NTM

Over the last month I have had the blessed opportunity to meet former NTM missionaries from Paraguay who worked in a tribe for 6 years, James and Penny Camacho. I was able to ask all my questions. I was so encouraged to see how “normal” they were and how excited they were to meet me. A few weeks later I had the opportunity to meet the field chairman of Paraguay and his wife, Steve and Ithie Jackson. They have been NTM missionaries in Paraguay for 35 years. In addition to answering all of my questions they showed me hundreds of pictures of Paraguay. I now have more of a visual picture of what it is going to be like to live there. I still am amazed how the Lord blessed me in this way. Wow!

Please pray…

• Wisdom in decision making
• Diligence in preparation for Spanish Study in Mexico
• Trusting God’s provision in raising up partners
• That I will continue to rejoice in all things
• That I may know Christ and the power of His resurrection

Thank you for partnering with me through prayer!

Graduation!

I, along with 96 others, graduated from training with New Tribes Mission on December 19. When I look at my class I often think about where we are all going. I have friends going to Indonesia, Cambodia, Senegal, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Brazil etc… We all came to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) for a common goal…equipping for God’s work. It is difficult to say goodbye but knowing that we have completed what we have set out to do does make it easier. We will see each other again and Lord willing it will be along with many tribal believers.

Wow! It is hard to believe my time at the MTC is finished. As I look back on this past year and a half I am reminded of God’s faithfulness. With each day comes another lesson to learn, another area of growth, another choice to make. Challenging classes have been worked through such as Tech Tips, Phonetics, Grammar, New Testament Church Principles, Maturing church, etc… I have been blessed in relationships with my classmates and also the staff. God has truly blessed my life. Leaving the MTC was difficult and still is difficult. As I grew in my relationship with the Lord I was able to learn and grow with others and therefore developed deep relationships with them. Goodbyes are difficult but I would not have it any other way.

What is next? I will be sharing my ministry and raising prayer and financial supporters in the next year. New Tribes is a faith based mission. The Lord has clearly led me to the decision in choosing Paraguay as a field of ministry. I am very excited about serving there along with my co-worker Rebekah Huffman. We met in Bible school and have cultivated a deep friendship. We both have a heart for discipleship and I believe will have an amazing ministry working together. We are both planning on starting NCLA (National Culture and Language Acquisition) in Mexico in January 2010. A year will be devoted to learning Latin American culture and Spanish, the national language of Paraguay. Soon after the completion of Spanish study we will be departing for Paraguay.

Please be in prayer with me during this time of Partnership Development. My recommended level of support is $2,500 a month. I am currently at 20% level of support and trusting God to raise up both prayer and financial partners. God is and will continue to be at work in the hearts of His people! I pray that you are rejoicing with me today in remembering His faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Pai believers in Paraguay celebrated the birth of Jesus with a special service on Christmas Eve. They gathered at the church for a large feast and afterward shared a time of testimonies and singing.

Oscar, a Pai teenager, stood up and shared the many things God has been teaching him. Normally this quiet young man does not have much to say but he was eager to talk about his walk with Jesus.

Then at the close of the service one of the Pai Bible teachers read the biblical account of the birth of Jesus.

On Christmas day, 180 Pai children gathered at the home of missionary Wes Goddard to play soccer and other games organized by the missionaries. The event was such a success that on New Year’s Day they did it all over again.

Pray that the Pai church will continue to grow in their walk with Jesus. Pray also for Wes as he ministers to the Pai people.

“He will make your paths straight”

Many know that I have been struggling with the decision about where to serve as a missionary. There have been many days that I have stood in my room staring at the map of the world on the wall. So many places, so many lost people, so many who have yet to hear the truth, God’s Word.

I have been seeking the Lord’s face, digging into the His word, spending time in prayer. I have struggled with restlessness and anxiousness but still chose to trust in God’s plan for me. Over the last month I have seen God work in this decision. He opened my eyes and gave me His wisdom. Over the last year I and my friend Rebekah have been coming together once a week to study God’s Word. We have grown to be close friends.

