AWAYO – Fear to Faith (English subtitles) from New Tribes Mission on Vimeo.

In the remote corners of the world, unreached people groups have existed for generations.

They live in fear of the spirits.

They die without hope.

This is Awayo’s story.

We finished up our travels and jumped right back into work here at the NTM USA Home Offices.

PRAISES:

• • Jenn’s class at camp went very well, and she was blessed when a 14-year-old girl in her small group shared the Gospel with the other campers. During an in-depth conversation about the Bible and Christianity, Jenn was able to join in to clarify some things, and was encouraged by 3 campers who did a fantastic job representing Christ in love.

• • God provided all the money to replace our (now dead) desktop computer. What a blessing and THANK YOU!

• • We spoke at 5 different churches during our time in WV and VA, and the Lord was working at each place. It is such a privilege to share the news about what God is doing around the world. We serve a big God who is doing amazing things! It was rejuvenating and energizing for us to talk about tribal missions. We also had the opportunity to speak to day-camp kids at the Wade Center in Bluefield. We had planned to talk about missions, but the Lord led us to spend more time clearly sharing the Gospel with those kids. We trust God will water those seeds.

• • After more than 50 hours in our van traveling over 5 1/2 weeks, we arrived home safely! Praise God for his protection!

As soon as we returned home, Patrick got right to work on a big project. All of the ministry websites for NTM missionaries are changing in format, and the Communications Department is in charge of that huge transition. Patrick has been working with programmers and preparing training videos to help our missionaries with this changeover. It’s been fun, though, to hear from missionary friends around the world who watched the training videos and recognized Patrick’s voice behind them.

While Patrick has been working hard in the office, Jenn has been focused on school. We had to buy school supplies for the 4 children who are attending LMCA, NTM’s school for missionary kids, and we had to get everything we needed to homeschool Caleb. Of course, we also had to spend as much time swimming in the pool with friends, eeking out as much fun at the end of summer vacation as possible. What a blessing the NTM pool is to us!

School began last Thursday, so we have happily settled into a routine. The changes to the NTM websites have just been implemented, so Patrick will soon be working on other projects.

PRAISES:

• • The schoolchildren are off to a great start! Lauren is in 6th grade; Rachel is in 5th grade; Silas is in 2nd grade; and Jackson has begun kindergarten. Caleb is doing 3rd grade work at home.

• • The school administrator allowed Jenn to speak to all the faculty about Tourette Syndrome. Everyone was very receptive, and Rachel and Silas were able to begin the year feeling comfortable that all the adults understood their tics.

• • All the major obstacles with the ministry websites conversion were able to be resolved.

• • Caleb is already responding very well to some new learning strategies Jenn is trying out. God has given us great optimism for Caleb’s ability to do 3rd grade.

PRAYER:

• • Please pray for all the details in the transition of NTM member’s ministry websites and for our missionaries as they learn to use the new system.

• • Please pray for the Lord to move in people’s hearts as they hear the radio stories, which are playing on at least 90 radio stations around the country. Patrick has had the privilege of writing and editing these stories, and Jenn was able to record many of them in the studio. A brand new station and all its affiliates has added these encouraging stories to their daily lineup. Check them out at www.ntm.org/listen

• • Please pray for Jenn as she balances her days of homeschooling Caleb, mothering Griffin, and managing household tasks.

• • Please pray for Patrick’s health. His blood glucose levels have not been where we want them since his heart problems in the winter. He is working hard to be more disciplined and figure out the proper insulin dosages through his insulin pump, and Jenn is trying to cook heart-healthy, diabetic-friendly meals. We are praying for healthy blood glucose levels. Also, Patrick’s heart doctor informed him that his pacemaker/defibrillator was activated several time in response to episodes of rapid heartbeats over the past three months.

