NTM

     I, Jay,  just got back from several days away at an event called "Extreme Training" that the Missionary Training Center here put on for a couple hundred Bible School students at the New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha, WI.  As it turned out this event was extreme in more than one way!

     Thanks much to those of you who prayed for us while we were there.  The event went off better than we could have planned, hoped or imagined.  The Lord really undertook in the lives of the students and the feedback we received from them was over-the-top, exceptional, and I would even add extremely good!!

     While we were there we experienced some extreme weather in the form of a snow storm came through which had first pounded Missouri and Illinois before getting to Wisconsin.  Lisa and Anthony were snowed in for a couple of days and my return trip to Missouri was delayed a day.  Needless to say, we were all very glad to be united back together again as a family.

     We just wanted to let you know that the Lord really undertook in answer to the prayers of those of you who were praying for us on this trip.  Thanks much for praying!  It is neat to be involved in serving a God with whom nothing is impossible, even when things get a bit extreme!

Have a great day in Him!!!

Jay, Lisa & Anthony  

Jason writes from Inaru:

"In general, the believers are very interested in the teaching from the book of Revelation (where else can you hear about 7-headed beasts and dragons and stuff?). When Keko (Raymond) does the review, he gets lots of good answers, especially from our usually silent women. Toni ordered a picture scroll from a missionary in the Philippines that goes thru the events depicted in Revelation and having colorful pictures is a real asset to keeping people interested. Our booklets of Revelation are some of the most in-demand Scripture portions that we have had printed for a long time. We are thankful for the interest and do pray that the teaching will bring conviction to some people and encouragement to many."

***Please continue to keep the Inaru church in your prayers, thanks!!!

   Well he made it!  Anthony officially survived his first year of tackle football for which we are very thankful. We’ve attached a picture of him but were a little hesitant to do so being that we are from San Diego and he is sporting a Raiders uniform!   Those of you who are Chargers fans know what that means !

   Don’t worry though, none of us have switched our allegiances to the Raiders. Anthony’s team went 3-2-2 on the season and he is already looking forward to next season. We will breath a little easier next year as he will be in the sixth grade in a 5th and 6th grade league.  

***Thanks for your continued prayers for Anthony.

                                  October ‘06

     It has been a very busy past month and a half with teaching classes and grading all the assignments that go along with each class. Now that we have a moment to catch our breath we thought we would drop you a line and let you know how things are continuing to go here.

The Course:
     These are exciting days as the candidates (139 total) continue to go through the training. By and large the feedback we are receiving is very positive, especially in regards to the Integrated Program that 86 of those previously mentioned students are going through. Some of the classes the candidates have already been taught through are: Animism; Biblical Foundations; Philosophy of Foundational Bible Teaching; Christian Life 1; Cross-Cultural Communications: Teaching Skills and now Teamwork 1.

Field Fair:
     Presently the candidates are sitting in on a two day Field Fair that the course is holding here. This is a time where representatives from the various countries that NTM works in send representatives to the training center here to represent the work they are doing on said field. This exposes the candidates here to the various fields, what work is being done on them, what the field needs are as far as personnel is concerned, and how they as candidates might consider fitting into a particular field. Many of the candidates are looking to the Lord for direction as to what country to serve in and this Field Fair provides them information that the Lord can use in helping them arrive at that decision.

Trainers Conference:
     One other thing that has happened since we last wrote is that the training center here hosted a Trainers Conference in which trainers from some of our other training centers in various parts of the world came for a week of meetings. During this time we shared our training programs with each other so we might learn and glean from each other’s programs. All that to say, that it was a great time and we all walked away encouraged and challenged in different areas regarding our respective training programs.

Family Matters:
     On a different note, Anthony is enjoying being a big 5th grader and really seems to be enjoying his teacher and class at school. The other thing he is enjoying about being a fifth grader is that this is the year they allow the kids to put on the pads and play tackle football. So he is doing that and really seems to enjoy it. Needless to say, Mom is a bit concerned as Anthony weighs 75lbs "soaking wet" and most of the kids weigh more than he does, with a some of them weighing twice as much as he does! The weight issue is one of the reasons why Dad (who has never been a big guy) enjoys wrestling. J

     The weather is turning here which is good for Lisa in that the colder weather kills off a lot of the allergens and she feels relief in that way. However the colder weather does aggravate her neuro-muscular condition, causing pain in her legs. So it is a bit of a trade off. All in all, we are encouraged with how she is doing health wise and appreciate your continued prayers for her in this area, thanks.