About three weeks ago, God impressed on both of our hearts to talk to the other about partnering together. It was incredible to see how God had worked. We agreed to pray about it. At the time we both were considering different countries. Last week, still not knowing where to go, I realized that I had no peace about choosing a field but I had seen how God clearly led Rebekah and me together.

I shared with Rebekah that I thought that we should indeed partner together and move towards a country together as partners. We decided to spend the next day seeking the Lord through prayer and fasting. At the end of the day, we talked. It was incredible! I wish you were all there to witness God at work. We both decided to partner together and we both had the same country! I am happy and overflowing with joy and excitement!!! Rebekah and I have decided to go to Paraguay, South America!

You should have seen the two of us after we had made the decision. We could not get the smiles off of our faces. We both had seen God work in each of our hearts. This decision that we thought was going to be difficult and have struggled to make was in the end made by the Lord directing our hearts and us saying simply saying “Yes”.

Please keep us in your prayers. This is only the beginning of the journey. There are many questions to be answered and many more decisions to be made. Seeing God’s goodness in this decision has given me hope and encouragement. God is guiding me!

Remember God’s goodness,

Jenna Currey

Do you believe that God’s good is NOW…today, in this moment?

This has been a question that I have been thinking and meditating on a lot over the last few weeks. There have been so many times that I have been thinking that God’s best for me will be when I get to the field, or when I get married, or when there are believers in the tribe that I am working in. All are good things, but is God’s good right now? Where I am right now, what I am doing right now, the state I am in right now?

God’s good does not begin some time in the future. God’s good is today! There is nothing that I lack…there is no good thing that I do not have…I have been given everything I need for life and godliness in Christ Jesus. Amen! There is nothing that can steal my joy and thankfulness. God’s goodness has
nothing to do with what I have or don’t have, who I am, or what I do. God’s goodness has everything to do with what He has, who He is, and what He has done! I can choose to wake up in the morning remembering God’s goodness towards me. He has given me today to rejoice in. "Today is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

God’s good is NOW…today, in this moment!

I have learned how to live simply and practically during a class called Living Simply. This class has been full of challenges and hands-on activities such as cooking from scratch, no lights after 9 pm, no electric appliances, only 1 hour of phone calls per week, no television, and staying on campus for two weeks. In addition, I have had the opportunity to learn how to use a chainsaw, basic building skills, small engine repair, plumbing, butchering, and more.

I also participated in a 3 day 2 night camping trip. My teachers drove 40 students out to an undisclosed location. We then hiked in a mile to the place where we set up camp. My roommate and I had to make our shelter out of nothing but a tarp and some rope. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. Apart from the cold and the rocky ground getting in the way of me getting sleep, it was a great weekend. One of the activities during this weekend was learning how to use a compass to locate myself on a map and follow a heading to a location a mile away. After making my way through woods and brush to the location, I found I was only a small distance off from the mark!

I was disappointed to find out that I was not going to have the opportunity to actually kill and butcher a chicken. However, some of the students wanted to kill and butcher something so they bought a goat from a farm and brought it along with them for the camping weekend. I was able to watch them butcher and cook the goat. I can now say that I have eaten goat. It was not bad tasting, although it was a little tough…just a little…

History happened on Labor Day weekend. Right here in Missouri missionary aviation changed forever. The whole school, town and surrounding area were invited to come to the airport to get information, view, and for some, take a flight in the new plane call the Kodiak.

This plane will make missionary aviation much easier and less costly. The Kodiak plane runs on less expensive fuel, lands on a shorter airstrip and uneven terrain, and is able to operate in humid and hot weather. Not only that, but it can also hold 8 passengers and their cargo unlike other bush planes that can only hold 6 passengers and limited cargo.

