NTM

Thanks all for your prayers and concern for Ian and his family.
We heard some great news! Ian woke up this morning (Thursday) and was fighting at all the tubes and needles in his arm. This is good; it means he’s got some awareness of things. Later, he was nodding his head in response to questions but not able to squeeze a hand. He went to sleep right after that so they will wait to do a neurological exam.
This is an answer to prayer and a tremendous encouragement! Up to this point, he had been mostly unresponsive to anything.
He’s not out of the woods yet. Please keep praying for all of them.

Could I ask you to pray for my co-workers 12 year old son Ian and his family? Ian was medivac’d to South Africa early Monday morning with serious complications from malaria. He’s been in a coma since Sunday morning and is not responding. They still have reason to hope for a full recovery and that is how they are praying.

Both parents are now with him in South Africa and his four siblings are here in Mozambique. The family’s response has been to the glory of God. They have shown great stamina and peace in the midst of incredibly difficult things.

Please pray for all of them and those they encounter during this journey. Thanks.

I thought I’d give you a quick recap and then an update on some things regarding my next ministry steps. I’ve been in Mozambique as part of New Tribes Mission since April 2007. Our job here is to plant tribal churches, which means we seek to work among people groups with little or no previous exposure to the Gospel. Our church planting teams live among the people groups and learn their language and culture. We teach evangelistically using a chronological method. Once a church is born, we remain to disciple the believers and translate Scripture. We strive to do this all without creating dependency and with our eventual exit in mind, leaving a mature church to carry on.

We are also working towards partnering in these church planting efforts with Mozambican believers. This process has been slow because of the lack of genuine believers and the level of maturity of the believers the Lord has brought us into contact with. We are, however, doing well in establishing genuine friendships with many of these local believers and seek opportunities to be involved in their lives and ministries as well as help them understand our own. Our attitude is not that we are here to show them how to do things, but to learn from them and incorporate their ideas and culturally appropriate methods in church planting.

I am blessed to be part of the team here. I was asked to come for at least two years to help this relatively new field establish a strong infrastructure that our church planting teams can rely on, enabling them to focus on church planting and not on the myriad of details that go on in order to keep them ministering in the country. Praise the Lord, much of the work I was asked to help with is done. There are some projects that still need attention but much is in place for those who remain to carry on.

Although still needed in Mozambique, I’ve been asked to consider dividing my time between Mozambique and the two West Africa fields where we work, Guinea and Senegal. During recent meetings, New Tribes leaders from Africa met to discuss the future of our works in the continent. It includes a shift from country-based work to region-based work and the combining of resources as much as possible..

There are some significant administrative challenges in doing this and it’s a great time to scrap the old ways of thinking where needed along with addressing all the things that need to happen to see the regions function well. We are praying for creativity and wisdom and look forward to what develops.

The current plan is for me to help with the planning and implementation of our regionalization efforts. I am looking at spending up to a month at a time in either Senegal or Guinea, possibly 3-4 times in 2009. This is all highly tentative since there are many unknowns, but we intend to start the process and modify plans as things take shape.

I’m looking forward to this added role in spite of the uncertainty and added financial costs. Some of the uncertainty will be addressed shortly after my first trip when we all can evaluate if I am a right fit for this task. It may be that my ability to assist in this restructuring is limited and only one trip will be necessary to determine this. It may be that we find that the restructuring is less complicated than we are expecting. It may be that much of it can be handled via email. Time will sort this all out for us while the Lord directs our steps.

I’d be glad for any thoughts, counsel, comments. Thanks for praying for all of this.

Your hands and feet in Mozambique,

Kris Klebs

It’s hard to imagine the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season in the US while it’s toasty hot here. We’ve had a few showers lately – our rainy season is beginning. We thank God for the water now at the tail end of the dry season. This is the time of year when food supplies start to dwindle while prices go up. But the rain means people can plant and work their gardens now.

