NTM

We all have heroes — don’t we? We just celebrated Veterans Day and how we praise God for every brave man and woman who have fought (and are fighting) for our freedom!

There are another group of “veterans” — brave souls — sacrificing souls — who have given the best part of their lives in a different kind of battle — and they are called Retired Missionaries! They have fought for the souls of men and women. Each time I visit our "NTM Homes" (This is NTM’s Retirement Center), I am reduced to tears as I look around that room of white heads and try to fathom the amount of years of sacrifice and courage, and love that each one of these dear people represent. THESE are my heroes! These precious soldiers could each write a book! There are 158 retirees at our NTM Homes and it is estimated that they have served approximately a total of FOUR THOUSAND years with all their years combined together! THAT’S hero stuff!!! Wouldn’t you say? Isn’t that AWESOME?

How many Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations did they miss being with their families? How many years have they laid in hammocks and beds in far away places with disease and fever wracking their bodies? How many hours of language study and translation have they invested? These are the ones that many times waited for months for a letter from the "outside", they traveled days on end by canoes on rivers no ones ever heard of. There were few airplanes — no emails — months of isolation — heat and bugs — living in humble little houses with mud floors or bamboo slats.

But look around at these faces! I see no regrets etched into those lines — I see no sorrow for the years of sacrifice and hardships! What I DO see is joy — an absolute joy to be alive — to have been a part of this great job of reaching the lost with the gospel of Christ — JOY for living in this wonderful place — for having Godly servants ministering to them. We sang together “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and I wonder what memory — what incident came to their minds as they sang those words? I can only imagine the smile on God’s face as He heard that group of veterans raising their voices together in praise and adoration!

And by-the-way — you are our heroes also! How we praise God for your lives and for your faithfulness in supporting and praying for us! God bless and keep you, dear friends.

Lovingly in His Service,

Paul and Faith

The history of communicating by symbols and letters goes back to carved stones making impressions on skins to computers where an amazing number of gigabytes are stored on something smaller than the size of your thumb!

The other day we had the privilege of representing NTM at the Holy Land Experience. We went through the Scriptorium —- and our hearts were touched by the “story” of how God has preserved His Word down through the ages! God touched men’s hearts to spend their life copying, letter by letter, His message to mankind. As the world grew God allowed man to create printing methods that would speed this process. In 1526, William Tyndale finished the English translation of the Bible from the original Greek as his heart was burdened for the common man to be able to read God’s Word. This was the basis for the King James Bible in 1611. He was executed for his “heretical efforts” ten years later!

God has preserved His Word down through the ages — and He continues to touch people’s hearts to preserve and translate that precious Message. Just this week, in Bolivia, the Esse Eja people were presented with the New Testament in their own language! New Tribes missionaries have completed 42 New Testaments! Well — now we can make that 43 J ! There are around 70 in progress! Pray for our Bible translators! The enemy does everything he can to frustrate and stop this work, and we need to bathe them in prayer.

Isn’t it a privilege to be a part of this work?! How we praise God for your lives, for your partnership and your prayers. We keep very busy —- Paul, in many committee meetings and directing NTM USA, and I with the secretarial part and running the home, with all that goes into that. I should say that my hand is healing well. It’s probably at about 80% — but I can use it and we praise the Lord for that! May God richly bless and encourage your hearts today as you pull out your Bible and are encouraged and nourished by His precious Word.

Together in His Service,

Paul and Faith

It’s been four months since the staph infection invaded the arthiritis thumb surgery that Faith had done on June 2nd.  It was a grueling couple of months of pain and then another time of regaining the use of her hand, but we are VERY pleased to report that she can now use her hand — can make a fist again  and is making very good progress.  Thank you SO much for your prayers during this time.  We are humbled before our Lord as we watch the body of Christ praying and supporting us through this time.