VOLUME 3, number 4 December 2009
Born on Purpose The Christmas story is not just a “story”—it is a message. It’s not just that a baby was born, but that a Saviour was born. Jesus Christ came to this earth with a purpose—we sing, “Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.” This is our purpose too: to proclaim this message to those who have never before had the chance to hear. May the Lord bless, encourage, and refresh you this month with the wonderful Christmas story.
Unto All People ?
“Before you missionaries came, we were lost and going to hell. Thank you so much for coming and telling us about the Redeemer, so that we will go to live with God in heaven and not be lost in hell.” Edward, Mengen man of Papua New Guinea Some 4,000 years ago God promised Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” and 2,000 years later an angel declared to the shepherds, “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Another 2,000 years later these words continue to be fulfilled: the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ is still being introduced to new people who have never before heard.
It has been taught and well received among the Mengen people of Papua New Guinea; a good number have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Substitute and only Hope for salvation. But they are learning that there is more to the story. Missionary Becky Preheim recently wrote that they have been teaching on the second coming of Christ: “There were smiles all over the room this morn-
ing as [missionary co-worker] Dave Wright was teaching. One guy, Edward, just about jumped out of his chair with joy! He said something like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to see the face of our Lord Jesus. We might be standing in His presence today!’ All over the room, people were smiling and excitedly chatting back and forth, thrilled to think that we are going to spend eternity with Christ.” Sadly, it’s not all good news from ... continued on next page
Now there’s a thought
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Papua New Guinea. In Finisterre Mountain range (“finisterre” literally means “end of earth”) there remain many unreached people groups. The Gospel has been taught in the Mibu language and then in the neighbouring Mina language. Missionary Joey Tartaglia writes that an old man from a third language group recently visited a Mina believer. He had heard how the Word of God first came to Mibu and then to the Mina and shared how he himself really wants to hear the message: “I only know a few words in the Mina language. If I go there to hear the message, I’ll miss most of what’s being said. So I gave up and just waited, hoping. I’ve been listening expectantly for a report but I haven’t heard even the slightest whisperings that the message will come down here. So I was thinking to myself. ‘Okay, whenever the message comes, it comes. But, one thing is, if I wait all the way until my death, what then? What will happen to me? And all the other old people here, if they wait and wait, and then they die without hearing the message, then what? I’m very worried about that….’ ” Although God used angels to first announce the “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” He has given to people the responsibility for the world-wide distribution of the message. It is for believers whose lives have been transformed by God to take His Gospel to “all the families of the earth”. In the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea are close to 100 unreached people groups. Each “people group” is individuals: grandfathers, mothers, children, fathers and grandmothers who are still waiting to hear of the love and salvation of God through Jesus Christ. To learn more about the needs in Papua New Guinea, and how you can be used of the Lord to meet those needs visit www.ntm.org/png .
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online donations Canadians can now make online contributions to NTMC’s ministries. Visit www.ntmc.ca/give and click on the Donate Now button on the right. If contributing to a missionary’s ministry, select “Specific Ministry Support”. We are thankful for the generosity of the Lord’s people in providing for our financial needs and thereby facilitating the establishing of churches among the world’s unreached people groups.
ACTION ATTITUDE THINKING Understanding how an animist thinks is a crucial factor in church planting: as we think, so we live. What we believe to be true becomes the foundation of our actions. If we think only about the negative qualities of a co-worker it will affect our attitude toward him which will then be manifested in how we treat him. This principle is not only true in relationships; it is also true in farming. We live within the framework of natural laws established by the Creator. Normally we distinguish between the physical and the spiritual realms: a farmer understands the need for ploughing, quality seed, good soil, water and fertilizer—and hard work. The animist, however, does not distinguish between the physical and spiritual realms. In his thinking there are many spirits who actively influence this world. The animist who prepares the ground, tills the soil and plants the seed will also take action to appease the spirits who might curse the ground.
For the Budik of Senegal, the costumed shaman is just as necessary as the planter.
While a Christian farmer might ask the Lord to bless the crop, it is important to note that he humbly asks a blessing of the sovereign God, whereas the animist lives in fear of the spirits, and through ritual and sacrifice tries to manipulate the spirits. Our goal is to teach the Word of God clearly and accurately so that the Holy Spirit can convict and change the person’s thinking and bring his life in line with Biblical truth.
GPS...find your place in missions
missionaries into ministries
New Team Members Pete & Lesley Doerksen (Jessica, Joshua, Micah, Kelsey) served in Guinea, West Africa since 1996 and returned to Canada this spring. Pete has joined the Property Management Team, working in construction, and Lesley will assist with the planning and hosting of work teams as well as in the Missionary Training Centre’s (MTC) childcare program. This help will be much appreciated by both departments. The Doerksens’ home church is the Chortitzer Mennonite Church of Steinbach, Manitoba.
Karl and Denise Herrick (Chesley, Kaden) are recent graduates from our MTC and joined our staff in October. Karl is an Information Technology (IT) specialist and will be responsible for computer networks and internet communications. He brings much-needed expertise in an area that has become crucial to efficient ministry. Denise’s primary responsibility will be to her family, but will also assist us in various aspects of our communication. The Herricks’ home church is Grand Ledge Baptist Church in Grand Ledge, Michigan.
Missionary training Now midway through the semester, second-year students have had an introduction to sounds, grammar, and language learning and are currently putting some of it into practice with a “Techniques Practicum”. During this seven-week module the students attend classes and spend time with someone in the community who speaks a foreign language. They have daily language learning sessions and many culture events. A “culture event” is an exposure to any area of real live culture from that language group; it could be a meal or a shop-
ping trip, or as simple as a greeting. From these intentional events both language and culture are learned and relationships are formed. The goal is that the missionary candidates would understand that church planting is most effective when deep relationships as well as culture and language understanding are all brought together. Since this concept is foundational for future missionary work, it is carefully taught and practically applied in this module.
millions unreached...none unreachable
MTC students Nathan & Natasha Enns show pictures of familiar objects to their “language helper” who then identifies the object in her language. Later she will mention any of the items to which Nathan and Natasha have to respond by pointing to the appropriate picture. In these preliminary exchanges the students learn to recognize and understand the words, before learning to speak them.
With the roof removed by the tornado, sheets of rain poured inside. Everything but the studs had to go.
For some time the Academy was in need of new windows and this seemed like the perfect time to replace them. The removal of tornado-damaged drywall revealed other wood rot and confirmed the need.
tornado update We praise the Lord for an uncharacteristic stretch of dry and sunny weeks in October and November that allowed for the building of a new roof, entrances and the application of siding.
The Lord has blessed us with many volunteers – including men from Seneca Community Church of New York – and with the donation of all the building materials for the roof. God has also provided additional financial gifts. We are working to complete the drywall, painting and carpets so classes can move back into the Academy in January.
New Tribes Mission of Canada PO Box 707 Durham, ON N0G 1R0 519.369.2622
ntmc@ntmc.ca
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GPS...find your place in missions