October Newsletter 2016

Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog and read up on the ministry we are involved in at New Tribes Bible Institute. 
Here is our latest newsletter...

   October 2016 by a_templeton01 on Scribd

Words from a student..."Making it Through"

This is a little clip of part of my story that my church had me do for a series called "Making it Through".

I just wanted to share this because I know there are so many others here struggling through Lyme and even though this is specific on Chronic Illness, it applies to any struggle you may be facing, loneliness, hurt, abuse, fear, depression, anxiety...

Guys, it's not easy! Sometimes it feels like life sucks and it is just not worth the struggle and fight to keep going. But, we are never told we have to go at this alone. Don't lose site of who we have taking each and every moment with us, the most Faithful and Loving God who truly cares deeply for you!! Like I shared in this clip, I still don't know why He's allowed half of what He's had me walk through, but I don't have to because I know without a shadow of a doubt I can trust Him! It doesn't all always make sense when you're in the midst of it, but if you keep your eyes on Him, you'll see more and more of his loving faithfulness in your life!!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

 - 1 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Making it Through"

Words from a student..."When Pain Cracks My Bubble"

During the summer break, we suffered the loss of one of our students that left many students and staff heart broken.  Levi was the youngest son of one of our staff members and a cherished friend and student of the Bible School.

Most people don't understand the unique environment that NTBI has to offer, but one of our students Kyla Byers has shared her heart and has given me permission to share with you the journey that she has been on since this happened.

When Pain Cracks My Bubble

 

     I experienced pain this summer. Pain beyond what I have experienced before. A pain that shattered my whole world.

     My first year of Bible school has had it's ups and downs. I have enjoyed making new friends, learning more about the Bible and the truths God has spoken. I have benefited from so many people speaking into my life. This is something that I am sure that most (if not all) of my classmates could say the same thing about their experience here. However, there is something about my Bible school experience that is unique. Something, that I like to call the "bubble".

     The "bubble" is incredible. I live in one building, with 200 other people, (married couples, single students of all ages, young kids, grandparents, staff and students). Outside of that building there is a small campus, with more housing that is filled with more students and staff. Everyone knows everyone, everyone encourages, prays for and lives life with everyone. It is impossible to not know someone. If it is possible to not know someone, it is impossible to not know someone who knows that someone you don't know (have fun following that). Our lives all happen in this bubble. Which means, when something happens to anyone, everyone is impacted.

     Can you honestly think of a time in your life, where something happened, and everyone you interact with was personally impacted in some way? Besides major events like 9/11, I can't. Until now...

     My first semester I remember watching and praying as we watched one of my classmates crumble as his dad struggled to hold onto life, and ultimately passed away. We all hurt for him and with him. It brought many of us together, into a tight bond. Little did I know that was just the beginning of the hurt we would all go through.

     Two months ago I got the news that one of my classmates had died. My heart instantly sank into my stomach. Not only was Levi one of my friends, but he was best friends with my roommate, dorm brother to my best friend, roommates with one of my dearest guy friends, and son of my mentor/college mom. My heart broke, but not just for me and the loss of my friend, but for the loss of the people who were close to me. For my roomie, as this is the second close guy friend she has lost in a year and a half. For my friend, as he lost  his best friends. But most of all, for the woman who has spent hours pouring love into my life, who now has to figure out how to live life with the loss of her baby boy.

     I was asked by his mom to speak at his memorial service. It was one of the highest honors, and yet one of the hardest things I have ever done. As the day came around I remember crying out to God for the strength to be able to speak encouragement to those who loved Levi, and to be able to just honor the memory of Levi without bawling my eyes out in front of everyone. As I stood up to speak, I looked around and recognized so many faces. I saw so many people who were a part of my bubble. I looked into his parents and siblings eyes, and had to fight back the urge to collapse on the floor in a puddle. I looked, and saw that my bubble had been popped. Thankfully, God gave me the strength to say what I felt lead to share.