• • Finally, please pray particularly for Silas and Jackson. Silas is almost 7 and is so concerned that 5-year-old Jackson has not accepted Christ yet. He regularly tells Jackson, “You know, you could get saved today. You could just pray sometime today before you go to bed.” And he recently got very upset when Jackson spoke of dying and practically yelled, “You don’t want to die! You’d go straight to Hell. You haven’t asked Jesus to be your Savior yet!” Finally, as a last resort, Silas held up part of his lunch and offered, “I’ll give you a Dorito if you get saved right now!” While we have gotten some laughs from Silas’ tactics, we are glad he seems so burdened for his younger brother. We are praying that Silas will learn to trust the Holy Spirit to work in Jackson’s heart, and that Jackson will soon understand the Gospel message and his need for a relationship with Christ.

We’ve written so much already, and still there’s much more to tell. For instance, our co-workers in the Banwaon tribe in the Philippines have recently checked the books of Revelation and 1st & 2nd Thessalonians, which means the Banwaon New Testament is 40% complete. That is exciting! And even more exciting — after almost 30 years of work, 2,000 copies of the Higaunon New Testament are printed and on their way to the Philippines. Can you imagine? Your brothers and sisters in Christ are receiving the entire New Testament in their own language for the first time!

That is what it’s all about. That’s why we’re here. And that’s why you pray for us and give to us and encourage us. And someday we will sing praises around Christ’s throne with our Banwaon and Higaunon brothers and sisters. (Rev. 5:9)

Thank you for your faithfulness!

We’re humbly serving with you,

Patrick & Jennifer

www.ntm.org/patrick_hatcher

patrick_hatcher@ntm.org

WAYUMI – Your adventure into tribal missions

Dear friends & family,

Jennifer here. We have had a busy spring and a full start to our summer. We have much to tell you, but we’ll start with the question that is probably at the top of your list.

Patrick’s Health

Patrick is doing very well. He has recently seen both of his cardiologists (the plumbing guy and the electrical guy), and he received good reports from both of them.

The ICD has not activated since he was discharged from the hospital, so that means his daily medicine is doing its job. He has gradually regained energy and strength. The medication has a few unpleasant side effects, but he is adjusting to those. Overall, he has been a gold-star patient for his cardiologists — the kind of happy ending they don’t see all that often in this particular health situation.

Because this condition is caused by a mutated gene, we understand that any or all of our children could also grow to have this same heart malfunction. We took them all (at the same time — the pediatric cardiologist’s office blocked off most of a Friday morning for the Hatcher six) to have their hearts checked out; and as of right now, they all look healthy. Either every year or every other year, they will have an EKG, an echocardiogram, and a 24-hour heart monitor just to watch for any arrhythmias and any fattening of the lower right side of their hearts. And though initially the thought of this absolutely overwhelmed me, God has given me grace and peace to take it year-by-year and trust in Him.

The four older children had a busy spring with school projects and testing and an end-of-year play and musical program while Jackson, Griffin, and I finished up studying the life of Moses in Bible Study Fellowship. Throw in a couple cases of the flu, a tummy virus, and the usual day-to-day activities, and you have our spring.

As you may remember, we also made a spur-of-the-moment trip to West Virginia for the funeral of my sister-in-law’s mother and ended up already being in West Virginia when Patrick’s aunt and uncle were suddenly killed in a car accident. We were so thankful God directed our decisions at that time so that we were where we needed to be when we needed to be there.

Lauren completed fifth grade and was happy to have a sixth grade girl join their combined class for the last few weeks of school. Until that time, Lauren was the only girl in a roomful of boys. Rachel finished up her fourth grade year and is looking forward to being in a shared classroom with Lauren next year. Silas completed first grade and has settled in nicely to school.

Caleb worked very hard to complete second grade. In the winter, we had Caleb privately evaluated by an educational psychologist. She recognized some processing difficulties with Caleb, which explains his struggles with reading and spelling and following directions. After a great deal of discussion with the principal and teachers and after much prayer, we have decided to homeschool Caleb next year for third grade. Caleb and I are already choosing topics to study in science and I am learning some fun ways to help him with spelling. He is continuing to work hard at becoming a good reader, and I am seeing much progress. He has even been reading a children’s version of Treasure Island. It is a joy to hear him read aloud and understand what he is reading!