Things are well with me and our team. We heard some great news recently – news of the first handful of believers in one of the villages where we work. The missionary couple there has been teaching a small group of influential men, some actually pastors, and then recording the lessons for distribution to the rest of the village on mp3 players.

During the missionary’s time of language and culture study they learned that this particular people group does not typically pass on information in group settings with a primary speaker like we do (like at school or in seminars). They pass on information informally one on one or in small groups or by family. Sort of like the grapevine. It’s a big grapevine given that there are approximately 120,000 in this people group.

With this critical cultural insight our missionaries in the village consulted with the “big men” in the area to arrange for 16 listening groups. Each group has an mp3 player with all the lessons to date on it. The missionary team circulates among the groups to answer questions and to try to determine if there is understanding. They are running like crazy!

Most of the village is nearing completion of the lessons, almost 70 in total. The core group of influential men who heard the lessons first have shown understanding of what they have heard and testified of their trust in Christ. The woman who helps the missionary wife around the house has also testified her understanding of and trust in Christ, as have two men who help the missionaries prepare the lessons and Scripture portions.

We are all excited to see God’s Word bearing fruit among this people group! Everyone on our team is part of this sort of work – bringing the Gospel to those who have not yet heard it and then working with the new church to maturity. It’s not a quick process, but the end result is a healthy church that carries on the work without depending on the missionaries.

As the missionary couple in this village make the rounds speaking to each family after they complete the lesson series we will undoubtedly hear of more who have heard, understood, and believed the truth of Christ. Thank God with us and pray for endurance for this missionary couple and their new partner, Arnie, who is learning the language and culture. Arnie’s primary role after this will be to translate the Bible into the local language as well as help disciple the Church towards maturity. It’s a big job for just 3 people.

Please pray too for new Church. That they have a hunger to know more, that they gain a deeper understanding of their salvation, and that they are able to stand up against the criticism that will come against them for choosing to trust in Christ. It’s staggering to think how different the Christian worldview is compared to their current worldview.

Thanks for your role in bringing the Gospel to Mozambique. God is indeed working through us all.

Although there are five nationalities represented by the handful of NTM missionaries in our town, we spent Saturday afternoon together celebrating an American Thanksgiving. There was no turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, or football on TV but we managed just fine.

We each shared a thing or two that we were thankful for over the past year, and a theme quickly emerged. Many cited their gratefulness to still be in Mozambique, and that God continues to work in and through us in spite of our tremendous weaknesses. Sound fairly routine, maybe even blasé? Not to us. When seen through the glasses of cross-culture living, it has a bit of a twist.

The history book of NTM Mozambique will show that 2008 was a difficult year. For many on our team, including me, it was the first full year living in Africa – a year filled with many adjustments, ups and downs, and a need to align the expectations brought to the field with reality. The enemy takes advantage of this vulnerable time as well, taking liberty to discourage, refocus, and distract. And we can’t overlook the role our flesh plays as it seeks opportunity for victory.

Then there is the sometimes soft, sometimes shouting voice calling us back to the comfortable and familiar life in our own countries. There are the vast cultural differences that separate us from the Mozambicans we’ve come to minister to – is it worth the effort to make the planks necessary to build even a small rickety bridge between us? The heat, sickness, fear, filth, and unending stares all add their own measure of pressure and distraction.

Our minds battle with unkind thoughts about our host country and its people, about our co-workers, about our spouse. We confess, only to find we have the same ugly thoughts again and again. We indentify with Paul in Romans as he cries out in response to his own recurring battles, “O wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of sin?”.

We take comfort knowing our solution is always at hand. We know how to overcome. God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We lack nothing. It’s all there for the choosing. Yes, it’s our choice. And every family here has chosen to persevere, to let God ease them along the journey even when presented with many reasons to choose something else.

Yes, we are grateful to be here. We are grateful, even amazed that God uses us as we are time and again confronted with the ugliness of our own sin and weakness. In spite of it all – or is it because of it all – we remain thankful and humbled.

