Wow only 5 months until we depart for Indonesia. Every day we think of something else we need to buy, pack or put on a list for our first term in Indonesia-so much to do.

We continue to speak in churches and meet with friends and I must say God has used so many of you to encourage us. Thank you. A week ago we got a letter of encouragement from a ladies group in Montana, and another letter from someone just sharing what was happening in their life. Thank you. That meant the world to us and gave us ways we could pray. Our support level is still around 70% of what we need to depart for Indonesia. We thank God for each of you who support us and pray for us. We appreciate you all.

Nathan is leaving for Oklahoma in March for a 2 week maintenance course on turbine engines. He will be at Covington aircraft engines just south of Tulsa. They are a Christian run aircraft repair facility that is offering free training to any NTMA personnel. The Wilson’s have offered their trailer as a place for him to stay while he is there, so he only needs to pay for food, gas and transportation to and from the course. What a huge blessing. He will also go to California in April for another maintenance course but this time he will be working on helicopters. We are so thankful he has the opportunity to get this additional maintenance training which is needed on the field to help the spread of the gospel to the unreached people of Indonesia. Thank you God!!

Here are a few prayer requests we would ask you to lift up for us:

1. Pray for the raising up of dedicated prayer partners. People who will lift us up and pray for this journey of obedience to God.

2. Pray for more financial partners. People who will join us in taking the good news to Indonesia. We can’t do it without partners.

3. Pray for our packing. So many decisions of what to take, what not to take. Packing for 4 years at a time is a huge challenge.

4. Pray for our little van. It is in need of repairs and is feeling all those miles we have put on it in the last 3 years.

5. Pray for Nathan’s maintenance training in March and also in April. Pray that God would prepare him for what is needed in Indonesia.

6. Pray for the meeting of our travel expenses to Indonesia. We are overwhelmed at times with the cost of airfares, shipping and visas. Pray God would calm our hearts and keep the focus on HIM and HIS purposes.

Thank you for the part you are playing. Write us if you get the chance and let us know how you are and what is happening in your life.

In service together,

Nathan, LaNada, Alaiyah and Anikah Tag

Correspondence:
130 Turkey Scratch Road.
Spencer, TN 38585
Phone: 406-531-5838
nathan-lanada_tag@ntm.org

Contributions:
New Tribes Mission
1000 East First Street
Sanford, FL 32771
www.ntm.org/give/2250

We have been back in Tennessee for a few weeks now. Christmas and New Years with family here was great. Of course Alaiyah and Anikah miss their grandpa, grandma, cousins and family in Montana, but have had so much fun with nana and papa and family here.

It has been overwhelming at times with the amount of things that have to be done between now and July when we leave for Indonesia. Imagine having to plan and pack for 4 years overseas. There are supplies to buy and ship, Visas to complete, airplane tickets to get, churches and friends to visit and so many other things sometimes we feel that our head is just above water. Praise the Lord that He is here with us. We are daily reminded that our strength lies in Him and without Him all this would seem too much.

We would ask for your prayers for us as we seek to partner with churches and individuals in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Pray that God would lead us to those who want to join us. We are at around 72% of our needed monthly support to live and serve in Indonesia and thank God for his provision so far. He is faithful.

We would also ask for your prayers for our Visas. As we mentioned before we sent our first packet out 2 months ago and are waiting for the Indonesian field to send an OK for us to apply for our Visa through the Indonesian Consulate in Washington D.C. Pray that everything would go smoothly and we would hear back from them real soon.

Thank you for your support and prayers. Every day we are reminded of the faithfulness of God and his direction in our lives. If you would like us to speak in your church, small group or just come see you before we leave, please send us an email or give us a call.

“Mommy, I want grace”, was a statement Alaiyah made just a few days ago when an imminent corrective action was at hand. What a teachable moment for both of our hearts. Grace is a word we use a lot and yet it is a word that we can not even begin to understand except at the feet of our savior. It has been a busy four months here in Montana spending time with family and building new friendships. The Lord has allowed many opportunities to speak in churches, small groups, Awana clubs, and Sunday school classes. It has been great seeing people respond to the need of reaching the unreached. Many of whom have had no idea there were still thousands of unreached people groups that still don’t know of Christ or have the Bible in their own language.