Jackson turned 5 in April, and he is very excited to start kindergarten in the fall. And little Griffin is 3 1/2 and wanting to do everything his big brothers do. Well, almost everything — he still can’t get the knack of being potty-trained.

Patrick has had a busy spring in the Communications Department. He has done less writing and editing and more project management, which God has especially equipped him to do. He has worked on several brochures and packets of information for Kodiak mission airplane events. http://www.ntm.org/kodiak

Patrick has continued to work on NTM@work and the special online edition and supplements of the print magazine. http://www.ntm.org/magazine

He’s worked with a team of people on a short film about the Moi people of Indonesia. http://ntmfilms.wordpress.com

And he is working with a committee of people on some big changes to the NTM website.

Both of us have continued to be involved with the one-minute radio stories that are playing on Christian radio stations around the country. These radio spots may be the very first introduction some people have to tribal missions and unreached people groups. If you haven’t heard them, you can listen at http://www.ntm.org/listen

Of course, the Communications Department has many more projects, but these are just a few of the things that have been keeping Patrick busy this year.

In May, Patrick and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. To belatedly celebrate that anniversary last week, we were able to get away on a little vacation without the children. The last time we spent the night away from the children was in the hospital ER, so this was MUCH more enjoyable. The Lord knew we needed this time away together to be refreshed and renewed, and we are so thankful He provided for it.

On Saturday, very early in the morning, we are strapping everyone into the van and heading north. We hope to arrive in Radford, Virginia in time to eat dinner and unpack before bedtime. We’ll spend the next week helping out at our home church’s Vacation Bible School and visiting with friends. Then we’ll spend the next four weeks in WV or VA visiting friends and family and speaking in some churches. I am excited that I even get to spend a week as a counselor at a state 4-H camp for teenagers in West Virginia and teach a daily class on helping others and making an impact on the world. I’m hoping for many opportunities to talk about the work of NTM in casual conversations with the kids that week.

• That Patrick has regained strength to work at full capacity here at NTM

• That God blessed Patrick and me with last week to recharge and be refreshed

• That for two of our largest hospital bills (totaling around $192,000) our responsibility ended up being only $82! (This is a miracle in and of itself!)

Prayer Requests

• That God would provide the money we need to pay the remaining hospital bills ($3,000)

• That God would provide the money we need to replace our dying desktop computer ($1,600)

• That we would have safe travels on Saturday

• That God would bless our time with friends, family, and churches and use that time for His glory

• That many teens would sign up for my class at the state 4-H camp about missions, helping others, & impacting the world

• That I would have wisdom in planning Caleb’s schooling for next year

We appreciate you and the vital part of our team that you are.

I have recently heard from two sources this idea that when it comes to missions, we really only have two options — sending or going.

Because every believer is called to reach the world with the Good News, we all must be a part of reaching every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Thank you for doing your part!

In Christ,
Jennifer, for the Hatcher Tribe

I wanted to send along the ANSWER to your prayers over the past few weeks.

THANKS

I\’ll get to the details in just a minute, but I first wanted to thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and gifts over the past few weeks.

Our whole family has been completely overwhelmed by your heartfelt love and friendship.

Thank you seems so shallow … just know that you have warmed our hearts and allowed tears to flow freely in gratitude to our great big Father. He is so good, and we love Him all the more for allowing each of you to work through Him to minister to us.

Now on to the GREAT NEWS!

I went to my heart doctor yesterday, and he said that almost ALL the fluid around my heart is gone! There is just a tiny bit left, and he expects that to go away soon.

That news, along with permission to go to the Philippines this summer for a short trip made my week.

What this all means is that I\’m well on the way to recovery from all this. I am taking it easy and slowly regaining my strength. I\’m impatient, but Jennifer is such a great help in reminding me to take things slowly.