This event was held to celebrate New Tribes Mission getting the first of 14 Kodiak planes. The highlight of my day was having an opportunity to take a short flight. As we took off and the trees quickly fell beneath my feet, I was overcome with a smile that I could not get off my face. I was thinking to myself, “Someday real soon I will be flying over my tribal village." To think about it was kind of scary, yet exciting. Getting my first taste of my transportation for the future made it more of a reality. I know who my God is and with Him leading my life there is absolutely nothing to be anxious or worried about. With God leading my life I am bound for an adventure! I am just holding on for the ride and enjoying the company. He promises to "never leave me or forsake me."

After we landed and I returned my feet to solid ground, I thanked God for the tool that He has given us in the Kodiak. But it is only a tool. No matter how many planes we buy or technology that is discovered it still takes people to bring the gospel to those who have never heard. Planes cannot teach God’s Word.

Please join with me in prayer for laborers to be sent out. God commissioned this responsibility to us believers. Please pray…the harvest is ready.

The tourniquet was in place. It was time. To survive, there must be venison. To have venison, the ancestors must be appeased.

The Hunter winced as the tourniquet cut off the flow of blood to his arm. He was a good hunter. Some would say great even. His prowess had earned him three wives and respect in the village. But he knew he could not hunt alone.

It was time. The Hunter’s cloth had been opened. It contained a stingray barb and the dried eyelids from the many deer he had killed.

The Hunter’s nephew immersed the eyelids in water to soften them. Then the Hunter’s arm was turned upward so that his thumb faced the sky.

He shuddered involuntarily as his nephew grabbed the skin above his wrist. He knew what was coming.

With one swift motion, the nephew thrust the stingray barb right through the Hunter’s quivering flesh and out the other side, grazing the top of the bone.

After that, he painstakingly shoved each of the eyelids through the bloody hole.

His nephew then untied the tourniquet.

"There was blood everywhere," said the tribal pastor, as he recalled this painful childhood memory about his father, the Hunter. "But my dad wanted to do what the ancestors had said in order to ensure that there would be venison to eat. Yes, this is the way we lived."

His face lightened a bit as he remembered that his father is now in Heaven. When the missionaries came, the Hunter was one of the first to believe, and the nephew is also now a Christian.

The pastor continued, "We lived in darkness and deception. It’s like we were in Ichiae’s (Satan’s) corral. How good to be set free from that corral of deception! How good to know the truth. I will never have this done to my arm. I won’t cause my body to bleed. And neither will my sons. We are free because of the straight words of God!"

One by one, Dinangat men and women are praising God and thanking Him for His work on their behalf.

"Before the teaching there was nothing but confusion unrest, and doubt," wrote Ralf and Eli Schlegel. "But now people drop their heads in amazement as they realize what God did for them, and they just keep saying, ‘Kulom, kulom sinik,’ which means, ‘Thank you, thank you so much.’"

Missionaries met one-on-one with the people who attended evangelistic Bible lessons, and here are some of the things they are hearing:

"Before I was in Satan’s family, but now we know that Jesus died for our sins. I know I can’t do anything to be put in Gods family, only by belief in what Jesus did — only He can save us." — Peso

"Jesus took my place and died for my sin." — Maangit

"What Jesus did is true, He died for my sin. He shed his blood for me." — Mesari

"Before you all came to us we were living in sin and were going to die and go to hell. But now we understand that God sent Jesus to die for our sin so that we can be saved. That’s what I think is true. God is true." — Takido

"I believe in God and Jesus, but I didn’t understand how to wash my sin away. Now I see that Jesus washed it away by dying on the cross for my sin. I am not able to do it, but because of what He did I can go to God when I die. I’m just so happy about this." — Kombu

"Today I don’t worry anymore. I know that it’s because of what Jesus did for me that I’ll go to God." — Felix

"My head is just breaking open as I think about what Jesus did for me. Thank you God!" — Bau

Exciting as this is, the work among the Dinangat people of Papua New Guinea is just beginning. Now comes discipling the new believers, training leaders, translating more of the Bible, and a lot more, as missionaries endeavor to establish a mature church. Please pray!