NTM

BENNETT FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Brazil…here we come!
That’s right, we’ve set August as our month for departure to Brazil. We have completed all of our training with New Tribes Mission, and have been living here in Jackson, Michigan for the past eight months. We’ve been busy going from church to church, establishing relationships with local Pastors, and reconnecting with friends and family.
We wanted to send this letter out , as our way of letting you know our needs and how you can personally be involved in helping us prepare for our ministry in Brazil.
The field of Brazil requires that we have a minimum of 50% of our recommended financial support before we arrive. As a couple, we have decided that we want to be at a minimum of 60% before we leave for Brazil. As of right now we are at 17% of our recommended monthly support of $4000,00/month. The only way that we can continue on with New Tribes Mission and prepare for our life and ministry in Brazil, is if individuals and churches faithfully partner with us by making a monthly financial commitment towards our ministry, and equally important, bringing us before the Lord in prayer. In order to make this possible, we have set up a separate account at our headquarters in Sanford, Florida called our “Set-up/Travel Fund”; this is for
those people who want to give towards a specific aspect of our ministry, as well as those who wish to begin supporting us monthly. This account will remain closed until we reach our necessary support level and at that time we will access the money and use it for plane tickets, and our initial setup expenses we will have upon our arrival in Brazil.
This is an exciting time for us as we watch and see how God is going to work and provide for us to go to Brazil. We believe this is God’s will for our lives and we think it’s important that those who wish to partner with us be aware of our personal financial needs.
If you wish to be involved in our ministry through financial giving then the best way is to send a check to our Headquarters in Florida and have our names “Tim and Karis Bennett” in the MEMO line. Be sure to specify that your financial gift be put in our “Setup/Travel Fund” account. This not only provides you with a receipt for tax purposes, but it also allows us to see what percentage we are at each month and those individuals who have chosen to partner with us through financial giving.
Family Life
We are doing well, enjoying a good, cold winter here in Jackson. The girls are growing up fast; Sarah’s our big three year old and an awesome big sister to Kiera. She enjoys saying her ABC’s and counting as well Kiera’s about to have her first birthday on February the 15th. What an exciting time, it’s hard to believe she’s already one! Tim continues to work fulltime for Bob Rutan, Karis’ uncle, and feels he’s gaining a lot of experience and knowledge about building and construction. Karis enjoys being home with the girls as well as spending time with her family and friends who live close by.
As a family, we are excited about going to Brazil and beginning the ministry that God laid on our hearts several years ago. Please pray with us as we seek God’s will and timing for our lives and ministry. In His Service, Tim and Karis, Sarah and Kiera Bennett
·Prayer Needs:
· Pray for us, pray that God will open doors for us to share about our ministry.
· Pray that God will challenge people’s hearts to be a part of His work and our ministry.
· Pray that all the necessary paper for Brazil work would go through smoothly.

I hope this update finds you all in good health and spirits. We are pleased and excited to report that God opened the door for us to speak in two more churches all in the last month, with another church meeting scheduled for March. We have also been in contact with the pastors of 3 more churches here in the Michigan area. We find ourselves encouraged and pressing on. We have set August as our month for departure and are persuing that until/unless God shows otherwise. Our support level is currently at 15%, with our total support amount needed being at $4,000/month.

Thank you for personally taking the time to check in and see how we’re doing. God is faithful and we are trusting Him to lead us according to his will and timing.

Sit back and imagine this with me for a second….

You’re sitting on the shore, there’s a storm out at sea, and the wind is blowing fiercly.

You see a small sail boat far out on the horizon, being tossed back and forth by the wind and waves.

You feel helpless as to what to do, but slowly realize there’s a group of people coming around you, having noticed the helpless boat themselves, you all begin to talk, thinking about how you could make a difference, what part you could play in possibly rescueing these stranded sailors out at sea.

One man says confidently "I have a rope", and another shouts, "I have a speed boat", another… "I have an anchor.."

You remembered you too had some rope stuffed away somewhere in your car, you stand there thinking, is it big enough? Strong enough? Will it really help with this huge task?  You hesitantly walk to your car, and start sesarching around. Wow, you had a rope, a flashlight, some extra blankets and a pair of shoes. You think to yourself…"I guess I should take it all down to the beach and see what we can use."

The group of people have all seemed to gather something, great or small, something that will help make this rescue possible.

A few key leaders stand out to you, people that have the "know-how", the leadership qualities needed to accomplish such a task; but you have your rope, your flashlight, your blankets and the pair of shoes.

You decide to hand over your flashlight, and rope and sit patiently on a nearby boulder, waiting to see what happens next.

One after another the ropes, chains, and everything that was brought out by the individual volunteers was used in some way to see that those stranded sailors were brought safely back to shore.

As they step onto the seashore, you stand there waiting to hand them each a blanket, and as one young man steps toward you, you realize those shoes you had, would be a perfect fit for him.

The men look at you with grateful eyes and smiles. You smile back and head towards your car. "Thank you Lord, I played a part, I made a difference."

God uses all sorts of people to make Tribal Missions possible. Most importantly, He uses the willing. He uses those who see a need and reach out to meet that need. On every level, that’s what it comes down to. Being sensitive to the Lord, seeing a need, and doing what you can to meet that need. From the Bible Translator, to the the Supply Buyer, to the Faithful Financial Supporter, to the daily Prayer Partners. GOD USES YOU.