THE KIDS

The kids have sometimes had a difficult time coming to terms with this. Rachel was afraid to go back to school because she was afraid I wouldn\’t be there when she got home. But she\’s over that now. There have been a decent amount of tears coupled with lots of hugs and kisses. All the kids have been resilient, and with the help of my Mom and Dad (who are staying with us for a few weeks) we are all doing ok now.

EXPLANATION

The final explanation is this: I have a condition called Right Ventricular Dysplasia.

The right side of my heart is enlarged, and some of the muscle has been replaced by fatty tissue (making it bigger). This caused the left side of my heart to work harder and beat faster and irregularly. If left unchecked, this would eventually lead to sudden cardiac death because the beats would get so irregular that there would be no blood actually getting pumped by my heart.

You\’ve heard of young football or basketball players who are in great shape but drop dead suddenly on the field or court because of an enlarged heart? That\’s what this is.

The GREAT news is that I have several measures firmly in place to prevent that.

First, I\’m taking medication that regulates my heartbeat. That alone should do the trick. However, my wonderful doctors don\’t want to rely solely on that.

So, second, I have what\’s called an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator), surgically implanted just above my heart that does many amazing things. It keeps track of all my heartbeats … literally. If it detects any irregular heartbeats, it will give me one of three levels of shocks ranging from “slight rumbling in my chest” all the way up to “CLEAR!” (which feels like a strong kick in the chest).

Then, if those shocks cause additional irregular heartbeats, the ICD switches over to pacemaker mode to regulate the heartbeats again.

It\’s an amazing device and I thank our Father for allowing this technology to be around to help me.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Jennifer and I have been focusing on Isaiah 26:3 a lot these past couple of weeks:

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You”

Notice there is no mention of circumstances in that verse. God has kept us in perfect peace. We are at perfect peace right now.

Although we know that my heart condition can be progressive … do I worry about that? No.

Although we know that there will be lots of medical bills in the future … do I worry about that? No.

Although we know that my time here in earth may be more limited than I think … do I worry about that? No.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You”

Thank you again for standing closely with us over the past few weeks. Your prayers have sustained us when we needed it so very much.

As we continue to serve with New Tribes Mission, I encourage you to consider what you can do to advance the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today. Right where you are.

Serving with you,

-Patrick (for the Hatcher tribe)

We’ve been traveling recently. After three and a half weeks and 2700 miles in our van, we are praising God for a good trip!

We spoke with churches, groups of people and individuals in South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Our Father opened eyes and softened hearts, and some people are praying about serving in full-time missions. What a blessing for us to be used in such a way, drawing more workers for the harvest!

One of our favorite parts of the trip was watching God open His children’s eyes about how many people He uses to get and keep a tribal missionary in a tribe. Accountants, builders, teachers, pilots, writers, radio operators, supply buyers — all these and more are a vital part of His Body doing His work in remote tribes. What a blessing to challenge people to consider using the skills they already have in full-time missions!

Our first Sunday at our sending church in Radford, a lady named Sharon came forward at the end of the service to accept Christ. Our pastor, Pastor Morgan, asked me (Jennifer) to come forward and pray with her. Sharon’s prayer of faith and surrender was absolutely beautiful. I am so thankful Pastor Morgan gave me the privilege of praying with Sharon and leading her to Christ. The Holy Spirit knew I needed that gift to encourage me and bless me. Will you please pray for Sharon as she grows in her new relationship with Jesus? I don’t think she’s missed a church service since that Sunday morning, so she’s off on the right track!

We also had plenty of time to visit with friends and family. During our visit, we enjoyed a family reunion, a horseshoe tournament, a cook-out, a trip to a wildlife center, some days splashing in wading pools, a couple days of fishing, an international-themed dinner with friends, many games of Settlers of Catan, an afternoon of geo-caching, and several bowls of fajita soup. Our children enjoyed playing with old friends and cousins. We spent hours chatting and catching up with dear friends, and our children were loved on by grandparents and aunts and uncles.

The Lord blessed our trip greatly. It’s not easy to travel for that long with six children, packing and unpacking and staying up too late and driving so much; but it was definitely worth it!