     After I finished speaking, I sat back down in my seat, and I completely fell apart. It all hit, and it all hit hard. I was beyond thankful that I was sitting next to my dear friend Sean, who fell apart with me. One other person got up to share after I finished, and then we all stood to sing a song. We sang the song "Great Are You Lord". To this day, I hear that song and I can't help but cry. I remember standing there, crying, struggling to even breath while I felt a pain deep to the bone. Meanwhile, I listened to the words of the song. "It's your breath, in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only." I realized i couldn't... I prayed from my heart, "Lord, it is your breath in my lungs, but I don't even have the strength to pour out praise to you with this breath."

     The one really cool thing about this pain is the bubble. I realized that as I was hurting, crying and praying, everyone who I have shared this bubble with was also hurting, crying and praying. As I look around at all the people who I am close with right now, 90% of them are going through pain, whether for their loss or seeing the pain of those around them, We are all hurting and we are all supporting each other. We are all banding together to surround his family in prayers, to support them how we can, and to love them.

     This fall, as many of us have returned to school, a piece of all of our hearts will be missing. And I know that have been shed and the tears shed now, will not be the only tears shed for our friend. Many more will be shed, many more prayers will be lifted up, and the pain will always remain. I am just thankful that our bubble can face it together.

     My bubble has been cracked, but it is still my bubble.

August 2016

Thank you for taking the time to visit our Blog page.  

We are so very thankful for each of you that have partnered with us in prayer, financial support and just for being our friends.

Thanks

Gina

   August 2016

FRANCE MISSION TRIP

This upcoming August, Andy and a group of servants from our church, East Troy Bible Church will be taking a trip to France to serve at a missions conference for a group of missionaries in France.  Andy will be the keynote speaker, while the rest of the group works with the children and brings encouragement to the adults.  This trip is unique because instead of going to work with locals, they will be going to serve the missionaries so that they can get a time of refreshment and encouragement with their co-workers.

The team is currently in the fund-raising phase of the trip.  Currently we are selling baked goods after our morning worship service to help cover the cost of the trip.  The cost includes, airfare, food and lodging while they are there.

If you would like to send a donation towards the trip, please contact us and we would love to direct you as to where to send that.  

Thank you very much, and please keep the team in your prayers as they prepare for their trip.

Are YOU still alive?

I recently found this while scrolling through facebook.  It really hit me hard, I think because of the visual picture it displays.  

My prayer is that I will be a LIVING CHURCH for God.

A new Pastor in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first services.
The following Sunday the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the Pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that, because the church was dead, it was everyone's duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice said.
Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered in flowers. After the Pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church.
Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a "dead church," all the people eagerly lined up to look in the coffin. Each "mourner" peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look.
In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror.
When it comes to your spiritual life, are you still alive?

-These are my words. My name is La’enis. I can say my name now because I am not afraid.

Below is a posted testimony from one of our tribal missionaries.  I am grateful for these stories because it is a good reminder of WHY we do WHAT we do.  Sometimes, it is easy to get discouraged by day to day living that we forget the  BIG PICTURE of living for GOD.

My Name is La’enis

Posted by: Jared and Leah Haynes

La’enis
Photo Credit: Jeff Hunt

My feet hurt from walking all day, and they were cracked and bleeding from the dry ground.  As I walked through the dust on the way back from hunting, I thought about what the kids would say when I came home empty handed again.  They would cry. They cried a lot lately. Sure enough, everyone came out to meet me when I got home and I told them I hadn’t seen anything. When they cried I told them to stop or else the lions would come and eat them. They would have to learn to deal with hunger. We were always hungry. This was what it was like being a Manjúi. It was dry this time of year and there weren’t a lot of animals to be found. I was afraid though; that we wouldn’t last much longer in this drought.

An example of Chaco dust

My young son came in from playing and had killed a couple of birds with his slingshot, so that would have to do for food for tonight. I thought about my daughter then. She wasn’t a baby but she could fit into my bag she was so skinny. She had been sick for a long time. I would have to chant over her again, I felt so sorry for her. A really strong spirit had her spirit and I couldn’t seem to get it back. That is why she was so sick. You would have thought I could get it back since my helper spirit was one of the strongest around. Everyone was afraid of me because I was the one with the strongest helper spirit. They were afraid of what I could do to them.

