NTM

One of my goals over the next year is to be able to meet up with family, friends, and supporters  that I have not seen in a long time.  I want to be able to spend time with them before I leave the states.  Along with this goal, I am trying to connect with churches that are interested in my ministry.   I have had some churches in Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri that have expressed interest in my ministry.  I have decided to start planning out trips to connect with individuals and churches in these areas.  I was not sure at the beginning of the summer how I would be able to travel to all of these locations and one of my supporters here in Waukesha decided to surprise me with a huge blessing.  They agreed to buy a car and allow me to use it for a whole year!  This has been a huge answer to prayer.  I have been able to begin making plans, here are some of the places I will be traveling to. . .

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The question that I am asked most these days, is what are your plans?  To be honest, I find myself becoming anxious these days.  These anxious feelings come from the uncertainty of what is ahead.  I still catch myself wanting to know what lies ahead.  As I look forward to these next steps, I constantly remind myself of two things – the plans He has for me and the victory I have in Him for every situation.  The first thing is that I know that He has plans for me, He is in control, and He knows exactly how the next couple of years will play out.  In Psalms it says in his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  This tells me that I need to continue to prepare and make plans, but also allow Him to guide and direct with the confidence that His ways are much higher and better than mine.   The victory that I have in Him is talked about in Corithians.  Paul says, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.   This verse reminds me that the Christian life is faced with lots of big and small decisions and opportunities – all of which are surpassed by the fact that victory has been won.   

The picture above includes the people who are currently serving in Mozambique.  These are the coworkers that I am hoping to work alongside with in order to accomplish His work in Mozambique.  The picture below are some of my future students at the school in Mozambique.   I am not sure what is going on over there??? lol   Maybe I need to try and get over there sooner!!! 

More than sixty of us from Riverglen church set out for a week in Juarez, Mexico.  It is awesome to think now how many things happened that week that God had planned out for us long before any of us decided to even go on this trip.  Two people were added to our group within days of us even leaving.  We had it planned out to build four homes that week, but His plans for us were to build five! 

We split up into groups of ten to fifteen and constructed five houses in a little colonia.  Each day a vacation bible school program was also run in order to invite kids from this neighborhood to sing, play games, make some crafts, and most importantly to hear more about Christ.  We held vacation bible school at the iglesia de paz (church of peace).  This church is serving as a light in this community and how nice it was to be able to point all these families in the direction of a local church that is preaching The Word. 

What did we come away with?  We were able to experience joy, not only because some material needs were met, but because we were able to share something far more valuable than the construction of a house.  We were able to share our love for Him and let the people there see a glimpse of His love for them, through us.  We had the privilege of praying and worshipping the same God in different languages and on the day that we dedicated the houses, some of the families reminded us how awesome it will be one day when the language barriers will be broken and we will worship Him together in unison. 

I became friends with Aaron Luse my freshmen year in college.  Soon after becoming friends he announced his plans to eventually go on with a missions organization called New Tribes, marry his high school sweetheart, and become a missionary to Papua New Guineau.   Aaron did all of these things, including being a father of three daughters!  He is currently translating the lessons in order to teach a people group from Creation to the Cross.    I am very privileged to call him friend and I cannot wait to see how God continues to use him and his family in this ministry.   Here is a letter I received from him a couple of weeks ago. 

This June 15th – 21st  I will be going with a group of around seventy people from RiverGlen Church on a missions trip to Juarez, Mexico.  Part of the trip will consist of building four brand new homes.  The other part will consist of working with a local orphanage.  Please begin to pray for those that we will be going to serve.  Pray for opportunities for us to listen and to respond in a way that shows Christ’s love.  Pray for the language barrier.  We will have some translators that will be going with us. (Pray that my rusty spanish will come back to me that week!)  Above all, pray for opportunities for those who do not know Him and for us that we will be able to present the gospel clearly to them. 

When I first got to Bible School I had to learn the New tribes lingo.  I would hear all of these new acronyms and words and I did not have a clue what they meant.  I would be in different conversations where this lingo was used and I was too embarassed to let them know that I did not understand what they were talking about — LOL. 

PNG was one of those terms.  I soon found out that it meant Papua New Guineau.  This forced me to look at a map of the world to see where this country was located.  We have many missionaries serving in PNG.  There are over 800 different language / tribal groups in that small country. 

New Tribes also has a ministry that is called Interface. It is located in PNG.  It is a six week training that really gives you a clear glimpse on tribal church planting.  Maybe you would be interested in this short term mission.  You can get more information about short term missions by contacting me or clicking on the GO link.  You can also click on the link that is labeled " Watch the Changed Video"  on the homepage to see a little more about PNG and the Interface ministry.  

Is God faithful?

Someone was talking of God’s faithfullness and it has always stuck with me. He said, "Our unfaithfullness does not nullify God’s faithfullness. His promises and faithfullness are real and true whether we believe Him or not. Believing in Him or His promises do not make them real, they make them ours. He will remain faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him. His faithfullness is the same regardless of how we are feeling or acting."

I think I have learned more about this the last couple of years. God has continued to bless me even on days or weeks when I doubt His promises. Recently, I had my interview with member services as part of the process to become a full-time member of New Tribes Mission. As I get closer to finishing the program here, I can’t help but start questioning: Am I really going to do this? Can I do this? When will I actually leave for Mozambique? After these questions run through my mind, either myself or some of you have to remind me that, No, I cannot do this on my own and this is not my work, it is His. Many of you have been a part in reminding me of these things even though you may not realize it. Some have reminded me as I watch your Christian walk. Some of you have written letters or called me on the phone and left me with encouraging words, and some have supported me financially. All of these are constant reminders that I believe God is using to show me that He is faithful. He wants to use His promises and my brothers and sisters in Christ to reveal the plans He has for me.