Thank you so much for your prayers. It also appears that God has used our travels to increase our financial support, which is a real blessing. The Lord has been providing everything we need, and -what’s better- He’s given us a real peace about trusting Him to supply. It is nice, though, to have some more monthly support on paper as we plan and budget. Right now, we’re at about 21% of New Tribe’s recommended support level, which is what we affectionately call our “beans and rice budget.” We are asking God to increase that support so we can have some more wiggle room and put money away for retirement and emergencies and college. But, if God chooses to continue to provide for us moment-by-moment rather than giving us money to plan ahead, we’re satisfied. He never fails us and He will provide for our needs. We are confident in that because of His past faithfulness.

Now, we are back home in Florida. The children have already begun school, and Patrick dove head-first back into work at the Communications Department. I am still trying to unpack everything and get our suitcases stashed back in storage.

Today, we are bracing for Tropical Storm Fay. We’re prepared, and the children are hoping to miss at least one day of school. I think they’re even hoping for a few hours of power failure so they can use their new flashlights. Yesterday, Rachel asked, “If the power doesn’t go out, can we at least turn all the lights off for a couple hours?”

Again, thank you for your prayers. We certainly could not do our part in tribal missions if it weren’t for you all!

Serving with you,

Jennifer for the Hatchers

Wow! We have been at NTM\’s US Headquarters for 7 months now. What a privilege it is to be involved in what God is doing in tribes around the world.

The past few months have been very busy for us.

Our House Sold!

In April, I (Jennifer) traveled back to Virginia to close on the sale of our home there. Praise the Lord! It was only on the market for three months, and everything from the contract to the closing went smoothly. In the months since we\’ve been gone, Patrick\’s dad and mom helped clear out the attic and finish up some last-minute repairs on the house. Without their help, we couldn\’t have moved on down here in December.

Our realtor-friend from our home church, Roxanne, worked hard to advertise and show our house; but most importantly, she prayed for us and for the sale of the house. It sure is nice to know the realtor is trusting God to sell the house. We definitely saw God\’s hand in it all. I also got to visit with some friends, getting in some girl-friend-time with coffee and chocolate.

Visit and Passing

Our sovereign God also worked an extra day into my time there, so I had enough time to drive up to WV to see my Grandma Abel, who was not healing well after a surgery. As it turned out, that was my last visit with my grandma. I\’m so thankful our Father built that extra time into my schedule.

In May, my Grandma Abel went to be with the Lord. All of us traveled to WV for the funeral. It was good to be with almost all our extended family. On the way home, we visited with family and friends in WV, VA, and SC.

Vehicle

Just weeks before our trip to WV, our Father provided a new-to-us 12-passenger van for our family. As many of you may remember, our old Suburban had over 250,000 miles on it, and it had numerous problems during our travels to churches last year. The day after I returned to Florida from closing on our house, the electrical problems we had last year started up again.

We knew it could be dangerous to attempt a long trip in the Suburban and hoped to find a newer vehicle before the summer. As it turned out, the perfect van was for sale by an individual nearby, and the price was a great deal. God provided the money, and we bought the van just in time for the long drive for my grandma\’s funeral.

Caleb and School

During the school year, we also spent a lot of time at school, working with our Caleb on his reading. He has always been a late-bloomer, and reading seems to be no exception. Patrick and I took turns working with him one-on-one with reading while his classmates were in their reading class.

Caleb has really worked hard and come a long way. We\’re still tutoring in reading, and he will probably need our help again in the fall. We\’d appreciate your prayers for this — that Caleb would be excited about learning to read and that we\’d have patience and creativity in teaching him.

Tourette’s

We have also noticed in the past few months that our Silas has all the signs of Tourette Syndrome, like his big sister, Rachel. We haven\’t had him formally diagnosed yet, but we are sure he has TS, mild OCD, and probably ADHD.

So far, the tics haven\’t been a problem at school for either Rachel or Silas. We\’re praying that\’s also true for next year when Silas is at school for full days of first grade. Please pray for wisdom in disciplining both Silas and Rachel and for great patience for us. Sometimes tics can be crazy and wearying for all of us.