I did feel sorry for a lot of people though; that’s why I helped heal them. I would call up my helper spirit to get the spirit of the sick back. That would make them better. Lots of times I was able to make them better. They had to give me whatever I asked for in payment as they were afraid of me. I had to ask of them whatever my helper spirit wanted or he would get mad at me. Even though I was such a strong healer, I was really afraid of my helper spirit.

A “Bottle Tree” in the Chaco

I will never forget that night I worked over my sick daughter. I chanted so hard I could hardly talk. Finally my helper spirit told me to put her under water to try to drown the bad spirit out. It didn’t help. We threw her body out back under an old bottle tree. We didn’t have to worry about burning her body because she wasn’t old enough to come back and harm us.

Even though I couldn’t heal my daughter I was still strong. The people were still afraid of me. Nobody would ever stop me from anything I wanted. They would never want to make me mad. Shortly after my daughter died, the white skins came. They told a lot of the stories we already knew from our past. They didn’t have them all correct though. They said one God made us all. We all know we came from parrots. It’s obvious we came from parrots. They are the only animal that knows how to talk.

La’enis
Photo Credit: Jeff Hunt

I listened for a time to the white skins teaching but after a while my helper spirit told me I had to stop. I still listened sometimes but it made my helper spirit unhappy with me. After I would listen to what the white skins called “God’s words” it would take me such a long time to call up my helper spirit. He really didn’t like me listening to God’s words. A lot of my people started to give up their helper spirits about this time, but not me, I was still strong.

The white skins talked a lot in those days about God and what He did for us. If I ever mentioned this to my helper spirit he would cower and then leave me for a long time. I am not sure why he was afraid since he was the strongest helper spirit around. I felt so weak when my helper spirit would leave me. I didn’t know what to do. None of my people would dare talk to me about my helper spirit because they were afraid of me. Well, none that is except my son. I will never forget the day my son stood up to me. No one had ever stood up to me before. Everyone knew what I would do to them if they stood up to me. It just never happened. Except for that day my son stood up to me. He said I was wrong and would go to a very bad place called Hell if I didn’t believe what God’s words said.

Chaco cactus

My helper spirit was very angry that my son stood up to me. He begged me not to be done with him. He also told me I should judge my son for what he did. I would have but my wife wouldn’t let me. I started to listen more to the white skins teaching because I didn’t want to lose face. I told the people I was doing it because I wanted to; not because my son told me to. Actually I was listening because I was afraid. I was afraid that my helper spirit was getting weak. Not so many of my people were afraid of me anymore. In fact I was one of the few who were still afraid of everything.

Me and La’enis last May

Finally came the day when I gave up my spirit for good. I hadn’t seen him around for a long time. I listened to what the white man said about God and about man not being good enough to go to God’s place because God was perfect. I wanted to go to God’s place when I died. I was so terribly afraid of dying. My spirit left me when I understood that God’s son died in my place so that I could go to God’s place when I died. I thought I would be afraid when my spirit left me, but I wasn’t. I got another spirit that day. God’s spirit came to live inside me. I wasn’t afraid of God’s spirit like I had been of my old helper spirit. I was only happy. My stomach wasn’t even full of honey and yet I was happy. Maybe I was finally happy because I wasn’t afraid anymore. It was so good to not be afraid.

-These are my words. My name is La’enis. I can say my name now because I am not afraid. **Intrested in another story involving La’enis? Check out this link: http://blogs.ntm.org/jared-haynes/2015/09/18/a-diamond-in-the-rough/

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May 2016 Newsletter

   May 2016 Newsletter by a_templeton01

For Friends & Family of those Moving Back “Home”

Recently my good friend and Librarian boss in Thailand sent out this article because she is moving back to the states after serving overseas for many years.  I wanted to share it with you, my friends, so that you can better understand where we are at since moving home.  Finding "Normal" once again has not been as easy as I had hoped and prayed it would be.  I find that many of the points in the article below are a real part of life even though we have been living in the states now for almost two years.  After living overseas for more than 10 years, I find these last two years have only put a dent into the reality of transition.

I know that this article might be a bit long for some to take the time to read, but it gives such good insight into the heart and mind of missionaries who have returned to their home countries.  Andy and I are still involved with missions serving at New Tribes Bible Institute in training the next generation of cross-cultural church planters.  However, when the scenery, culture and language are so familiar it is easy to exist in a weird "in between" state,  feeling not quite at home in America but not quite functioning as a "real" missionary either.  Thanks for praying for us as we follow God's plan for our lives and trust Him for the grace to continue serving.

