NTM

June 26, 2009
by Caroline Schumacher

Missionaries Scott and Jennie Phillips find their approach to ministering to the Dao tribe different after returning from home assignment, but the intent is the same.

The couples faced many challenges as they got used to life as missionaries. They had to adjust to the many cultural differences and the even harder challenge of learning a new language.

"Deep down inside we knew that a life dedicated to one thing, bringing the Gospel to those that had otherwise no way of hearing it, would be well worth it," Scott and Jennie wrote. "So we kept on pushing forward and by God’s strength and Spirit learned new languages and didn’t give up."

Now the couple is returning to Indonesia after their home assignment. They are excited to partake in a new adventure as they do God’s work.

"The main difference is that this time, we have a spiritual family and friends that are believers to come back to and reunite with in the Dao tribe," they wrote.

Their strategy is to disciple Dao believers so they too can bring God’s Word to surrounding villages.

"This is so that other people groups on the edge of their territory will also have the opportunity to hear," Scott and Jennie wrote.

Please pray for the couple as they work with the Dao teachers to come up with strategies for reaching out to the surrounding villages. Pray for Jennie as she translates the New Testament into the Dao language.

Serving in the NTM Tech Center at the Missionary Training Center (MTC)  is such a privilege. We are assisting those men and women who are on the frontline in getting the good news to those who have never heard. It takes a team, with many players, to reach even one of these tribes.
With your assistance this past year, the Tech Center has shipped approximately 540 orders to missionaries in 15 different countries living in remote locations around the world. Thousands of e-mails have been sent out, providing consultation and assistance for missionaries with questions about their solar electric and water filtration systems, and much more. It would not be possible for just our small team to research, develop and produce that many products if it weren’t for you, our faithful volunteers, as well as committed financial supporters.
E-mails such as the following encourage us and keep us going!
“We were able to get our four solar panels up on the roof!  It all went so smooth! I really can’t say enough what a HUGE help it was to have your e-mails to refer to.”
“Love our tech stuff! I tell you – just so you guys know there – that you can’t believe how much better I can work and how much less stress I have to deal with after having received my solar system!! Honestly, you guys need to know what a blessing you are there – even though sometimes you may feel like all you do is send things and fix things!! So, just to encourage you, your part back there is really making a difference for us!! and helping our work to go smoother and quicker!! ”

The semester has started on all 3 training campuses of NTM!

Here on the Lake of the Ozarks, our Missionary Training Center kicked off this past Monday with a a full house of over 450 people on campus. 163 students began their studies for cross cultural church planting ministries. The theme this year at all of our training centers, "Focus Your Vision" 2500 unreached people groups – was the rally cry from the opening video clips, stories, humor and challenging thoughts from the Word. The day ended with a campus wide barbecue at the lake front. God gave us all perfect weather and a beautiful start to the year.

We are also looking forward to "The Summer Tour" with our new Kodiak airplane being developed. The plane will be here at the Camdenton, MO airport all day on Aug. 30th for our NTM community wide event. We are thankful for this chance to share with the community the purpose of NTM and the partnership opportunities to help get the Gospel out around the world! If you are in the area please plan to join us on Sat. Aug. 30th at the airport.

Click here to view the special Kodiak report – watch the video and view some great photos>>>Kodiak.

Tech What?

The Tech Center exists to equip overseas missionary with the practical appliances and technology that he would need in order to live in an isolated tribal location. I get the privilege of being a part of the production, testing, and shipping of these necessities 7.5 hours a week. Some of the appliances that I have helped make this semester are 3 stage water filtration systems, Edison adaptors, ceiling fan kits, grounding plates, 200 amp inverter cables, lightning brushes, 500 watt transformers, voltage regulator fused disconnects, AC fuse boxes, and DC fuse boxes. Never in my life would I have predicted that I would be able to make these things for missionaries. 