Ministry

In the midst of family life, we continue in the ministry here at New Tribes and in the community as well. We\’re taking our turns teaching in KinderChurch at church. I\’m involved with Bible Study Fellowship during the school year, taking Jackson and Griffin along for the wonderful children\’s program. And, of course, we are living and breathing tribal ministry here at Headquarters.

Patrick loves what God has called him to in the communications department. It\’s been fun to see how God is using his specific gifts and talents and learned skills. We know our Lord knew exactly how He would use Patrick here as He was knitting together those gifts and his personality and as He directed him to jobs in the past to learn specific skills.

Patrick is writing and editing and managing projects in the communications department. He\’s involved with the production of in-house publications, the quarterly magazine, various brochures, memos and announcements for our NTM family, video production, radio stories, and much more.

Both of us are helping create over 120 radio stories that will help get the word out about what God is doing through New Tribes in remote parts of the world. It is exciting to tell the stories of tribal people, knowing that God will use their stories to touch hearts, knowing that their stories are really His story, the story of His amazing love for the world. Please pray for open doors at Christian radio stations throughout the country so that many people can hear about unreached people groups and the need to get the Gospel to these tribes.

Summer Travels

We are planning to be in Virginia, South Carolina, and West Virginia for a few weeks at the end of July and beginning of August. One of the main goals of this trip is to continue to raise our level of financial support.

Please pray for safe travels. Since we\’ll be spending a lot of time sitting in the van, which is really difficult for young boys, please pray for contentment and good imaginations for the boys and for creativity in making the trip fun for me. Please also pray that the many and varied Tourette Syndrome tics will be met with a sense of humor from everyone as we\’re all in the van together.

We hope to see many of you during this time.

Thanks so much for your partnership in reaching tribal people with the love of Christ. We couldn\’t be here without you. And we wouldn\’t want to be doing this on our own!

Serving with you,

Jennifer for the Hatchers

One of the best aspects of working in the Communications Department is hearing and re-telling the stories of tribal people.

Every day, our inbox is filled with email messages from our NTM co-workers living in tribes around the world. Some of the messages are weekly, or sometimes daily, accounts of tribal people learning the true stories from God\’s Word for the first time.

Every day, we get to read about people like Klara, a new believer in the Bagwido tribe in Papua New Guinea.

A couple weeks ago, Klara said, “I just am so happy about what Jesus, the Redeemer, did for my sin on the cross. He had to carry so much heavy and pain and sorrow and burden for me. My inner being just cries when I think of what He did for me.”

“He cleaned my dirty inner being and my body of sin. He washed it away with his blood and He made me clean again. My inner being cannot stop thinking about this.”

Klara went on to say, “This morning as I fried my sago patty on the fire to eat, I just set it to the side. I could not even eat it because my belly is already so full of all of this good and true talk.”

“Thank you and thank you! If these two (the missionaries) would not have come here, if these two would not have worked so hard to learn and understand my language, I would not be understanding this sweet and true talk. I am so happy about the free gift that Jesus gave to me.”

Another NTM missionary recently wrote about finishing the final lesson of the chronological Bible teaching. After that lesson, the tribal people hugged and kissed the missionaries and shook their hands.

And over and over all the people were saying, “Thank you. Thank you so very much for coming to tell us this talk. If you guys would not have come, we would still be like pigs wandering around in the jungle looking for the next meal (looking for the road to God). Thank you so much for listening to God and leaving your family to come live with us.”

Every day, as we read these stories and pass them on to others through the daily news bulletins, our passion is stoked. We are spurred on to continue in our part. People are hearing about their Redeemer and responding with joy and love and understanding.

God is mightily at work in tribes around the world. It is exciting to be a part of it!

As we once heard an evangelist say, “If that doesn\’t light your fire, your wood\’s wet!”

Hello, Friends and Family,

Thank you for your prayers and involvement in our ministry.