Inaru:
     Not much word from Inaru, other than the church there is continuing to study End Times as they work through the book of Revelation. Jason and Toni are presently out of the tribe helping facilitate a Team Translation Workshop for some of the works in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that are starting into doing their individual Bible translations for the various tribes they are working in. Please do keep them and the Inaru church in your prayers, thanks.

     Well this is getting long, so we best be bringing it to a close for now. Once again, it has been good talking with you and thanks for taking the time to read this update and pray. We sure do appreciate you standing with us as we continue to work together with you toward Expanding the Reach of the Gospel. Until we talk again…

In His Love, Jay, Lisa & Anthony

Classes have begun:

All is going well here class wise. The students have made it through orientation and are now in the midst of a class on Animism and Biblical Foundations. In the Biblical Foundations class myself and two other instructors are taking the students through Phase One of the Chronological Teaching Program from Creation through to Christ. It is important that they sit under this teaching and even get the chance to teach it to others on this side of the ocean. As one day they will be presenting it in a cross-cultural setting in order to present Christ to those who have never heard of Him before. So the more experience they can get with using it before that day arrives the better.

FMF Meetings:

Thanks much for praying for me as I was away from the family for a week this past month. The Field Ministries Forum (FMF) went well. It was good to meet together with missionaries from all over the world and the Field Ministries Committee. We were encouraged with what was shared there and the direction the Mission is taking. We as a training program feel very well acquainted with what his happening on the field. This helps reassure us that the training here is guided by the realities on the field and therefore relevant to what the candidates will be experiencing as go and minister there.

Happy B-Day!

The end of last month I, Jay, turned 41. Although I don’t feel old I am reminded by the youthfulness of our missionary candidates that I definitely am not getting any younger. It is hard to believe that I am old enough to be a parent to a good number of them. Anyway, as I approached my 41st B-day I received encouragement in the form of the following Bible verses:

“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.” (Prov.20:29)

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.” (Prov. 16:31)

I can relate to those verses as my hair is getting grayer with each passing day. I also received a birthday gift from my family in the form of a t-shirt that reads, “Old Guys Rule!” I am not sure how I feel about wearing the t-shirt but at the very least I can wear it out of respect for all those “old guys” who do rule, because the One who rules the universe rules supreme in their lives. With that in mind, I will gladly wear the shirt in respect for all those “old guys” out there and look forward to the day when I will be old enough to join their ranks

Inaru:

Word from Inaru is that Jason has completed translating the book of Galatians and is now starting into the book of Acts. He hopes to have Acts translated by the end of the year. Please do pray with us that indeed that will be the case. The church is still working through the book of Revelation in their meeting times together. Please do pray that they will gain a vision to reach out to a neighboring village with the Phase One teaching program and that more and more of the Inarus will become literate so they can read God’s word for themselves.

Thanks again for letting us share these things with you and for your prayers. Daily we realize our need of Him and that without Him we can do nothing, not even take our next breath! He is good and we pray that this update finds you doing well and encouraged in Him. Have a great day and an even better weekend. Until we talk again, keep looking to Him and know that you are on His mind.

In His Love, Jay, Lisa & Anthony

Thanks for praying for Jason and Toni. They are now back in PNG and the tribe carrying on the work there. Jason writes, “While we were gone, the church continued to meet and Raymond taught them thru II Thessalonians and the first 6 chapters of Revelation. We are very pleased with Raymond’s faithfulness and for the continuing desire of some to know God’s Word more. Talk has started again of getting the literacy program going, this time with women students. We are very thankful for the desire to get the literacy program going again, but we want to move ahead wisely. We have had many aborted classes in the past with teachers quitting and students not showing up; we would hate to have a repeat of that. So, please pray that we will have wisdom as to how to get the literacy program going strong and keep it going so that all whole village can learn to read. This is something that is so vital to their spiritual growth and it is a weakness in the church right now.”

I would also like to ask for your prayers as myself and a fellow colleague will be away at our International Headquarters for meetings this coming week. These meetings will revolve around establishing indigenous churches all around the world. There will be representatives there from many of the countries we work in. Our may goal in being there is to make sure that our training on this end is, and remains, as relevant to what is going on in the area of church planting around the world as possible. Please pray for a profitable time, for travel mercies, and for our families as we are away from them, thanks.

As we write the campus is coming alive as students are pulling in and getting settled into to their apartments in order to start the new semester this coming Monday. The Missionary Training Center here will have 142 students on campus. The great majority of which will be new students and a dozen or so will be returning students who will be receiving further training in Linguistics. We’d ask your prayers for all of them as they get back “into the grove” of studying and preparing for the greatest job on earth! J

We’d also ask your prayers for us as staff. The starting of this semester marks a historic event in the history of New Tribes Mission. With the beginning of this semester we will be kicking off the new integrated program and are very excited about that! We do have things pretty well hammered out for the first couple of semesters but still have work to do on second couple of semesters. Needless to say it is going to be a busy year for all involved and we’d appreciate your prayers.

