NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Please pray as Steve learns to use the InDesign program to put together the Spanish version of the NTM Literacy Manual. This resource is in high demand on our Latin American fields. We have the text and the graphics, we only need to get through the tedious job of formatting it. Praise God for providing this powerful program.

Chava update

(Adapted from an update by Virgil Holt, NTM missionary trainer in Chihuahua.)

Remember Chava, the young guy we thought had a very aggressive type of cancer?

We just got word on the final diagnosis and wanted to forward the news on to all who have been praying.

Let me explain that he was being treated at Mexican government medical facilities (Seguro Social) which are not famous for having accurate diagnoses or up-to-date treatments.

Such was the case with Chava. The two doctors treating him couldn’t agree what it was. One doctor said it wasn’t cancer, but the other insisted it was, so they sent his medical records to a special oncology facility in Mexico City. Thus the delay in getting information.

Whether the diagnosis was wrong, or God healed him as a result of your prayers, we can’t say. But the report they received is that there is NO EVIDENCE OF CANCER.

His weight loss, and other symptoms were determined to be caused by a virus.

Chava and his wife (and soon-to-be-born baby) are planning to return here to Chihuahua this August to complete their preparation as cross cultural church-planters. PRAISE THE LORD WITH US!

Field Conference Trip

This weekend, we’ll be driving down to Chihuahua for the NTM Mexico annual retreat or “field conference.” Steve will be interepreting for the main speaker, Butch Bennett, who was one of Esther’s favorite Bible School professors. Esther will be joining us, so we’re looking forward to a fun time together. We appreciate your prayers as we travel.

Steve & Eida Irwin
Spanish Language Resources

Please join us in interceding for a young man named Chava* Núñez and his wife Andrea. (Pictured with his sister.)

Four years ago, Chava came to the “Instituto Misionero Transcultural” in Chihuahua for missionary training. He completed our whole program, then married Andrea, a young lady from the Jerusalem Baptist Church. Soon afterwards, they went back to his home church where he began a youth ministry. His pastor writes that Chava and Andrea planned to return to Chihuahua so that she could complete the training in order for them to qualify as a couple to serve as missionaries to tribal people.

Andrea is expecting their first child at the end of this month (May).

For the past several months, Chava has been struggling with stomach pain, resulting in the loss of 20 pounds. Medical testing has determined that he has cancer, possibly Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Please pray for Chava and Andrea – for God to glorify himself in their lives either by healing him or in whatever way He might choose.

It’s hard to understand why God would permit this to happen to a young missions-minded couple. It has been such a struggle to interest young Mexican Christians in giving their lives for the cause of cross-cultural church planting. Yet, we know that God sees the bigger picture and often uses the pain we suffer in this fallen world for greater long-term purposes. If it were up to us, we certainly would be happy if the Lord should choose to make a miraculous healing one of the formative experiences of Chava’s life.

Thank you for praying. We’ll do our best to keep you informed as we receive more information.

In God’s loving care,

Steve & Eida Irwin
steveida_irwin@ntm.org

P.S. Forgive us for not having a picture of Andrea with Chava. If we receive one of them as a couple or of her, we’ll post that as well.

[* Rhymes with “Java”. ”Chava” is the common nickname in Mexico for “Salvador”. “Salvador” means “Saviour.”]

Just wanted to share with you a wonderful answer to prayer. Just a couple of days ago, we told you that we were looking for a good price on a computer program called InDesign which we needed to format the NTM Literacy Manual and some other projects. Many thanks to you who answered with good ideas and people to contact for information.

We are especially grateful to a couple who used to serve with NTM in Mexico. They wrote to ask the cost of the program (answer: $450), then volunteered to cover the expense!

Isn’t God good? His children can be pretty amazing, too. In your prayers today, please join us in thanking Him for speedily and generously meeting this need.

BACK HOME

April 21, 2006

Thank you for praying!

Steve’s trip to Florida – The only unhappy thing about our SLR team meetings was that Eida couldn’t accompany us. The rest of us on the team had a very encouraging time together. Several projects lack only the final stretch push from us to be completed. We hope to cross some finish lines soon. Urgent: We’re going to need a high-end publishing program by Adobe called InDesign. We have some serious layout work to do on the NTM Literacy Manual and have been told that this is the ideal program for that job and other similar projects.

Eida’s trip to Laredo, Texas for her dad’s operation – Eida and her brother, Luis, were a great blessing to their father as he had a large hernia repaired. They arranged for a comfortable situation for his recuperation and helped him reorganize his living quarters. Eida’s assistance was vital, relieving Luis who was swamped with the demands of his position as an insurance company executive and other pressing concerns that came up during those 10 days. Although she extended her stay by 4 days, they still had to put in a lot of very late (3 AM) nights. The short-term outlook for Eida’s father’s health is encouraging, but we’ll need to monitor his situation closely.

No more slow drain! – Praise the Lord for simple solutions to big headaches. We told you we feared a serious problem with our bathtub drain. One plumber’s estimate was $1,500! But thank the Lord for a missionary friend who encouraged us to try a pure acid drain cleaner first – the third quart was the charm! Thank God for so much time saved, and hassle and expense avoided!

Thanks again for praying. And if you “know a guy” who can get us a bargain price on the InDesign program, please let us know.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
April 8, 2008

Please pray as we travel …

Steve to SLR team meetings in Florida – At 4:30 Sunday morning, I’ll be heading out to the airport for my flight to NTM headquarters in Sanford, Florida, where our Spanish Language Resources team will meet for three days, making decisions about projects and direction for the upcoming months.

Eida to Laredo, Texas for her dad’s operation – A few hours later, God willing, Eida will get a ride to the airport to fly to Laredo to be with her 84-year-old father who is scheduled for a hernia operation on Tuesday around noon. Her brother, Luis, will meet her there and together they’ll help their dad in the days leading up to the surgery and the first crucial days of his recovery. They do not plan to operate on his prostate cancer this time.

I will return Thursday and Eida on Saturday, if all goes according to plan.

We’ve only just gotten completely moved into the house, thanks to the help of our colleagues, so we’re still unpacking boxes and getting organized, etc.. Just a couple of days ago, we learned that the slow drain in the bathtub may indicate a more serious problem than we had imagined.

But the Lord faithfully gives us the grace to face the challenges of each new day. We really like this house and are very grateful for everything he and our loving family and support team have done to help us buy it and fix it up. We just want to be faithful to invest our time and energy wisely in the task of equipping Latin American cross-cultural church planters.

We would appreciate your prayers for safety in travel, for productive team meetings and for God to use Eida to bless her dad and his family in Laredo.