Keep praying:

• Pray that we will be effective in ministry. It is always good to hear from a missionary that we have been of help to them.
• Pray that we will be healthy. Over the past few years both of us have had numerous health concerns.
• Pray that we will be where God wants us to be. Experience has shown this is always the best.
• Pray that our needs will be met. Financially our support level is only 41% of what is recommended.

            Thank you so very much for your part in Tribal Church Planting. Whether you are praying, encouraging, giving or going, you are a part of sharing the gospel message with those who have never before heard the name of Jesus.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  2 Cor. 9:15

With the price of gas coming down, we are looking forward to getting out for more face-to-face meetings with our missionaries. Although we don’t get to spend nearly as much time doing this as we would like, it is by far the most effective form of ministry. As we travel, there are times when we can stay with friends or family, but there are also many times when we need to get a motel room.

            Last year we took Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills training. This has proven to be a most helpful tool in ministry and profitable to share with other missionaries. We have been selected to train as facilitators. This training takes place in Colorado in September. Other scheduled trips are to Florida in March for our Member Care Team annual meeting and a conference in Missouri this summer where many of our missionaries will gather for a time of refreshment.

2009 marks ten years serving with New Tribes Mission. We’ve worn a number of hats working to see churches planted among indigenous people groups around the world. It’s amazing just how many different types of jobs are required in order to take the gospel to a group who has never even heard the name of Jesus before. Most of the positions we’ve worked in have not been what we would have sought to do, but the Lord directed us to them and we’ve been blessed to be a part in many tribal church planting operations by serving in various support roles.

            Serving at the New Tribes Mission Institute in Roach, Missouri, we made friends who have spread around the world working in over 20 countries. In Venezuela, one highlight was living in a remote tribal location where relationships were established with indigenous people who we may never see again this side of heaven. And, at the Catia la Mar guesthouse, we served our fellow missionaries and their guests as they passed into and out of the country. This hospitality ministry was a good fit for us and helped prepare us for our present position.

            Regional Member Care is our current title. It is easier understood as “missionary care.” In very broad terms, we work to serve and encourage our fellow missionaries while they are home from their fields of service. As we provide a safe venue for sharing experiences, facilitate refreshment and furnish resources, the hope is that missionary attrition rates will be lowered and that coworkers will return to the field refreshed, encouraged and focused on the ministry the Lord has called them to do.

            One thing that we have come to really appreciate is the faithfulness of our support team. Through prayer, encouragement and finances many have joined forces with us to share in tribal church planting.

           As the Lord takes us from place to place we always see the wonders of His handiwork. The Pacific Northwest is such a wonderful place to get to live in as we minister to our fellow missionaries. Not that there are other parts of this country that are nice, but we truly enjoy where the Lord has us at this point in our ministry.

            This past month we visited with a family we worked with in Venezuela who are now in transition. They were able to keep working there until just this past spring when the Missionary Kids School in Venezuela closed its doors due to a lack of kids to teach. Already having a good grip on Spanish, they are torn between going to Mexico or Paraguay. Both countries could use them to teach in either of the schools there.

            Thank you so much for remembering to pray for us. You partnership with us is such an encouragement.

            Another visit was with one of our ladies who works in North Asia. She has family members who are experiencing medical needs. It is good that she could be here with them for the summer. Her greatest challenge currently is an ongoing visa dilemma which requires her to leave her country every six months.

            Missionaries from Mexico blessed us and our home church with a “discada”.  This is a Mexican meal cooked outdoors on a device made from a disc from an old plow. This was a big hit with the folks from church and we had a great time of fellowship,

  The life of a missionary is much the same type of investment. A young believer is discipled in the local church, grows into a faithful servant and diligent student of God’s Word. He or she goes off to Bible School, specialized missionary training, is recognized by the local church and sent out as their representative to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The support team is enlisted and they back the missionary financially and with much prayer. Our missionary then makes a new home in a foreign land, learns one or two new languages. He establishes himself in his new community making friends among the people he has gone to minister to. Finally the day comes when he may begin teaching and one day share the Gospel message and see his new friends become his brothers and sisters in Christ.

  Just like the family home, much is invested in the lives of missionaries. Their lives are precious investments that must be cared for so they may provide many great services and be of great value even after many years of service.

  New Tribes Mission plants churches in remote places around the world. This work could not be accomplished without the investment in missionaries. Our part in this huge project is to help protect the “investment” through member/missionary care. These past few months we have been blessed with opportunities to add tools to our maintenance tool box through specific training related to the work we do. In February, we attended a Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills workshop which focuses on communication skills. In March and early April we received training in conflict resolution and peer debriefing. Just like the young homeowner, step by step we are learning how to use our new tools to help protect the investment.

  Over the years, many of you have invested in our lives and ministry. We want you to know that we appreciate you very much. Your prayers, encouragement and financial support have taken us a long way. As you “invest” in us and the lives of other missionaries and the lives of those who may become missionaries one day, the Gospel message continues to be carried to the ends of the earth.