NTM

We are just back from our trip, and want to take a chance to fill you in on some of the things we experienced, discovered, and decided while we were away. As we had said, we took some of our free time between units of language study to go explore central Indonesia. Since we were considering that area for a future ministry location (while awaiting allocation to a tribal church plant), we were happy to spend some vacation days there looking around. 

In our 6 days there, we were able to attend a local church service (at a church that will have a big part in helping us adjust to the area), meet with local mission leadership, visit the Indonesian missionary training center, talk with staff and students there, and share a meal with some Indonesian tribal missionaries. In all, it was a good and profitable time. We made a  definite decision to move there when we finish our language school here (mid-November or early December). And we have a more accurate idea now of what to expect (or not expect) when we arrive. We still have many questions about our specific ministry roles and other details, but right now we’ll be involved in three main tasks: 

1. Finishing our language study. We’ll finish our language school with plenty of room to grow and with the fluency standards that our mission has set for us, we’ll still have a lot to learn.
2. Helping other families with language study. We’ll be in a place to be an aide to NEWER families who will be arriving and studying language there as well. Since we are NOT Indonesians, we will only help facilitate these language learners meeting with local churches/believers who are Indonesian.
3. Serving at the missionary training center. We’ll take this last ministry on slowly as our language ability allows us. There are needs for teachers over the next few semesters as the student body is as large as its ever been, so we might find ourselves taking on those type roles by early next year.

 There are many aspects of these different ministries that are quite frightening! We are trusting God to arrange all the details and bring us through His path at the right pace. For the time being, though, our primary ministry goal is studying Indonesian culture and language through relationship building in everyday experiences with the people we share life with now.

 We’re excited about moving on to new things, but we need your prayers for the endurance and patience to finish well what we are currently doing. We also need your prayers as we add another little person to our family in 8 months or so! Amy has been morning sick for a few weeks already and would love to feel well again. She was to a doctor yesterday and everything looks good…so now we wait!

Thank you for taking part in what God is doing in our lives and around the world. God bless.

The Huttemans.

Well, we are technically half way through our language school course (although we feel far from half way capable in Indonesian yet). That means that we are half way through this beginning time of transition and orientation. It means we are half way to moving on from here to another island. It means we are half a step closer to our eventual goal of moving interior and beginning a tribal ministry.

 All this begs the question: WHAT NEXT?

 Of all the options that are open to us right now, some seem better fitting than others. As we are now between units of study (a sort of mini summer vacation) we decided to take some of that time to visit another city where we could possibly allocate after leaving Central Java. Although not a tribal ministry, the things available to us there are very exciting and challenging. Our team leaders agree that we should keep focused on moving into a tribal location. So, like our current role as bookkeepers, any ministry we get involved in there will be a short term commitment. As we are already finding, everything that we do during this preparation period will only help the overall team and hone our skills and gifts.

 So we are leaving Friday afternoon for a week of vacati—…I mean, survey in another of Indonesia’s major cities. We’ll have a chance to meet some team members there, explore the city, visit a local missionary training center, attend a local church, and get an overall feel for the place that God might be taking us next.

 We will be thinking through all our options and making some definite decisions during this week and the weeks to come. We are not stellar decision makers, but God has made this choice a little easier already by showing us that He is able to use us anywhere that we are willing to be used. If that means serving in this new city for a while before moving on to other things, than we’re willing.

Please pray that we would constantly seek God’s Wisdom.

 Photos and stories when we get home.

The Huttemans

Do you ever feel just a little bit uncomfortable doing something…but you do it anyway? 

sometimes it takes wearing a skirt to fit in

Recently I sat around with a few friends drinking coffee and chatting until 11 pm. Now, sitting around with friends is a very comfortable thing. Drinking coffee is one of the MOST comfortable things. And chatting has become more and more comfortable as we continue to soak up new language.  Remaining coherent until 11 pm has been something that I’ve been practicing and with the aide of the overly sweetened coffee, I am also pretty comfy doing that. The one thing that made this particular shooting of the breeze slightly uncozy was the fact that most of us were wearing skirts (well, technically they were sarungs…but we all know the truth). This being my first time to venture outside in my newly acquired wrap around, I felt just a little bit conspicuous. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to worry too much about sitting etiquette as I was advised to wear my shorts underneath. 

I won’t get into how well I adjusted to the new attire or how I forgot to take it off when I got home. Those are all minor details that don’t really contribute to the theme of this email. What does relate however, is that we have definitely been asked to do some uncomfortable things in order to adapt ourselves to life and ministry here. Lately that has meant hosting a neighborhood Bible study group, attending funerals, showing up at an engagement party at our landlord’s place even though we haven’t been formally invited just to show that we care enough to crash their party, drive new missionary families (only slightly newer than us, really) through white-knuckle traffic into town so they can do some essential shopping to set up their houses, and more of the same. None of that would fall into the “naturally comfortable” category for us. 

But just like wearing a man-skirt in public, these little discomforts have managed to become more cozy. We continue to praise God for the grace He gives us to make these minor changes in ourselves that allow us to become the people He needs us to be. A big part of that process still includes becoming slightly fluent speakers. We are currently in our 5^th of 9 one month units of study at the language school here. As we near that mid-point, we are beginning to seek some direction for our ministry after language study. Some options have been presented, but as we are still uncertain we feel it is unfair to you if we claim right now to know which way we’ll go. We do ask, however, that you please pray with us for wisdom to make these decisions. All of them include us making more adjustments and taking on more uncomfortable tasks and responsibilities. But as long as I can wear my sarung, I guess it doesn’t really matter where we end up!

Thank you for praying for us recently in the situation with the little girl who had the motorcycle accident. The family just arrived home from the hospital. Amy was able to visit this afternoon (surely an uncomfortable thing for her) and she said that she didn’t know which child it was until her mother pointed her out. After that, Amy did realize that she didn’t talk much and had some difficulty getting around. All in all, the recovery seems to be going well. We are looking for the right way and opportunity to share that they and their family were prayed for by so many of our faithful friends back home (ie: YOU). Thank you for giving the chance to talk with them about something as important! 

And thank you for your support and prayers!

Michael and Amy Hutteman

 This story was featured on New Tribes Mission’s front page

Since writing and asking prayer for our neighbors and their 2 year old who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident this week,  we’ve been able to learn a little bit more about the situation. In fact, I just walked in the door after hearing the latest news. A van load of people from our community drove 2 hours to Solo and back to visit the family in the hospital there. Although the little victim is still in the ICU, they say that she “already woke up” but that she “can’t remember yet”. We’re finding that in these medical situations, the language barrier seems pretty thick; but I take that to mean that she’s awake but maybe not totally coherent yet. 

We got so many responses from people who have been praying for her, that I wanted you all to know what’s happening and to ask you to keep praying. I was able to talk with one close friend about the whole situation and I told him that I was praying for the victim and her family. Although we cast our requests in two very different directions, I think that he can appreciate my intention there. Maybe our neighbors will see the hand of The Great Physician at work in their situation and be drawn to Him through it. 

Thank you for supporting us through your prayers.

Michael and Amy