Ruthie

Extended Family, Friendship, Reverse Culture Shock, Time & Reentry

 

In the midst of moving back to my “home” country, I wasn’t at a place to articulate to my friends and family what was going on inside me or what I needed {probably because I didn’t understand it myself}, but looking back there are things I wish I’d been able to communicate because I know it was a complicated transition for them too.

This week, I thought I’d write some of those thoughts down in hopes of them being helpful to others who have friends or family members moving back “home.”  These are things I would have liked to have written to those closest to me in the first few years after moving back.

Dear Friends & Family,

I know I’m a complicated package right now.  I know you’re not quite sure what to expect from me.  I’m not sure either!  Which is what makes this season challenging.  I’m sorry it’s hard.  Sorry for you {because I know it can be hard to be my friend these days}, and sorry for me {because I don’t always like who I feel like I am right now}.  Maybe some of this will help you understand a little more…

Home is a hard word for me right now!  One day I am excited to be here.  The next day I desperately want to be anywhere but here.  Please don’t take it personally.  I value you even if it seems like I’m frustrated with my home culture some days.  My brain is trying to sort out and mix together all of the cultures I’ve come in contact with and figure out who I am now {they tell me this is a normal part of reverse culture shock}.  I know some days I can seem fickle or critical or confused.  Believe it or not, most days the re-entry season is harder for me then living overseas was.

Moving Back and Moving On!  Oh, how I wish it was that easy!  As much as I want to embrace this next stage wholeheartedly and not look back, I’m finding that mentally, emotionally, and spiritually I just can’t move on that fast.  Re-entry might take a few years longer then we’d like {yes, I said years…I’m not going to be over this in weeks or months most likely}.  Not because I want to be in this place forever, but because I want to give you a realistic picture that this season can last a while.

I’m grieving.  There’s been a lot of change, a lot of saying goodbye.  It feels like I left part of me in a different place, and I’ll never be the same again.  So, if it seems like I’m crying for no reason over little things, it’s because I have to walk through the process of mourning things I’ve lost.  I know I said goodbye in my last country, but I’m finding there is still grieving to do.  Some days I want to pretend away that grief, but it’s still there.  I’m saying goodbye to people, places, foods, routines, careers, and the intangible losses of dreams, innocence, etc.  It helps me grieve when you’re willing to listen…to what I’ve lost, to what I miss, to what is hard.  As I talk about it, I find I’m able to grieve it and move on.  It is such a gift when we go to international stores to find things I miss or make a meal I miss from living overseas.

I’m living in a constant state of awkward these days.  Everything I do feels awkward.  Registering for school, using an ATM, shopping in a large grocery store, knowing what are appropriate topics to talk about at parties. It’s a bit overwhelming.  I feel out of the loop.  If I seem overwhelmed by little things, it’s because my brain feels paralyzed by the myriad of “new” things I’m doing.  Life takes so much more energy.  It’s OK to ask if there are things I have questions about or want to re-learn how to do.  I may be ashamed to ask, but it is such a grace when you’re willing to explain without judgment how things work in this new home.

I wish I had more energy then I do.  When you ask me to do things and I say no, it’s not because I don’t want to hang out.  It may be that I can’t manage one more thing today.  Tomorrow I may be able to say yes.  Please, please keep asking.  I really do want friends in my new home.

I may not be talking about my life overseas, but chances are I’m thinking about it a lot.  I know it’s been a couple years, but I still think about life in my former country.  Some days I wonder if we made the right choice moving home.  Some days I wonder if my life overseas made a difference.  Some days I feel guilty for not being there.  One of the best gifts you can give me is to ask about my life before this.  I am probably not talking about it because it’s hard to talk about or I’m not sure you want to hear about it, but I really do want someone to ask me how it was.

Help me talk about the paradox. My time overseas had amazing moments and tough moments.  I need to talk about both with a healthy balance.  When you ask me questions about what was good and what was hard in equal measure it helps.  It allows me to grieve the hard and celebrate the good.  It protects me from remembering a distorted picture.  Please don’t assume that my life overseas was either wonderful or hard all the time.  Most of the time it was both at the same time.