The End Goal

At first I was just overwhelmed because names like 500 watt transformer sounded like a foreign language to me. Now it’s so fulfilling to know that what I am soldering, connecting, cutting, etc will be used by a missionary and will make life out in the middle of nowhere a little easier for them. It will allow their focus to be more on the task of getting the gospel to those who have never heard. What is also really exciting to me is that I will be using the appliances someday. It is also neat to have new skills that I can use as a missionary! In being a part of the work program, I have gained a new respect for the support missionaries who work behind the scenes to help missionaries survive in remote areas. Support missionaries play a vital part in expanding the reach of the gospel… and what I do at the Tech Center is exactly that!

Visit 
http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/pdf/SL_Dec07.pdf

Full details and description of ministry by " Shining Light Ministries"
http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/F_FullRpt.asp?EIN=396024926

Why Missions? Why Us? Why are we training missionaries?

The first question has an obvious answer. It’s our job as believers to pass on to others the Truth of God’s Word and the message of salvation. Where we do that is just the geographics, but the fact is that we should be doing that where ever we are.

Randy and I have always been interested in listening to missionaries and we believed that it was our job to share the Truth we knew with others but that’s where the story of how we got involved with New Tribes Mission, reaching tribal people and training missionaries begins… We were in our mid 30’s and living an average American lifestyle in NE Washington (although we had 4 children at the time which is more than the 2.5 average). God brought some circumstances into our lives that started to shake things up. Randy was seriously injured logging and was off work for 9 months, the house we had lived in for 7 years was sold and we couldn’t find a place to live. About this time we also had our 5th child. You might think that with all that going on it was a strange time to make huge changes in our life but God was working through all of these things and working on our hearts as well. We decided that we wanted to step out and serve God in some full time way but we thought that it would be good to have some in depth Bible training first. So… we begin checking out all the Christian / Bible colleges in the US. We had some pretty limiting criteria- we wanted only Bible classes, they had to take large families and it had to be reasonably priced. We only found a few that met those qualifications and New Tribes Bible Institute was one of them. After much thinking, praying and talking (with each other, our children, people we respected and our church) we made the decision to go for it.

So, we loaded up and moved sight unseen to Wisconsin and began an incredible, life changing adventure. We learned so much in classes everyday and then from homework-straight from God’s Word (what an opportunity). One thing that we learned that neither one of us was aware of was that there are still millions of people who have never heard the Word of God because there is no one who speaks their language to tell them. That was really eye opening to us. We saw that God could have taken us to any Bible school but he brought us to New Tribes and showed us some huge needs and the next step was ours.

We made the decision to become missionaries with NTM , which meant completing their missions training/language courses (which we did over the following 3 years). Then it was time to choose where we would go (where we felt God would have us minister and where the abilities He had given us would be of the best use).

That brings us to question #3. Why are we training missionaries?
When we finished our training we were asked if we would consider working on staff at one of the NTM missionary training centers. So what would you think? Probably some of the same things we thought……..what about all those tribal people, will we be "real" missionaries, is it worth while and the BIGGEST question-what does God want us to do?
Well, what we concluded 10 years ago is what we still believe with our whole hearts today.
1)What about those tribes? For all those tribal people to be reached SOMEONE has to help train and prepare the missionaries to effectively reach out in a language and culture very different from their own.
2) Would we be "REAL" missionaries? All of NTM missionaries whether home staff, training staff, tribal or support workers are ALL in this together and are ALL faith based and faith supported by churches and individuals. Training missionaries is our full time service to God and we have had the privilege of helping prepare several hundred missionaries in the last 10 years.
3) Is this what God wants for us? I guess I already answered that when I said we did and still do believe this is exactly what God prepared us for. He gave us different skills and life experiences so we could pass those on to future missionaries and help them be more prepared for what they will face as they go into their ministries around the world.

In a day of investment porfolios, retirement plans, health savings accounts and many other avenues of planning there is no end to options before us. It seems like one needs to be an expert just to plan for the future. Throw in the factor that you are supposed to start when you are young, which is good advice, and the fact that a porfolio should be diversified and you’re set to go.

