NTM

 Yes, we are back in Missouri for our 2nd year of training with NTM. We arrived about a week before classes started (which was August 20th). We have already completed several classes.

One of our classes was on worldviews- how they effect any ministry today and specifically a ministry in a cross-cultural situation.

You may be wondering, "What is a worldview?"

A worldview is a grid through which one interprets and interacts with all aspects of life.

- Everyone has a worldview.
- Usually worldview is outside of one’s awareness – it is tacitly assumed.
- It is emotionally held.
- It is part of one’s identity.
- It is a whole system that gives meaning to every aspect of life.
- It may or may not be congruent with what God sees as reality.

Worldview analysis is essential to effective ministry. How does one minister at a worldview level? Worldview Resource Group answers this question through equipping, training, and consulting.

 “Worldview assumptions are taken for granted and hardly ever examined; they are fundamental givens with which people think, not what they think about” 

                                                    -George Walker

To learn more about worldviews go here .

We wanted to do something different and give an overview of our summer in a visual way. So here it is! Also, if you’re interested in seeing these photos enlarged go to our "photos" page and click on "Summer 2008".   

        Time with Family      Enjoying God’s Creation           

Josiah playing @ Park   Summer home- thanks Murrays!

  Life on the farm we stayed at…

Reading with Mommy      July 4th on the St Johns River

PowerUp Clubs – Our church’s largest evangelistic event, reaching out to children in neighborhoods all throughout Jacksonville 

Friends Wedding in Ocala, FL  

Shuttle Launch in Cape Canaveral (visit with Lesley’s Dad and Sister) 

 We can summarize our summer in four letters… b-u-s-y!

Here’s an encouraging story we just received that we wanted to share with you.  It highlights why we are in training:

by Ian Fallis

When was the last time you were so joyful that you couldn’t even finish a prayer of thanksgiving? What could make you that happy?

For Melki, it happened last week. His people, the Laujes of Indonesia, took a giant step toward having the complete New Testament in their language.

Barrie Williamson wrote that with last week’s check of the book of Luke, "every verse of the Lauje translation of the New Testament has been checked and approved by a qualified translation checker. "

It’s a task that has taken 15 years. "To put that in perspective, we began translating using a once-popular machine called a manual typewriter and made copies with something called carbon paper," Barrie wrote.

Melki, a Lauje believer, has helped Barrie through much of the Bible translation. For this final check Atriise, who has never done translation checking, joined them. Bob Clark, a missionary with experience and skill in Bible translation, served as a consultant on the check. They checked an average of 165 verses a day, reading through them and asking well-thought-out questions to expose any weaknesses in the translation.

"When we completed the final verses, we stopped and thanked God together for this marvelous achievement," Barrie wrote. "Melki was unable to finish his prayer of thanksgiving as he was so overcome with emotion. "

To translate God’s Word, Barrie needed a good understanding of the Bible and of the principles involved in translation. That’s why the specialized training he received from New Tribes Mission included Bible school and missionary training.

Friday, 70 students will graduate from the New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Another 75 are graduating from the New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson, Michigan, on Saturday. Many of these students will go into missions, most of them proceeding to the Missionary Training Center in order to serve with New Tribes Mission.

Please pray that nothing will hinder those who desire to go on to serve God as full-time missionaries, and that those who choose not to will continue to be involved in missions and help others get involved.

Also Saturday, commencement will be held for 67 students who have completed the missionary training course. Virtually all of those students will go on to be missionaries with New Tribes Mission and embark on perhaps the scariest part of being a missionary, partnership development. Please thank God for these people who are giving their lives to Him, and pray for wisdom and guidance in the difficult decisions ahead.

The Missionary Training Center is expecting as many as 120 new students in the fall, but has classroom and housing space for only 110. Please pray for the necessary funds and work for further construction, so this center can train even more missionaries to help expand the reach of the Gospel to every tribe.

Hello from the ozarks of Missouri! This is one of my favorite times of year because we are remembering all that Christ did for us on the cross and that the Father raised him from the dead on our behalf! We are so thankful for his sacrifice and life!! We wanted to let you know about what is going on with us these days. We hope you all are well and that you are enjoying the buddings of new life as spring gets in full swing. It is great to not have to wear a coat anymore when we go outside.

School is wrapping up for us this semester on May 18, so there are only three more weeks left. It seems like it has gone by very fast. We have taken many different classes and learned a whole lot. Some of the classes were Grammar, Phonemics, Tech Tips for missionaries, Leadership in Biblical Balance, etc.

 We recently finished an International Health and Wellness class which was really fun and informative. We actually learned how to give each other shots, take blood pressures, and use an otoscope to look at the ears. Here are pictures of Curt giving another student a shot and checking my ears. If you are wondering or curious… the injection was just saline (and not too painful!).

  Josiah, our bounding 2 ¾ year old, is active as ever and learning new things everyday. He just recently memorized Psalm 23 … “the Lord my Shepherd, I no want”. The way he recites it is priceless! He is daddy’s little parrot too, copying with perfect enunciation the words that come out of his mouth. Preschool has been so good for him this year; he’s learning to play with other kids, share, sing songs, etc. The next big hurdle will be potty-training! I am not pushing him into that one yet.

As you may know, we are in the training here for two years, and this is the end of our first year. We are going back to Florida for the summer to work with our church, see our families and take opportunities to tell others about missions to unreached peoples as well. When we return in the fall, we will be going to Oklahoma to learn the Cherokee language for six weeks as well as taking more language and culture classes. We are looking forward to next year. We will continue to put updates on our website for you. We would love to hear from you as well, and what is going on in your lives. Please let us know how we can pray for you.

For Him,
Curt, Lesley, and Josiah
In training with New Tribes Mission

   We have really been enjoying our classes this semester and learning a lot.  We are continually reminded of what a huge task this is to reach a people group without a written language, who have a darkened understanding about who God is and what He desires for them.  With all the barriers- language, culture, geographics, etc, it really is a God-sized task! We are privledged to be a part of His work.  Right now we’re taking three classes: Missionary Technology I, Leadership in Biblical Balance and Grammar. 

   In Missionary Technology we are learning things about the practical side of missionary living in a remote location like:  how to use and set up solar panels, batteries that are good and not good for a hot, tropical environment, even how to properly build an outhouse!  Our leadership class explores leadership from a biblically balanced perspective, encouraging us to value both the nourishing and the directing sides of the leadership ministry(as seen in scripture).  We just started our Grammar class… as you might guess, we are learning about the structure(framework) of language.

   Pray that we would absorb the training/classes as much as possible while we’re here.  Also pray for the curriculum team here as they continue to develop and "tweak" the courses as needed (due to the recent integration of the training)

  More on classes to be posted….

  To see a detailed list of the classes we have or will be taking this semester click here… www.ntm.org/mtc/ac_2sem.php