NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

1.  Wayne’s projects before the semester begins.  There are a number of renovations and new construction apartments that need to be finished along with his regular maintenance.  

2.  Christy is attending the SYIS (Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills) seminar.  We would appreciate prayers as this is every day for a week.  (August 2-7)  Please pray she will absorb what is being taught and then apply it to her life as she interacts with students, staff and her local school contacts as the semester begins. 

3.  Extra expenses this month.  We will have taken two trips to visit supporting churches by the end of July.  Beka and Josh both need eye exams and new contacts.  Christy is having dental work done.  Also, school supplies will need to be purchased soon.

4.  A minivan.  We have sold our big white truck at a reduced price to a family serving in Mexico with NTM, about ready to move into the tribe.  This leaves us without a trustworthy vehicle.  A minivan would be profitable for us as a family and also for our ministry .  Christy would have many opportunities to carpool if she had a vehicle that could carry more than four extra passengers.

5.  Our financial support level.  We are receiving around 50% of our Approved Ministry Budget.

6.  Exciting praise-finances to buy a new laptop!  Our laptop quit while trying to give a presentation at a supporting church.  This same church is providing the finances to replace it!  The laptop will be used for church presentations and Christy can use it as she attends different classes.  It’s an amazing answer to prayer!

Thank you for partnering with us in ministry through prayer!  We appreciate your involvement in our lives!

Do you remember the magazine for children "Highlights"?  I think we saw one recently at the orthodontist’s office.  There were always two pictures in the magazine where you had to pick out the 10 differences in the pictures.  I could always find the first 7-8 without a problem, but the final few were always a challenge.  Well, we’d like to place the same challenge to you:  can you find the differences in the photo above and the image "newest project February 2009" on our photo page of the five plex?  (If you click on the picture, it will be enlarged.)  Hopefully the differences are quite obvious!

The students have all gone their separate ways.  As we write this, Amber Book is in Indonesia with a team of students, visiting tribal works, meeting with leadership and meeting future co-workers.  Misty Graveley has arrived home in Montana after a round about trip including time with friends, a trip to the Grand Canyon, and a wedding in California!  The Hamb family is traveling throughout the summer, meeting with churches and friends, and seeing some family members.  They have one more semester left in the training and hope to be heading soon to Cambodia!  Please pray for all of the students this summer as they have church meetings, renew old friendships and spend time with their families.

Our summer is full of work, work, work.  Well, for Wayne that is.  This summer, along with his normal maintenance jobs, he is working on a number of projects.  Included with all of this is the three week preparation for the Enrichment Seminar (formerly known as Refresher Course).  Over 400 furloughing missionaries, home staff, and their families will be arriving to start the Seminar by June 15.  For the next couple of weeks please pray for all of the staff here as we prepare the campus for the influx of people and also for the Seminar as it takes place.

After looking over March’s prayer requests, we’re excited to share with you some of God’s answers.  Thank you so much for your faithful prayers!

• Praise:  Wayne has finished the installation of the duct work in the five plex.  We continue to look forward to August when we can post pictures of students living in this building!
• Praise:  The work on the remodels is being done.  Because of Wayne’s work load with the five plex and other maintenance issues, he hasn’t had much involvement with this.  We praise God for the team of men in the maintenance department who are doing an amazing job on these two apartments!
• The warmer months are upon us!  This means installation of window A/C units for the students and switching all the main classrooms and office building from heat to A/C.  Please pray that each unit will start up without a problem.
• Wayne is keeping busy with his regular maintenance jobs. This time of the year the work load is heavier.  Please pray for endurance and wisdom as he works each day.
• Only a few more weeks of classes are left! Amber Book, one of the singles Christy disciples, will be taking a three week trip to Indonesia with a team of other students.  Misty Graveley, the other single Christy disciples, will be heading to California for a friend’s wedding then up to Montana for the summer.  Please pray for their time with family and friends.  Also, please pray the Lord will open doors for them to share about their ministry and where the Lord is leading them.
• Please continue to pray for our finances.  We are receiving 50% of our Approved Ministry Budget. 

What is AMS class?  Applied Ministry Skills.  Every Friday morning, for an hour after chapel, the students break up into small groups and discuss the past week’s classes. The time consists of group interaction to help candidates apply the concepts learned in other classes to their life & ministry while here at the MTC.   Basically it’s a time to talk out how their classes can be applied to every day life:  ministries through church, interaction on the campus, outreach ministries, husband/wife/children relationships, roommates, etc. These small groups stay together througout their time here.  Whenever there are small group discussions in other classes, often these same groups are used.  As a result, these students become very close.  About once a month, this same group in the picture meets in our home.  The other weeks they are in others’ homes.   We enjoy our time with these students and are grateful for the interaction we have with them.  Please pray for each of them as they head out for the summer, interacting with their churches, jobs, and friends and family in their home areas. 

