NTM

My granddaughter, Atalie, was playing in the backyard, running around and having a great time.  I noticed that every time she got off the cement, she stopped, sat down and inched forward until her feet were on the grass and then she got up and took off again.  What was interesting to me was the fact that the grass was at the same level as the cement.  There was no real danger that she would fall.

Then a few days later, she and I were leaving the house to get in the car.  The steps at the front of the house are about eight inches high, and this time there was real danger, but she launched herself off those steps as if she had no question she could do it.  What was the difference?  Why no fear?  Simple… she had her hand in mine.  How I wish I could learn to fear my own ability, and wholly trust in His hand!

Yesterday I got another lesson in that classroom.  I had the privilege of representing NTM in a church where Gracia Burnham spoke.  Hearing her testimony of how God worked in their lives through their ordeal that ended eventually with Martin’s death kind of put everything in my life in better perspective.  God IS sovereign.  God IS all-knowing.  God’s plan for my life is perfect.  My place is to simply put my hand in His, and take that step of faith knowing he will accompany me in his perfect will.

In Mat. 6:25-34, Jesus addresses this very issue.  In verse 33 He draws His conclusion stating “…be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.” That truth is something I’ve spent over 35 years trying to make practical, and yet it’s a truth as new to me today as the first day I heard it.  Oh that we could just abandon our own forces, take His hand and follow!

AWESOME VIDEO:

It’s been interesting for us being on home assignment this year.  Because of Jeri’s need for knee surgery, we haven’t been able to travel much.  As a result, I’ve been able to observe other people and just what they are living for.  I see people who have worked for 30 years or more now talk about their retirement and what they want to do.  We’ve seen people who have spent their lives “living the dream,” and are now thinking about retirement and whether they have enough accumulated to continue living at their present level.  I confess having felt “cheated” and it’s been tempting to be jealous.  But God is so faithful to teach us.  His lessons are often not taught in a physical classroom.  The difficulty is to reject the lie of Satan, then recognize and appropriate His truth.

A few days ago I heard a message on the radio about the spiritual heritage we leave in the way we invest our lives.  Then Jeri read excerpts to me from a daily email by Pastor John Barnett*  about the way we invest our lives.  He shared about the “tragedy” of how two missionaries died in a car accident.  Both of them, still serving the Lord in their eighties, had given their lives “to be spent in unheralded service to the perishing poor for the glory of Jesus Christ-even two decades after most of their American counterparts had retired to throw away their lives on trifles.”  Now I’m NOT inferring that living a life apart from being a missionary is a waste, but I AM inferring that living a life apart from His will is a terrible waste.  I remember the words to a song saying: “only one life, so soon it will pass.  Only what’s done for Christ will last.”  When I gave my life to be a missionary, God used the words of Jim Elliot to challenge me.  They are a good reminder today.  “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

We are so thankful that the Lord has given us the privilege of investing our lives to train so many missionaries, both from the US, and Mexico.

This fall there are again over 30 students in our missionary training program in Chihuahua.  God has challenged these lives with the possibility of participating in planting churches in areas that have never even heard of Jesus.  Please continue to pray that their churches will truly commit to sending them to fulfill that task.

Meanwhile Jeri and I are still waiting for her first knee surgery.  The hold-up seems to be the limited schedule of the doctor and limited space in the schedule for surgery.  We called recently to try to express our need to get back to Mexico, and they “penciled” her in for a surgery the end of January.  Apparently they are remodeling the operating area of the hospital, and have limited availability. The Lord obviously has plans for this time that we still cannot see.  We are willing to wait, but please pray that God would open up a slot before then.

* To read pastor Barnett’s article click the following link:  http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001oczvTRwKduu1mkYPFE0RXOOtjxu3IG3FawCCnakBzFJzGw7GBag02dM8HeZFCZQht7QxCMj52oC0qZxTi3Xxl8chPxJ7pYyFRn5MuKqfoin_QXJYX7Jmjg%3D%3D

NTM just updated our abilities on this webpage. It is now a much improved blog page, so we are going to give it a try. It’s about time too. The last entry is several YEARS old.

We are presently in the US on an early home assignment because of Jeri’s knees. After some preliminary medical exams we had a few weeks free, so we flew to Idaho to spend some time with her parents. Their health condition has given us some concern recently and we needed to evaluate the situation before Jeri’s surgeries. We have had a very good time with them and enjoyed their church very much. Wednesday, we fly back to Missouri to arrange Jeri’s knee surgeries. She will be having knee replacement surgery in the next couple of months. Both knees need to be replaced. For now we are taking one step at a time and evaluating the situation before proceeding.

August 2009

We’ve been in contact with our team back in Mexico, and it looks like we will have over 12 new students starting classes at the Bible Institute. We are so thankful for God’s provision of the new building. We even have funds available to start construction on the second phase. Pray for the construction team to have time free to do it.

When the phone rang, I almost didn’t answer. The caller ID indicated an “unknown caller” which often indicates either a wrong number, or a telemarketer. I was quite surprised to hear Jeri’s brother calling on his cell phone. His number is definitely on our list but he was calling from MEXICO! Martin had taken a work group from his church in California, down to Baja California to help at an orphanage for a few days. When I got over that surprise, he had another. He passed the phone to one of our students from Chihuahua!! Rafa speaks good English, and he and Martin had been chatting when they discovered the connection. Rafa has a ministry with the orphanage too. Small world!

But the surprises weren’t over… half an hour later he called back with ANOTHER student, Ramon and his wife Vanesa, from Chihuahua was on the line. It was great to hear that both Jeri’s brother, and our students are looking for ways to serve the Lord by serving others. Please pray for Rafa and Ramon. Both are looking to the Lord for direction and support to carry on in the ministry.

Please continue to pray for the construction project at the Bible Institute in Mexico. We desperately need the dorm building this fall. It is not looking good right now. Pray that God would raise up workers and funds to continue with that project.

Thanks, Virgil and Jeri Holt