Vote for NTM

New Tribes is attempting to get win a $10,000 aviation grant to help buy a new Kodiak plane. The Kodiak is an incredible aircraft. It's built for missions. It can hold a lot of cargo for a small plane, but it's able to still land on some of the most difficult airstrips in the world. NTM has been able to get one of these planes already, but the need for more is so huge! 

The winner for the grant is determined by votes, so the more votes, the better chance New Tribes has of winning. From what I've heard, they are in 2nd place right now, so I thought you guys might like the chance to help out. I think the current 1st place candidate is a company that is trying to get money to fly dogs around. Um, what?????? Anyways, I definitely think people are more important than dogs, so I'm voting for NTM! :)

Here's the link:
http://www.lightspeedaviationfoundation.org/content.cfm/Voting/Get-to-know-the-2013-finalists/New-Tribes-Mission

You just type in your name and email address, and it counts your vote. I used both of my two email addresses to vote. 

This is a really easy thing to do, and it will make a world of difference for NTM missionaries! Would you take 5 minutes to help vote? Thanks guys!

Learning through Ministry

I haven't written about my ministry at the Boy's Home for a while. It's a really exciting time right now! The group of guys that we have currently seem to be hungry for truth. We started out at the beginning of the semester by giving them the Gospel... Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Now, we're going back to the beginning of the Bible and teaching about Creation and who God is. This next Sunday, we are teaching about the creation of man and how much God values us because we are created in His image. The guys are actually interested in hearing God's Word. All of them, except a few, have been attending. We read some from Psalm 139, just pointing out how God knows all our thoughts, and one of the guys said, "I find it comforting that God knows my thoughts. He understands!" 

Wow. Sometimes I find it terrifying that God knows my thoughts. This guy's comment reminded me again that this fact should actually comfort me, because it shows how much He loves me, even when my thoughts are not in line with the truth of His Word. 

Josiah teaching at the Boy's Home

Please be praying for the guys at our ministry. We have about 7-8 guys at the home right now, and most of them will be there for a while still. But our time is so short, and we want to impact them with the truth as much as possible. We know it's only God who can change their thinking. Pray that they would be responsive to Him!

What a Simulation Can Teach You

I never realized how incredibly challenging, encouraging, stressful, and amazing a simulation could be.

That's what we're doing right now... a simulation. It's a 6 week-long class here at MTC where we get to practice things that we've learned over the past year. Actually, not just "things". We're practicing pretty much EVERYTHING we've learned.

Anyone who's ever done a simulation before knows that it helps solidify material that you've learned, but it also brings up aspects of the situation that you've never thought of before. This simulation is no different.

I've discovered so much more about myself and the way I process. But I've also seen how difficult it is to work on a large team. We've had several heated (note the "heated) discussions in our class of 45ish students about various things in the simulation. Things you never would have thought would be an issue. Things like how much to pay someone for helping you learn their language and culture. Apparently, that's a really, really big issue in many places around the world. In some locations, how much you pay your language helper can totally ruin the tribe's society because they aren't used to receiving money like we are.

Another sore topic has been smoking and drinking. Think about it. If someone in the States offers you a beer, it's ok to say no if you don't want to drink. There's nothing wrong with it. However, in a lot of locations around the world, refusing a sip of beer could completely jeopardize your relationships with the people. They might take offense at your refusal simply because it is a way of life for them and it is a way they show that they are friends. And if you don't know the language very well, it could be really hard to fix that mistake.

And there are a million other minute details that you would never even consider when going into another culture. Add to that the 45 different personalities represented by our class, and you've got quite the simulation on your hands.

So yeah, it's been good, but somewhat stressful. All the details, information, and interpersonal issues make it a challenging class, but it's also helping me think through a lot of good stuff. For instance, am I really going to make a good teammate for my coworkers on the field? Am I working to solve issues or simply stewing about things that don't go my way? Am I focusing on building relationships or am I focusing too much on the task at hand? What would Jesus do if He was in the situation?

I guess there's a lot of questions, and I'm still learning the answers. I'm glad I can begin to learn them here instead of on the field where the results could be a lot more disastrous.

Lies

Clint and I were reading this book last night. It's about lies that we as Christians often believe. I've read the book once before, but as Clint was reading the first chapter aloud to me, I was struck by how strongly I believe certain lies. You'd think after 20 years of living on planet earth, I'd be able to discern my thought patterns and habits. Actually, I think the longer you live, the more you realize you're an idiot most of the time, at least in your thought life. Ok, so maybe that's just me, I don't know. It's not usually something I go around asking people, "So, what lies are YOU believing today???" But maybe I should start. Because lies are so incredibly destructive to each one of us.

I guess I've been thinking a lot on this lately because I've been seeing different things that I'm doing every day that are displeasing to God, yet I don't want to give them up because they feel right to my humanity. I feel like that bird that always flies into the window yet never gives up because it thinks there's another bird there. Dumb bird.

And then I look at my life and have to say, dumb human.

I mean really, sometimes we're so incredibly dumb. It'd be almost funny if it weren't so incredibly not. We whine and complain about the craziest things, all because we don't believe that God is really good. Everything He's placed in our lives has a purpose. He has a rhyme behind His reason. And we sin. All the time. Habitually. Returning to the very things we've vowed over and over to never repeat. How dumb is that? Again, we don't believe that God is really good.

Lies affect us so much. They cause us to do stupid things. Cause us to doubt God and therefore get all worked up about things. But we don't see them so often. Here are some that jumped out at me that I believe:

1. "I have to be perfect" Is that really a lie???
2. "My worth is determined by my performance" Yup, believe that one all the time
3. "Life should be fair" Well...shouldn't it? Good American lie right there
4. "I must have everyone's love and approval" .........um yeah guilty.......
5. "God's acceptance must be earned" ouch...looking at it makes it sound bad, but I know I act on it a lot

So yeah, lies definitely affect my thinking. I believe them without even trying. I want to get better at finding them. At weeding them out of the garden of my mind (yes, there is a garden. Not a very organized one, but it's there).

As John 8:31-32 says, "If you hold to my teaching, then you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

I want to be free.