Our time in Montana has also been a real growing experience for us as a family. It has united us like never before in a common direction and purpose. God has really been teaching us to just Trust His grace for each day and teaching us to wait and rest on Him. When things get busy or people respond differently than expected, we are learning how essential it is to rest in the gracious arms of our Savior. The girls are adjusting to all the changes in their lives. Alaiyah and Anikah have had fun taking swimming lessons and ballet (Thanks Nana and Papa), playing with their cousins and enjoying the great outdoors with Grandpa and Grandma- sledding in the snow for the first time. Even though they still ask us where our home is, they seem excited about the transition to, as our 2 year old, Anikah would say, “In Do knee zH UH”.

We sent off our first application for our visas to Indonesia and got a confirmation email that they received it. Thank you all so much for your prayers. We are so thankful for God’s hand. Once the consulate in Washington gets the OK from Indonesia we will apply for our permanent visa. We would ask for your prayers that there would be no issues with our initial application packet as the leadership in Indonesia and Consulate reviews it.

We are headed South on December 14th for a Tennessee Christmas with family and friends there. Please pray for our travels and that our van would run well and we wouldn’t have any difficulties. A huge prayer request is that God would totally allow us time to really share in Tennessee and the surrounding states. We will be in and around Tennessee until our departure for Indonesia in July so if you would like us to speak in your church or small group just give us a call or e-mail us.
We would love to hear from you.

May God bless all of you during this wonderful Christmas season as we celebrate our Saviors birth. Imagine if you had never heard of Jesus. Imagine how empty December would be if the whole month was nothing more than gifts, food and Santa Claus. There are millions of unreached people in this world who live that reality. Please pray that they will know Christ and His amazing Grace and that we ALL would share “LIFE” with them. Merry Christmas-We are so thankful for YOU in our life.

With much love and thanks as we celebrate Christ together,
Nathan, LaNada, Alaiyah and Anikah Tag

1. Pray for us as we travel. We will be all over the country from Pennsylvania to Washington state.

2. Pray for God to lead us to those who would partner with us in prayer and financially.

3. Pray for our training bills. We still have a considerable amount we owe NTM for flight training and we can’t leave for Indonesia until they are completely paid off.

4. Pray for these last few months with family. Pray that God would prepare our parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and our other relatives hearts for our departure.

5. Pray that the passport, visa and other paperwork needed to get in the country would get through with no problems and back to us quickly.

Praise the Lord!! We are done with our training in Arizona. Nathan finished his last flight on the 13th. We are now in Tennessee and are so glad to be on our way to Indonesia in what seems like a very few months for us. We are starting the necessary paperwork needed and getting the passports for the girls and all so that we can begin working on our visas and flights. It is our prayer to be leaving for Indonesia no later than May of next year. We plan to visit friends and family here in Tennessee and in Montana and every state in between before we leave. We would love to see you or even speak in your church or bible study group. If that opportunity avails itself please let us know. We are so thankful to be partnered with you to reach the unreached.

Praise the Lord!!  I passed my commercial helicopter add-on check ride today and am so thankful to the Lord.  It was a three hour oral exam of my knowledge of helicopter operations and aerodynamic theory, and a 2 hour flight which tested my skill as a helicopter pilot.  Now it is on to fixed wing training in the Cessna 206.  After the 206 training our time in Arizona will be complete and we will be one step closer to leaving for Indonesia and supporting the tribal works there.  Thank you all for your prayers and support during the helicopter training. 

Today was my first flight in the R-44 and talk about exciting!!  Thank you Lord for this opportunity to learn another skill which will allow me a greater flexibility in serving the tribal church planters in Indonesia.  Flying helicopters is very different from flying fixed wing airplanes.  It is kind of like standing on a beach ball and balancing it perfectly in one spot.  Hovering is the most difficult but my instructor, John Mark, assures me with time my body will develop the muscle memory to do it precisely.   I will spend three months learning to fly the helicopter and after a grueling check ride will earn my helicopter commercial add-on. 

On Friday, NTMA received its brand new R44 helicopter from Robinson helicopter in California.  It is slated to go to Indonesia in 2008 to service tribal missionaries and greatly speed the gospel getting to remote tribal people. 

Nathan is planning to start flight training in the R44 starting on November 29th.  This training will last for 2-3 months and will greatly increase Nathan’s ability to serve the tribal missionaries.  Please be praying for us as Nathan starts training in the R44.  That he will retain what he learns and excel in this demanding training.  Learning to fly a helicopter is very different from flying a fixed wing aircraft.  Pray Nathan will catch on quickly.   We will send out more pictures once the training starts. 