I know I’m hard to live with right now, and I’m sorry.  I don’t understand all the emotions that are going on inside of me, but sometimes anger, cynicism, and a critical spirit bubble up in me in ways I didn’t know were possible.  They tell me it’s a part of reverse culture shock to feel some of these things.  I’m sorry for the ways this makes living with me challenging.  Please don’t think I’m going crazy when I express some of these feelings.  Believe me, I don’t like this part of me either.  They tell me it won’t last forever.  Thank you for having the grace to let me walk through this process of re-entry…and providing a safe place for me to talk through all the crazy emotions that go with it.

Please remind me that I have value as a person regardless of my current occupation. Sometimes I can believe the lie that I’m not an important person anymore because I’m not doing a job that people see as “cool” or world changing.  It is such a gift when you affirm that my value is found in who I am, and not what I do.  When you ask things like “what are you doing next?”, I know you are genuinely interested, but if I don’t have a cool answer {or any answer} it can lead me down a road of thinking that my value is tied to my occupation.  You might also be careful of asking “when are you going to move back?”  That can also be a hard question too.  Thank you so much for the ways you affirm how you see me using my gifts in this new place.  That really helps.

My mental and emotional health may be a bit shaky.  I’m not going crazy, it’s a bi-product of having a high stress job overseas and the normal process of reverse culture shock.  It isn’t true for everyone, but they tell me it’s not unusual for people in re-entry to find themselves experiencing some depression, anxiety, PTSD type symptoms.  It’s not necessarily because something happened on the field.  It does not mean I’m doing something wrong in re-entry.  It’s not because you are doing something wrong.  Sometimes it’s just because living overseas is a high stress job, and we can’t escape the toll it can take on our emotional and mental health.

It is such a gift when people genuinely ask me how I’m doing.  If I’m struggling in these areas, please don’t freak out.  Remind me that this is a part of transition for some people {without minimizing what I’m feeling}.  Encourage me to talk to a professional who has experience working with those who’ve lived overseas.  If I’m scared to go by myself, go with me.  Ask me what my triggers are.  Ask how you can help.  Celebrate when I invest my time and energy in things that will strengthen my emotional health {sometimes I feel selfish to be focusing on these things}.  It helps to have other people say it’s important.  Remind me that this is just a season.  Sometimes the scariest part is thinking I will feel this way forever.  What a gift it is to have people in my life who don’t offer the quick fix answers but who are willing to walk with me on this journey.

I just want to be a normal person!  Please don’t assume I’m super spiritual or don’t struggle just because I’ve been employed in full time ministry overseas.  I just want to be me.  I just want to have friends.  I’m not a superstar.  This for me is the hardest season my spiritual life has ever gone through…and some days I need people who are OK with listening to my doubts and questions, and who don’t assume that I’ve got it all together.  It is so life giving when I feel a freedom to be me {with all of the good and complicated parts}.

If it seems like I don’t know what I want…it’s because I don’t!  Living overseas confused my identity in a big way!  There are parts of the old me and parts of the new me that are all mixed up inside.  It’s going to take some time to sort all that out.  I’m not the same person who moved to the field.  I’m also not the same person here as I was overseas.  You may find that I change my mind about what I want from one day to another.  It may take me a while to figure out things like what church I like or what part of town I want to live in.  And just to warn you, it probably won’t be the same decision I made before I moved overseas.    It’s like I’m having to figure out “who do I want to be when I grow up” all over again.  Please be patient with my pursuit of identity.  It really helps when you speak into my life what you feel like my gifts, talents, and aptitudes are.  As you talk about it, I can start to figure out again who I am.   It’s also a gift to me when you invite me to do new things, and encourage me to explore who I am.  Telling me who I should be won’t work.  I have to figure this one out on my own.

You are more important then you know!  I cannot do re-entry without you.  I need caring people in my life for this season as much as I did when I lived internationally.  Thank you for your patience, your concern, your listening ear, your companionship.  I may not have the emotional energy to express how much your friendship means to me right now, but THANK YOU for walking the re-entry journey with me!