issue 3, number 2 June 2009
Winning the Stanley Cup? Any player who wins the Cup knows that it was a team effort. That team includes all the players of course, but also coaches, trainers, and management. Many others also laboured to make the team function including the front office staff and even the Zamboni driver. Those who graduate from the Missionary Training Course – and those who serve overseas - know that much effort has been put out by many others to enable them to be involved in their ministries. We are labourers together, working towards one goal: Expanding the Reach of the Gospel. This cover page features this year’s graduating class; the inside provides a glimpse of all the other activity which is a part of the Durham campus.
Fresh and ready to
serve
On Saturday May 30 we were pleased to witness 17 people graduate from NTMC’s Missionary Training Course. For the past two years this group of both Americans and Canadians have been studying and working together, getting equipped for the ministry challenges that lie ahead. The training course prepares students to overcome cultural and language barriers and develop good relationships with the tribal people, to use technology to help them work more efficiently, and to work in unity with their co-workers. But the greatest lesson learned is that it is the Lord who will use them and these tools to reach precious souls with His Gospel of grace.
graduating class of 2009
how much did you fit into Campus
Development
The current construction project is a 6-apartment residence unit, with four smaller 2-bedroom apartments on the main floor and two larger 3-bedroom apartments in the raised basement. Presently drywall is hung in five apartments and two of those have been taped and mudded. Our goal is to complete one of the basement apartments by early fall so that a new staff family can move in.
MTC Curriculum
Development
Right from the day New Tribes Mission was established in 1942 our desire has been to provide the best possible training for believers who want to have a part in expanding the reach of the Gospel to the indigenous peoples of the world. A missionary needs to BE and DO: he needs to BE of a certain character and demonstrate spiritual understanding and maturity. He also needs to DO specific and technical tasks such as tackle culture and language issues and translate and teach the Bible. This is a work with a specific focus, and the training has to be tailored to adequately prepare people for this challenging task. For two weeks our trainers met together with two representatives from other NTM entities to review and evaluate the details of our Missionary Training Course and consider how it can be improved to help students “become more effective servants of the church�.
Property
Management
Perhaps the least known and least appreciated members of our missionary team are the men who keep NTMC’s facilities operational. They keep the grass cut and buildings maintained in the summers, and the roadways clear of snow and the offices and classrooms heated in the winters. Not only that, they work with the students, teaching skills and encouraging them on in the training and in their walk with the Lord. Here, students David George and Jared Young together with staff member Greg Futato prepare a house for new siding.
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the month of May? ntmc academy
The Academy provides a Grade 1-12 education for the children of both NTMC staff and the students in the Missionary Training Course. Our objective is two-fold: to provide a solid Bible-based education to our children, and to help whole families prepare for overseas missionary service. All of our teachers have served with NTM overseas and are able to relate that experience to the children.
Music festival
Field Day Anticipated by all parents, and most students, the Academy’s Field Day is an annual highlight of the school year. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate their speed on the track and their strength on the field, and whether they earn the 1st place or the “participant” ribbon, they are all enthusiastically cheered by the crowd.
This year the students in grades 3-6 were organized into a choir by their music teacher and then entered in a regional music festival. They received the highest marks of the 14 choirs. They were awarded this trophy and also given the privilege of appearing in the festival’s “Highlights Concert”, in which they opened the evening with their song: Amazing Grace.
Missionary & Church
Graduation The student body of the Academy depends on who is enrolled in NTMC’s Missionary Training Course. In the last two years many singles and young couples have entered the MTC so that the preschool and early elementary grades have many children. At the other end of the spectrum, Ruth Dyck was the only student in Grade 12, and this year’s only graduate. Ruth grew up in South America, where her parents were church planters, and moved to Durham six years ago when her parents joined the training team. Ruth plans to pursue a career in nursing.
Relations
As many missionaries serve overseas and others labour in Durham in property management, academy, administration, and training, there is another team faithfully serving across Canada. The couples who serve on the Missionary & Church Relations team keep up communications with overseas missionaries and connect with churches across the country. Our goal is to encourage missionaries and at the same time help churches connect with them and become excited regarding their involvement in the task of proclaiming the Gospel to the furthest reaches of the world. Every year this team gathers in Durham to be refreshed, encouraged ,and updated regarding the opportunities and challenges facing NTM in Canada. If you would like to learn more about NTM and are interested in inviting a speaker to your church, contact us at church-relations@ntmc.ca .
millions unreached...none unreachable
Now there’s a thought airstrip was we might Ausedshortbecause it was
die
conveniently located near a number of grassland communities; eventually it was decided that the short strip was too risky. The missionary tried to explain to his tribal friends why a better location was needed.
Jungle Camp open house Saturday, July 4th, 9am-5pm Sunday, July 5th, 1pm-5pm
I told them that the short strip was “dangerous” but they were soon asking, again, why we needed to look elsewhere when we already had an airstrip. Explaining that one of us might die if we kept using the strip seemed to work better - until I heard one of them say to another: “We can’t use this one because it is jinxed; that is why some of us are sick and if we keep using it someone will die.” So then I tried to explain that if the airplane could not land properly and crashed into the trees it would be us who would die, not them. I don’t think they had even thought about the possibility that the airplane could crash... they’ve never seen that happen. The people to whom we minister are animists: in their thinking all of life is lived in the spiritual realm. “Danger” is understood in terms of spirits and jinxes, not of “cause and effect”, not of physics and mechanics. Into this environment the Word of God is introduced so they might learn of their Creator’s love and salvation, and to help them better understand this world in which they live.
To many visitors Jungle Camp is survival training. In reality, Jungle Camp is about planning ahead. And while students are learning to survive without modern conveniences, many more aspects come into play. Jungle Camp is a 6-week class; part of the 2-year program.
New Tribes Mission of Canada PO Box 707 Durham, ON N0G 1R0 519.369.2622
ntmc@ntmc.ca
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