NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Mike and Tania are breathing a sigh of relief. The birth mother did not reclaim her baby and now they can proceed with the adoption process. It looks as though the Lord has finally provided the little one they have been praying for.  Thanks for praying.

On October 21 Mike and Tania were informed that  a lady that was about to give birth had chosen them to be the adoptive parents of her child. They dropped everything and headed for the hospital. The next day they brought home a beautiful little girl, Katelyn Asia.  We have been praying for some time that the Lord would provide a child for them and we need to keep praying. The birth mother has until about Nov.2 to change her mind and cancel the adoption. Mike and Tania are "cautiously optomistic" and would appreciate your prayers. (There are more photos under our "Photos" section.)

Until recently, Patti’s main area of responsibility in the bookstore was as Special Projects Coordinator. She has enjoyed that ministry but has been asked to begin doing more of the bookstore bookkeeping. This fits well with training she received in college but she still senses a need for wisdom from the Lord. Please pray for her as she is learning many new things and taking on new responsibilities.

In January, 2009 I plan to begin teaching Linguistic Analysis. At this time, the current linguistics class is in Oklahoma working on a 6-week practicum. They are making use of the skills they have learned in the classroom and are doing a preliminary analysis of a live language – Cherokee. Soon I will be making the 5-hour drive down to Tahlequah where I will spend a week observing the students at work. I expect to be asking many questions of the teacher that is with them. I need to get the “lay of the land” so that I can be ready to take a class down there next year. Pray that I would have a profitable week and learn as much as I can to help me be an effective instructor.

In a pre-season practice Lee injured his ankle. After surgery on some “shredded” ligaments he was on crutches for over a month. Once he was cleared by the doctor he worked hard on physical therapy and recovered quickly. He is so glad that he has been able to play the last half of the season. On Monday night Junior varsity games he has played quite a bit as one of the quarterbacks. On Friday’s Varsity games he usually gets to play a little as well. His ankle still hurts but he is a dedicated member of the team and doesn’t let it stop him.

First the good news:  Our leadership team has asked me to make a slight change of ministry. I will still be teaching but on a different subject – linguistic analysis. Our normal course at the Missionary Training Center is 1½ years but about 10 % of our student body stay for more advanced training in how to develop an alphabet and study grammar patterns in an unwritten language. I will be teaching a class of about 10 students for 5 hours a day for a full semester. The following semester I will accompany those same students to Oklahoma to coach them while they do a 9-week practicum studying the Cherokee language. For the most part I am excited and looking forward to this new challenge. However, it has been many years since I have studied these principles and have a huge task ahead of me as I prepare to teach.

Now for the "bad" news: Just over 2 weeks ago I woke up seeing some things in my left eye that shouldn’t have been there. After examining my eye the specialist told me that the retina was torn in 2 places and that I needed laser surgery to prevent detachment. He also told me that I was not allowed to read or drive or do much of anything that required moving my eyes for 2 weeks.  Although the laser work is healing well there is still cloudiness and a large floater in the center of my vision. The doctor says that the cloudiness is common and that it often clears up in a number of weeks. So far it seems to be about the same. Please pray that it will clear up and that I will be patient as I wait.