     Welcome to the first day of Animism class!  Animism class is a 36 hour course giving an overview of the complex nature and characteristics of animism and animistic people.  I’m excited that for the next 18 school days I will be sitting in on this class.  My other responsibilities will interfere some, but as much as is possible I will be there. 

     What does this have to do with my ministry here?  I’ve seen during our time here there are many classes which have changed since we went through the training.  I’m able to interact with the students as I attend class and throughout the day. The two single ladies I disciple are also in these classes and we enjoy discussing what we have learned as we have our time together.  Along with each of these opportunities, the classes have stretched me spiritually and opened my eyes even more to what our students will be facing on the field.

     Why don’t you come and visit?  We’d love to show you around, let you sit in on a couple of classes or help Wayne with some of his projects!  The students here would enjoy meeting you and sharing their heart for tribal missions with you.

• Installation of ductwork in new five plex go safely and smoothly
• Safety and wisdom on staff apartment remodel
• For the training of Misty and Amber, the two single girls Christy is discipling
• Daily interaction with the students-we will use our experiences on the field, with our family and life in general to help disciple the students and be an encouragment to all those around us
• Our financial support.  We are at 50% of our Approved Ministry Budget.  This Budget has been decided on by our leadership here as to what is necessary for a family of our size to function in our ministry at the Missionary Training Center.
• Our personal relationship with God.  The only way we can minister to the students and staff here is through God’s strength and His wisdom. 

Last week Wayne started on his next big project.  The construction team is building a five unit apartment building.  They have reached the point of installing the ductwork for the ground source HVAC systems.  This is the third new building Wayne has had an opportunity to work on.  A local business designs the ductwork and Wayne does the installation.  At this point, it is the main focus of his working hours.  We praise God the first few days of installing ductwork have gone smoothly.  We are excited to meet the new students in August who will be living in this new housing.  It is exciting to watch the campus grow and be a part of expanding the reach of the Gospel!

Planting a tribal church is like scaling Mount Everest.

"Just as climbing Everest would be a very difficult thing to undertake, so is the task that has been set before us," wrote missionary Mike Lynch, serving with his wife, Sandy, in Thailand. "Prior to someone climbing a mountain, they would want to learn all they could and then spend some time practicing those techniques. "

Missionary training through New Tribes Mission is a key step in acquiring this knowledge and skill.

"Once a person would set out on climbing Everest, the first place that they would reach is base camp. This would be much the same as our time learning the Thai language and culture …. This also gave us much needed time to acclimatize our bodies and minds to a very different lifestyle. "

Last year the Lynches took the next step "up the mountain and to the first campsite" by moving into a more remote area and surveying villages, looking for a good place to begin their ministry.

"This May, we will be climbing higher with a goal of reaching Camp II as we move into a Phu Thai village and begin the difficult process of learning the culture and language and building relationships with the villagers.

"Once we have reached that step, it will be time to move on to the next two camps — Camp III and IV. It is here that we will have the privilege of sharing the Gospel message with our friends among the Phu Thai. "

"Many people would see the Gospel presentation as reaching the peak of Everest. But for us this would be just one part of our journey, as there still will be a lot of terrain left to cover. … We will continue teaching and discipling the believers in the truths of the Word of God.

"The summit would be to see the Scriptures available in the Phu Thai language. Not only that, but to see a group of mature believers reaching out to their neighbors with the Word of God and learning to trust God more and more …. At that point, we could begin the descent down the mountain as our role would transition more to an itinerant or consultative ministry among the Phu Thai. "

Please pray for Mike and Sandy Lynch, as well as their co-workers Dan and Beth Cullet as they begin their ascent to see a New Testament church established among the Phu Thai people of Thailand.

And thank the Lord with us for New Tribes Mission’s specialized training for church planting among unreached people groups.

Please pray:

At the two New Tribes Bible Institute campuses, half the students are heading toward the end of their final semester. Pray that God will direct them to pursue further training with New Tribes Mission, and to become part of the church planting team.

At the the Missionary Training Center, the Fall 2008 class is already full and the January 2009 class is filling. Thank the Lord with us, and pray that we can expand the center’s capacity. Thousands of tribes have not yet had the opportunity to hear the Good News, and many people are eager to go. They need to prepare for the long journey.

The architects expect to complete the master plan for the expanding Missionary Training Center campus this month. Pray that it is efficient and effective.