leaders, this page is a “work in progress”.  Please email us with any other questions you would like added to this page.  We welcome your input.  And we appreciate your prayer for us and for the Agutaynens in the Philippines.

The Agutaynen language often will use vagueness.  For example, often an Agutaynen will come to us in the village and ask, “My um is in need of some um.  Could you please give us some um?”  If this happened to you, would you give them some um?  We assume you wouldn’t until you found out what um is.  First of all, the Agutaynen is very vague to “save face”.  If you say “no” right away, then you haven’t offended the Agutaynen.  But in order to find out the need, we need to ask the Agutaynen several questions. 

An Agutaynen teenager with a plate full of cooked rice.

 Usually, we start by asking them what is needed.  The Agutaynen will then tell us, for example, the need is rice.  We have now figured out one of the ums.  Then we ask who needs rice to find out the other um.  The Agutaynen shares that their family has no rice.  So the second um is their family.  So now we have deciphered all the ums and we know what the Agutaynen was saying: “My family is in need of some rice.  Could you please give us some rice?”  

Sometimes all this vagueness can become tiresome, but at other times we can use it too.  For example, it would be very natural for us to use this um word whenever we forget or don’t know a word in Agutaynen and this would be natural for the Agutaynen hearer.  However, we never want to use the um word when we are sharing the Gospel message with the Agutaynens.  We don’t want to be vague but very clear when we share that salvation is by Jesus Christ alone. 

An Agutaynen reading the New Testament in their own language.

Another good example is the New Testament translation in Agutaynen.  What would you think if you read John 3:16 like this, “For um so loved the um, that he gave his only um, that whosoever ums in um, will not um, but have um um?”  Hopefully you agree with us that the littlest words, even pronouns like “he”, are very important when proclaiming the Gospel message to the Agutaynens.

Lastly, we want to thank each of you for your um and um.  In case you don’t speak Agutaynen, we want to thank each of you for your encouragement and prayer.

The Lord has already provided through sacrificial giving of many of you to help with our project fund.  Along with these gifts, we have put all our “speaking gifts/love offerings” into this fund as well.  For those who might not know, the project fund is to help us with one-time expenses for our return to the Philippines for another 5-year term.  As of this time, we have received 37% of the financial needs for these items.  This has allowed us to purchase many things already like pots-and-pans, homeschooling materials for Luke and Jonathan, and much more.  We are currently looking into purchasing and shipping a propane refrigerator and solar batteries.  These two items will deplete most of the remaining funds that have already been given.  We continue to trust the Lord to provide the financial needs for a vehicle in the Philippines and ministry supplies for Stephen (i.e. laptop computer, scanner, and recording device).  We would also like to purchase 5 years of homeschooling materials for Rebekah and Abigail.  By purchasing the homeschooling materials now, we will save at least $2,000 in shipping.  Along with these big items, we still need to purchase things like sheets, blankets, mosquito nets and many other household items.  Lord willing, we hope to purchase many of these household items by April.  We would then be able to ship these items to the Philippines ahead of our return.  Please praise the Lord for His provisions already and pray with us for the provisions that will enable us to purchase the remaining needs.