Students, Students Everywhere!

As we write the campus is coming alive as students are pulling in and getting settled into to their apartments in order to start the new semester this coming Monday. The Missionary Training Center here will have 142 students on campus. The great majority of which will be new students and a dozen or so will be returning students who will be receiving further training in Linguistics. We’d ask your prayers for all of them as they get back “into the grove” of studying and preparing for the greatest job on earth! J

We’d also ask your prayers for us as staff. The starting of this semester marks a historic event in the history of New Tribes Mission. With the beginning of this semester we will be kicking off the new integrated program and are very excited about that! We do have things pretty well hammered out for the first couple of semesters but still have work to do on second couple of semesters. Needless to say it is going to be a busy year for all involved and we’d appreciate your prayers.

On the Road and in the Air!!

I would also like to ask for your prayers as myself and a fellow colleague will be away at our International Headquarters for meetings this coming week. These meetings will revolve around establishing indigenous churches all around the world. There will be representatives there from many of the countries we work in. Our may goal in being there is to make sure that our training on this end is, and remains, as relevant to what is going on in the area of church planting around the world as possible. Please pray for a profitable time, for travel mercies, and for our families as we are away from them, thanks.

Answered Prayer!!!

Lastly, thanks for praying for Jason and Toni. They are now back in PNG and the tribe carrying on the work there. Jason writes, “While we were gone, the church continued to meet and Raymond taught them thru II Thessalonians and the first 6 chapters of Revelation. We are very pleased with Raymond’s faithfulness and for the continuing desire of some to know God’s Word more. Talk has started again of getting the literacy program going, this time with women students. We are very thankful for the desire to get the literacy program going again, but we want to move ahead wisely. We have had many aborted classes in the past with teachers quitting and students not showing up; we would hate to have a repeat of that. So, please pray that we will have wisdom as to how to get the literacy program going strong and keep it going so that all whole village can learn to read. This is something that is so vital to their spiritual growth and it is a weakness in the church right now.”

As you can see there is a lot to pray about and we are so thankful to have folks like yourself that we can call on to uphold us, and the work, before the Lord in prayer. Once again, we say thanks for the time, energy, and resources you put into standing with us in everyway. God bless you for it as we know He will. Until we talk again, take good care and keep pressing on for Him!!!

Laborers together, Jay, Lisa & Anthony

         We trust that this email finds you doing well and encouraged in Him. We are very encouraged as we just got back from a short trip to see some of Lisa’s family and a new nephew (Lincoln) that was born on Father’s Day. You talk about a neat Father’s Day gift for Lincoln’s Dad!!!

       Also on the 5th of July we celebrated our 20th wedding Anniversary! Boy is time fun when you’re having flies! (That was a little joke from the mission field for those of you who are saying to yourself, “What was that last line all about?"  Those of you who caught it know that it is supposed to read “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Need we say more? . Anyway, we are very thankful to the Lord for the years He has given us together and short of His return we pray for many more good years to come.

Urgent Prayer Request:

     We wanted to let you know that at this very moment Jason, Toni and Jedidiah are on their way back to Papua New Guinea and are requesting prayer for getting settled back into the tribe after having been gone for five months. Aside from the major jobs of Translation and Discipleship, there is a ton of physical maintenance that needs to be done not only with getting the house back into shape but word has it that the tractor is broken down and the airstrip hasn’t been cut for quite a while. Please pray that God would give grace, patience, wisdom and strength to Jason and Toni as they get back into the “thick of things” there. Thanks!!!

SOME INTERESTING NTM STATISTICS:

-There are approximately 3200+ missionaries from 37 nationalities. Includes regular, associate, retired and national members.

-We work in 30 countries plus 1 soon to be opening.

-NTM has 18 training centers in 11 countries.

-Missionaries are working in about 240 tribal groups.

-About 900 churches have been established.

-Around 42 NT translations have been completed + 6 revisions or retranslations. 70 in progress, some nearing completion.

-Around 54 OT Chronological portions have been completed. 88 in progress.

     Thanks again for the part you play, through your supportiveness of us and NTM in every way, in seeing that those who have never had the chance to hear about the Savior and be discipled get that chance. Until we talk again, take good care and God bless!!!

     In His Love, Jay, Lisa & Anthony