I share this so you will remember to pray for the missionaries you know. Pray that they make time to spend in the Word. Pray that they keep their eyes on Christ and off their circumstances. Pray they walk with the Spirit and do what He would have them do each day, there is so much work to choose from.

Thanks for letting God use YOU to be part of his work here in Mozambique.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I received some unexpected funds and was able to attend the leadership meetings in Guinea, West Africa.

Heard first-hand what our organziation is planning as a whole as well as plans that are specific to Africa.

Also came away with some options for my future ministry.

Now I ask for prayer for that – wisdom and discernment in the decision making and beyond.

Thanks for your prayers!

There is a small group of people from Spokane coming here at the end of July. They have offered to bring mail back to Mozambique for me. So….if you would like to send me (or even my whole team here) a letter, postcard, magazine articles, or whatever, now would be a good time.

Here’s how we have it set up. All letters should be dropped off or mailed to the Fourth Memorial church office (address and directions below). Everything needs to arrive there by the close of business on Monday, July 21.

Flat stuff is best, like letters, pictures, notes, your favorite sermon CD’s, etc. I don’t want to send them back with 10 pounds of stuff or a lot of bulk, so don’t send any rocks this time please

Put my name clearly on the front so we avoid mix-ups along the way. If you are dropping off at the church there is no need to put an address or anything else besides my name.

It would be great to hear from you!

Mailing or drop off address:

Fourth Memorial Church

Attn: Kris Klebs

2000 N Standard St

Spokane WA 99207

General driving directions:

Between Hamilton/Nevada and Division, one block north of Sharp. Close to the Gonzaga campus.

Try www.mapquest.com for specific directions and a good map

God is at work among our team and all around us.

Our village teams are progressing in the tribal languages and culture. One village team recently finished their first literacy class and is translating Scripture portions in order to prepare lessons for the evangelistic teaching that is expected to begin later this year. The other teams continue to press on to understand the unwritten local languages and cultures. Pray for them – for joy in the mundane task of language study, for perseverance in this long task, and for continued reliance on the Lord for all things.

Our city team is dwindling, some finishing the study of the national language (Portuguese) and culture and preparing to join the village teams. We are excited to see them ready to join the village teams as there is much to do, and many who need to hear the message they will bring. The handful of us who make up the administrative team are diminishing in number even as we grow more efficient little by little. We are becoming more able to serve our church planting village teams with fewer people, and that’s great news.

Thanks for continuing to stand with me. There have been ups and downs during my first year here and receiving your emails, letters, and your hard-earned money are great reminders that I’m not alone.

Thanks for continuing to pray for me. Check out the prayer requests on the prayer page link to the left. There are some new photos too. Click on the Photos tab on the top of this page.

ps:  Hey Spokane friends – I’ve been noticing that our weather is about the same these days, although you’ve got us beat on those days you hit the 90’s!

I’m wondering if I should attend our organizations Africa leadership conference in October/November. There would be a number of benefits, but perhaps not enough to justify the expense. The conference will be held in a different African country and tickets are outrageously expensive (from my perspective, anyway).

We will be discussing the future direction of ministry in Africa which is key to my next steps once finished in Mozambique. We will also be discussing our organizations’ global ministry strategy, church planting strategy based on the changing needs of Africa, etc. It will also be excellent to network and learn from other leaders.

So…please join me in prayer for some answers to this. It’s pretty great to be able to pray about wonderful opportunities! Thanks.

I’m going to be frank about some of the challenges I would appreciate prayer for:
• That I make the right choices as I continue to adjust to life here.
o It’s easy for me to try to fix the symptoms of culture shock, but it doesn’t work. And I’ve managed to make some things worse because of my bad choices. But yet, I can be stubborn…
• That I not let fear gain a foothold.
o Sometimes bad things happen here, just as they do anywhere. I need to remind myself that fear isn’t something to dwell on but Christ is.
• That I am a wise, effective member of the team.
o The need here is great for effective, disciplined people. It is my desire to be fully available to God and the team in these ways. But sometimes…