Our Father really blessed Patrick’s time at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. He and the others from NTM learned a great deal about broadcast media, and they made some valuable contacts. Because of these divine appointments, many more people will learn about unreached people groups and their need for Christ.

It also seems God is opening some doors that will really help spread the word about what He is doing through New Tribes. Then maybe New Tribes won’t be “one of Christianity’s best-kept secrets,” as we were recently dubbed by someone hearing about NTM for the first time. Thank you for your prayers for his time at the NRB.

We also have some more good news. We have a buyer for our house in Radford! The closing date is set for Friday, April 18. Our house was only on the market for about 3 months before this lady signed a contract on it. That’s not bad in this market! We know the Lord’s hand has been in it. Please pray for the buyer of our home and for her daughter, that God would bless them and give them as many wonderful memories in that home as He gave us.

Our Rachel thinks we should make friends with this woman so that we can visit our house whenever we’re back in Virginia — such a typical Rachel-thing to say! I think the sale of the house is bittersweet for our girls. That’s the only home they ever remember and selling it really makes the whole move here final. Please pray for Lauren and Rachel, that our Father would fill them with joy about being where He has led us.

Overall, the children are adjusting well. There are some moments of tears and missing friends, but all of the children are making friends here. There are plenty of New Tribes friends in our building, and the children play together in the halls after school. Having a building full of friends has certainly made the transition easier for them.

The four older children have adjusted to school. Caleb, our first grader, has had the most difficult time and has been catching up on some skills; but he has a great attitude and works hard, so he’s coming along. The children have standardized testing next week. This will be difficult for Caleb, so please pray that he will persevere and do his very best. It is very important that we get an accurate picture of his grade level because we will be making decisions about whether he can move on to second grade. Thanks for your prayers for him!

We have settled into Circle Community Church. The children feel at-home there and have excellent Sunday School teachers, and they are attending AWANA on Wednesday evenings. Patrick and I also are soaking up the teaching in our Sunday School classes. We feel blessed to have found a new church in such a short time.

Thank you so much for your prayers. You have no idea how helpful it was for me to know people were praying for us to find a church body. Every Sunday morning, I was reminded that we were not alone in this search — we had the presence of the Holy Spirit and a wonderful group of friends praying for us.

Thank you!

Already this year, New Tribes has started chronological Bible teaching in 3 new tribal groups. Hundreds and hundreds of people are hearing about their Rescuer for the first time.

That is why we are here.

We are honored to be part of the process of reaching these people. Because of your partnership with us, you are also part of the process. Thank you.

Don’t you look forward to Heaven, where you will meet face-to-face your tribal brothers and sisters and sing together around the throne, giving Christ all the glory?

Servants with you,

Jennifer for the Hatchers

Yesterday Patrick rode to Nashville with some other men from the NTM Communications Department to attend the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

Why would a bunch of missionaries go to a broadcasting convention? — you ask. Well, as our fellow NTM missionary Dave Meyers said, “it has everything to do with raising the awareness of unreached people groups around the world through the best media practices possible.”

Our team in the Communications Department has written, recorded, and produced a series of radio spots that we are planning to play across the United States in various media outlets. This convention is a great way to get the first of those radio spots in the hands of Christian broadcasters.

Dick and Shirley Bott, founders of Bott Radio Network, a network of 80 Christian radio stations in 10 states, will be inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Tuesday. Patrick and the other representatives of NTM are excited to celebrate this honor with the Botts, who love NTM and want to play our new radio spots on their network of radio stations. What a blessing it would be to forge friendships with other radio executives like the friendship New Tribes has with the Bott family.

Please pray for divine appointments for Patrick and the rest of the men during their time in Nashville. We are trusting God to introduce them to the people He wants them to meet during this convention. Our goal is for more people in the US to know about the many unreached people groups around the world who are still waiting to hear the Gospel for the first time.

If you’d like to hear samples of our brand-new public service announcements, you can click here. Thank you for your willingness to reach beyond your world with the message of Christ.