Graduation! (December Newsletter 2011)

 

GRADUATION: As Mike and I reflect on the past 2 years at New Tribes Bible Institute, the words overwhelmed, humbled, and blessed immediately come to mind. Our graduation this past weekend was such a great way to close this season. What an encouragement it was to share the experience with Pastor George from HDC, who flew all the way from California to see us! We made some great memories with him, and we will always remember his visit with us. We have truly been blessed by the Biblical teaching we received here and are so grateful for the time spent studying and growing in our walk with the Lord. There is still so much to learn, and we are thankful for God’s grace in our lives! Many of you have supported us through prayer and finances, and encouraged us through emails, phone calls, facebook and texts. THANK YOU with all our heart!!

           

Us with NTBI President Ron Lindsey        Us with Pastor George from HDC

NEXT STEPS: We are moving to the New Tribes Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Roach, Missouri on January 6. There, we will continue learning and studying about missions! This process lasts 1-½ -2 years. During our first semester, we will be studying Church Planting, Christian Living, Stewardship, and Culture/Language Acquisition. Our first semester starts January 17! We are all very excited for the move, but have come to love Waukesha WI, and will miss it here!

These kids deserve an honorary graduation!

THE KIDS IN CAPS AND GOWNS: The kids deserve to wear the cap and gown too! Here's a few reasons why. They were troopers through this process! They gave up their own bedrooms, gave away more than half of their things, and moved away from friends and family! Nicole helped us study for tests, learned Greek verb tenses with Mike, and learned the definition of Animism with Kristi. Jesse enjoyed laying next to Mike at night and falling asleep while listening to him read Basic Theology and other textbooks. We would not have felt comfortable going through the process of moving and training for missions if our kids were willing to adjust and have great attitudes! So...we dressed them up and snapped a photo!

MISS NICOLE: is growing up so quickly! She turned 9 this past March. She loves reading with a passion, and just finished the first Lord of the Rings book (over 400 pages!) She enjoys math, music, and art. Last spring she was the lead in a musical at her school, and did an excellent job! We are so proud of her. She continues to grow in her understanding of the Bible, and we cherish the time we get to spend with her talking about God’s Word.

JESSE BOY: is our active and crazy 7 year old! He brings us so much joy and keeps us laughing! He is doing so well in reading and has moved along rather quickly, we have been very proud of his determination to learn to read. He also does very well in math and enjoys counting as high as he can. He told me he can count to a million, and when I said when have you done that?! He said, “well I haven’t but I know all of the number combinations!” We are so touched by his compassionate heart for others; his love for animals, babies, and kids with disabilities. What a sweet boy he is!


Thanks again to all of you who made this possible! We love and appreciate every one of you!

Love, Mike, Kristi, Nicole, and Jesse

   

Visiting The Missionary Training Center (MTC)

We pulled into the Missionary Training Center just after midnight. As we rubbed our eyes, the dim light revealed dirt roads, apartment buildings, playgrounds, a lake, and various other facilities. The grounds reminded us of a Christian camp. We found our apartment and got ready for bed right away.

The next morning we gathered our supplies and walked to the shower room. We were staying in the old housing, built as a “temporary” solution in the 1960’s. All of the new housing is very nice and has bathrooms and showers in each apartment.

At chapel, the worship team played current worship songs. The speaker, George, shared many of the struggles of tribal church planting. He was refreshingly transparent about the ways our flesh can have the better of us in the midst of tribal church planting. He emphasized the importance of humility, teamwork, and forgiveness in the body of Christ.

Our first class was about animism, a common tribal religion. Animism is the belief that things in nature have souls and are conscious, that supernatural forces animate and organize the universe, and that people have spirits that can exist separately from their bodies. This belief system leaves people superstitious and terrified, imprisoning them to perform rituals when they cut down a tree, or walk on the grass, or kill a pig.

Our second class was phonetics, which emphasizes points of articulation, manners of articulation and the human speech apparatus. This is just one of many courses designed to give tribal church planters the ability to learn unwritten foreign languages, develop an alphabet, teach literacy, and translate the Bible into a peoples heart language.

Meeting some of the staff, talking with the students, attending classes, and touring the grounds gave us a much better understanding of the training and lifestyle we will receive during our 2 years at the MTC.

The biggest encouragement during our visit was seeing the kids go from apprehension to excitement about another move. The campus is on 400 acres right on the shore of the Lake of the Ozarks. There are several playgrounds, rope swings, mountain bike trails, open fields, and a creek! 


Jesse got to shoot his first .22, and Nicole had a blast swinging on rope swings over the creek. We all had a great time, learned a great deal about the training, and have a better idea of what to expect if we end up moving there after we graduate from NTBI in December 2011.

3rd Semester Is Starting!

The view of the city from NTBI

We have been here for a year! It's hard to believe we are already halfway done with the Biblical Studies portion of our education. One more year to go, then two years of missionary training at the MTC! Spring semester started Sunday, January 16. Mike is really busy planning, scheduling, rehearsing, and leading the worship team for the 3-day orientation. He usually plays drums or guitar, and lets some of the other students lead vocally.

Making a gingerbread house

We couldn't afford to fly home to California for Christmas. We sure missed seeing our loved ones, but we managed to have a nice time as a family. We made some neat memories sledding, taking a walk while it snowed on Christmas Eve, going ice skating, and spending time with a few of the students who also stayed on campus over the break. We were so blessed by friends and family who made it possible for us to buy Christmas presents for the kids! Thank you so much!

The Day Family 4

We are reaching a point where we will need to rely on the Lord for financial provision more than ever before. As we look to Him and see His faithfulness displayed in scripture and in our own lives, we feel excited about what He has in store for us as we depend on Him to meet our needs. But, when we look at the things of this earth, we begin to feel very uneasy. Please pray that we will trust the Lord as we seek wisdom and direction to navigate this next chapter in our journey to the mission field.

The back of NTBI this fall

Classes officially start Wednesday! Here's a list of the classes we are taking this semester. 1 and 2 Peter, 2 Corinthians, Angelology, Ephesians, Galatians, Hebrews, James/Jude, Missions in Church History, Pneumatology, Romans, Soteriology, Family, Decision Making, Greek 2, and Perspectives in World Missions.