There is one plan that isn’t so complicated unless we complicate it and no matter when you start it the returns are out of this world. In fact, the creator of this plan guarantees that the returns on your investment can’t be beat. It’s a plan people in every income bracket can afford. The plan is simple, walk by faith. Hebrews 11 tells of men and women who decided to invest for the future as they lived there lives on this earth because they believed God and now they are entered into God’s hall of faith. Think of it, Noah believed God and hammered on a boat for about 120 years. God used him to save his family and judge the whole earth. I wonder if he gets paid dividends for all of eternity?

The stories of faith are still being written and I’m looking forward to someday hearing your story. In the meantime, don’t give up, keep investing. You never know how God might take your life and use it for His glory! What an awesome priviledge we have!

Down beneath the mighty ocean, Divers plunge for treasure rare, But men hold the ropes above them, So they breathe the upper air.

Seeking pearls of richest value, Braver hearts have dared to go, But our hands must every movement,  Hold the ropes that reach below.

So amid the heathen darkness, There are heroes, true and brave, Shrinking not from death or danger, Bearing all to help and save.

But they cry, "oh, do not leave us,  Mid those dreadful depths to drown, Let us feel your prayers around us      Hold the ropes as we go down!"

THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT

Thursday, July 19, 2007

by Ian Fallis

Rustling noises in the bushes unsettled the villagers.

The next morning, a village woman went to draw water and saw the source of the noises: a lion.

The village was almost trembling with fear, and the chief called a meeting. He told them he would take care of it, and soon performed a ceremony. Everyone went back to life as normal.

Everyone but missionaries Anthony and Jennie Chee, that is. For the Chees, this was an opportunity to learn more about the people among whom they minister, the Yaos of Mozambique.

They soon learned that to the Yaos, the lion was not an animal that posed a physical danger, nor did this require a physical answer such as a hunter. The lion was the spirit of an ancestor who had come back to frighten the villagers. To them, this was a spiritual problem, requiring the correct ceremony.

Understanding the culture of the Yao people — the way they think and interact with their world — is crucial to clearly presenting God’s Word to them. That’s why New Tribes Mission’s specialized training includes a study of God’s Word and methods for translating and teaching it, as well as instruction on deciphering and dealing with culture.

Classes begin next month at NTM USA’s two Bible schools, in Jackson, Michigan, and Waukesha, Wisconsin. Pray that everything will be in place for the students to spend two years learning God’s Word and seeing God’s grace and love modeled, so they are equipped to pass on to others the whole picture of being a follower of Christ.

At the Missionary Training Center in Missouri, 55 students are to return for their second year of missionary training, and 105 new students are expected to begin the two-year course. Please pray that nothing hinders any of these students from coming. Pray for the instructors and others responsible for curriculum. The first semester courses are being revised, and the third semester courses — which will be taught for the first time — are near completion.

Thank God with us that just enough housing has been completed for all these students. Thank Him for His provision for materials and His provision of volunteers to finish this work.

The biggest need now is for a new classroom facility. This education center will provide more space with larger classrooms and more modern wiring and design for today’s technology. Please pray with us for the funds and preparations to begin work in Spring 2008.

Part of my job working here at MTC is providing power to missionaries……, but one kind of power I can’t supply is……..the Lord’s power!

Refresher Course….
Is a time for missionaries on furlough to be encouraged , refreshed and to catch up on what’s been going on in the last few years while they have been over-seas. There were about 400 people here during the 2nd week in June! And it was GREAT! The staff here at the MTC (that’s us) had the privilege of putting on the conference and serving. Lots of work on our part but also lots of fellowship, fun and food.

A highlight for us… During Refresher Course we were
able to visit with several missionaries that we have had a part in training over the years. It was exciting to hear about their tribal or support ministries and to see how the Lord is using them.