Day of Prayer

Today was Day of Prayer. This is a day that is set aside for us to learn about some of the countries that New Tribes Mission works in and to pray for the missionaries and works going on. We heard two presentations. The first one was about the country of Thailand and the second one was on Mongolia. It is always encouraging to hear what God is doing around the world. The guys who did the presentation on Thailand treated us to a Thai meal that they made. (Yum, Thanks guys!)

Day of Prayer

Yesterday was a day we call "Day of Prayer". Once a month we set aside a day in which we pray for all the countries that the Mission works with. We also hear a couple of field reports on what God is doing in different countries. Yesterday morning we heard a report on the country of Mozambique and then one on the Philippines. The two groups that worked on the reports did a good job giving us an over view on the country they were presenting and also on the needs in that country.

Under Pressure

There is plenty of snow on the ground but in three months our students will be in the middle of building their jungle camp houses and almost ready to move up into the bush. Therefore it was time to do our class on pressure canning meats. As you will remember there is no electricity in our bush homes so pressure caning meat is the only safe way to store meat. Pressure canning was a total foreign concept to this city girl. But 24 years ago Vern and I worked together on pressure canning our meat for jungle camp. It was a positive experience and my grandmother bought me my own pressure canner to bring overseas. Many missionaries do not have to use this method overseas but there are still some who do. So this is a valuable skill to learn in case you are one of those people who do use pressure canning overseas. Although I didn't do a lot of pressure canning I did pressure can a whole cow on the field. I also canned other smaller things as well. Yesterday we went through the steps and all the procedures to pressure canning meat. In the next months now before jungle camp all our students will have the opportunity to pressure can their meat. If you have never tried pressure canned meat it really is quite tasty.

A Visit from the Pillsbury Dough Boy

It was an early morning for me as I started mixing up dough to be ready for our 8:00 a.m. class on yeast doughs. I mixed up five different types of dough for us to work with. Working with yeast doughs is something I knew nothing about when I got married but my dear mother-in-law gave me a few classes on making bread and buns. And thus started my bond with yeast and doughs. That was almost 25 years ago. I do enjoy working with dough and with having five children there was always someone to eat the different recipes I would try out. Some of my favorites like the cinnamon raisin bread I made today I can't keep in the house as I enjoy eating it a little too much. Today's class went very smoothly. There was some opportunity for students to work with some of the dough I had already prepared. Then most of the students got some hands on experience mixing up a batch of pizza dough. Since this scratch cooking class is on different types of dough there was plenty for all of us to snack on. Since Ruth and Titus knew we had a scratch cooking class at the house this morning they came home for their break time and were also able to enjoy the snacks.

Scratch Cooking Classes

This week we are having classes on cooking from scratch. As our students plan on working overseas there are so many food items that just will not be available. So we give some hands on experience in making bread, pies, tortillas and other things. This morning was an introduction to our scratch cooking classes. The actual demonstrations and classes start tomorrow. It is always a lot of fun and I am looking forward to making some great memories with our students while enjoying some home cooked snacks. (smile)

Second Semester Begins

Well, it has been a few days since I have been able to make a post. Although I have a picture of an empty calendar our calendar is not empty and is filling up VERY quickly. We have been busy planning and preparing for the new semester which officially started this morning. It is good to have all our students back and it was great to connect again. We are looking forward to the new semester ahead.

Up On the Roof Top, Click, Click,, Click

In the afternoon our students are busy with Practical Training Class. This course helps to prepare people for some of the physical work they will need to do on the field. We also hope that the students will learn a few new skills that would be a help to them on the mission field. Most of our first year students have been on a roofing project this past week. They have been replacing the roof on one of the student housing building. We did experience at least one day where it was threatening to rain. The guys did an awesome job in working together on this project.

Class Update

Here at the Training Center classes are in full swing. Vern just finished teaching a module on the introduction to cross culture church planting. Peter is now teaching a module on Animism. Barry is also teaching "Foundations for Living".

Monday Morning Fellowship Time

Yesterday we started our "Monday Morning Fellowship Time" for the first time of the semester. It is a time where all of the first and second year students and staff get together for a time of singing and then a devotional. Right after that we have a coffee and donut time together. It is a great time for all of us to connect with each other. Right now we don't have a classroom big enough for the first and second year to have classes in the same building. In a few years we hope that will be different and we will have a lot more of those connecting times. But for now our "Monday Morning Fellowship Times" brings us together for some encouragement through the Word and through friendships.

Class Update

We have had the privilege of having Ernest Jones here for several weeks. He just finished up a two week class with our first year students and is now teaching a week long class to our second year students. The classes are called : Tech Tips 1 and Tech Tips 2. "Time is a non-renewable resource" is one of the themes of these classes and the idea is to give our students valuable ways to help them use their time to see churches established in remote areas that don't have modern conveniences. During the "Tech Tips Class" the students learn about things like DC electricity, solar panels and how to set up a solar system, and there are many more very practical things having to do with alternative energy sources. There are different labs that the students do to get some hands on experience which again is a great help in seeing them prepared for future ministry in remote locations.

Jungle Camp Class

This morning we all headed up to the bush for a jungle camp class. We went to the different storage buildings and looked at some of the supplies that there is for the students to use. Then we went to one of the jungle camp lots and it was explained and then demonstrated how to square up a jungle camp house. We went over the water system up in the bush and how that works. We have an old student house still standing so that the students can see how a house is put together. We went over and looked at the stove which is one of the biggest projects that the students will work on in their house. The stove was not it that great of shape as it has been there for almost five years and a lot of moisture has gotten in. But it was still good to look at to see generally how a stove will look. Then the students were free to go to their sights take measurements, look at their supply of poles, and continue to work on their house plans. The students will start building their jungle camp house on June 4th and on June 16th it is move up day. Between now and then I will probably have different posts as we get closer and closer to the jungle camp move up day. Please pray for our students as there is a lot of planning that takes place during these weeks as they finish up their canning, make meal plans, get the needed supplies for building, and they start buying their month's worth of groceries.

Class Update

In the church planting course there are many different things that have been covered over the course of the year. Last semester our students studied a group of Indian people called the Yuroks. They listened to many tapes and learned about the Yurok culture and way of life. The students also studied how one goes about cross-cultural evangelism withing a church planting context. New Tribes Mission has seen the value in teaching people chronologically starting in Genesis. It lays a firm foundation. We are in the last week of the "Church Planting" class. All our students were given a Bible lesson that they were supposed to prepare. They were to write up the Bible lesson following the "Building on Firm Foundations" lesson plans but they were supposed to write them as if they were teaching the Yurok people. The students were supposed to pull in as many examples as they could to make it understandable to the Yurok people. This week the lady and men have split up and each person is presenting their Bible lesson to their group. The ladies have done such a great job. Each lady has their own style of teaching. It has been good to see how they have tried to get their audience involved and made it as interactive as possible. (There have been some really great ideas that I have written down and I will try to incorporate next year as I teach in Awana.) Although this is only a glimpse of what it will be like teaching cross culturally in a tribal setting, it has been a good expereince.