This past October I finished up my flight ground school and part of that training was a course on ditching/water survival. 

 In many of the locations that NTMA services the tribal missionaries there is a lot of flying over water.  We learned how to get ourselves and the passengers out of a sinking aircraft if an emergency ditching (landing in the water) took place.  Also how to operate our life vests and the life raft, how to handle injuries in the water and how to get injured people into the life raft.  We all traveled to Sierra Vista (west of Mcneal) where we rented a public wave pool for an hour and got to put our training in practice.  They started up the waves and we all jumped in with uninflated vests and a life raft still in its casing.  I was one of the lucky few to be secretly chosen to act like I had a broken arm.  We learned how to inflate our vests, stay together amidst the waves and get the life raft inflated.  Another guy named Marcos was also pretending to be unconscious so we had to get him in the raft first and then me with my broken arm.  Once we were all in the raft unfortunately we had a large leak and had to deal with sealing the leak, keeping the water out and assessing our situation. 

Great training and if in the unlikely event I ever have to ditch in the water this kind of training will be invaluable.  I am really thankful to be part of an organization like NTMA who is so concerned about our safety and taking the time to train us how to deal with situation like this. 

Take a look at our PHOTOS section of this website for more photos of my ditching/water survival course. 

Nathan

Where do you feel God is leading you to serve overseas?
We are praying a lot about this and are open to wherever God would have us serve. We do feel a real pull in our hearts toward Indonesia and are daily seeking God’s voice in this area. Other possibilities for us are the Philippines and Papau New Guinea. After we are finished with our training we will have a better idea as to where NTM sees us best fitting in and where the openings are.

How will your children be educated overseas?
Our children will be educated either at a missions school where we are located or if none is available, then LaNada will home school our girls. We strongly feel that they should be with us and involved in the ministry God has called us as a family to.

Is NTM part of a denomination?
New Tribes Mission is non-denominational. A variety of evangelical churches send out missionaries to serve through NTM.

How is it decided where a missionary will serve?
The missionary and their sending church make that decision, in fellowship with the leadership team in the country where they desire to serve. The missionary’s talents, gifts and abilities are considered, especially as they relate to tasks involved in planting tribal churches.

To whom are NTM missionaries accountable? They are accountable to their sending churches through the leadership team in the country where they serve.

Are NTM missionaries salaried?
No. In faith, each missionary looks to the Lord for provision of financial needs. Support comes primarily from sending churches, with additional help from other churches and individuals.

What about benefits?
NTM has group medical and life insurance plans. Missionaries are also required to take part in a 403b retirement plan, and NTM offers advice in this area. NTM also has a retirement center for missionaries in Florida.

How do NTM missionaries raise support?
NTM missionaries are not salaried. In faith, they look to the Lord for provision of their financial needs. They are encouraged to share about their ministry and be open about their needs. Support comes from sending churches and people like you who have a heart for the unreached people of this world.

How can I contribute to your ministry?
There are three ways you can currently give to our ministry. 1. send your check or money order (made out to NTM with our names in the memo line) to NTM 1000 E. First St., Sanford, FL 32771-1487 2. You can give by phone by calling 407-547-2345 3. You can give online securely at our website www.ntm.org/nathan-lanada_tag. You can also setup monthly electronic transfers by contacting the financial office of NTM at 407-547-2345 or email them at
finance-office_hq@ntm.org.

How much of our financial giving will you receive?
Your donation will be used in full for the expenses of our ministry.  None of it is used for administration costs or anything outside of our ministry expenses.

Is my gift tax deductible?
You will receive a tax-deductible receipt for all gifts made payable to New Tribes Missions for the support of us. Personal gifts, marked “birthday” for example, will be received, forwarded and marked as non-tax-deductible.

How much support do you need?
Currently our support requirements are $5000/month. This includes living expenses, traveling, health insurance, life insurance, training costs and food. This amount includes all our expenses including those usually provided in an employer’s benefits package. If you would like a detailed break-down of our ministry expenses please email us and we would be glad to send you that information.

What is your current support level?
We are currently at 30% of our ministry expense level. We need $5000/month and we are currently receiving around $1500/month. We would ask that you pray about being part of our ministry. Our current level of support is well below our needs to live and complete training as well as head overseas shortly after our training is complete. Thankfully we serve a God who holds everything in His hands and will provide. We are confident of that.

Does NTM have a website?
Yes. It is www.ntm.org NTM aviation also has a website at www.ntm.org/ntmaviation