The other day, I was cleaning out my desk and found an email that I had received about 2 years ago.\u00a0 It was so encouraging to me that I thought I would share it.\u00a0 It was written by a former NTBI student, Jenny Lowe, now Jenny Schafer.\u00a0 She and her husband are now currently serving as missionaries with NTM in Mozambique.<\/p>\n
Recently, I met a missionary to Brazil who described herself as the “product of a missionary.”\u00a0 In her native country of Peru, this woman had been introduced to Christ through her friendship with a foreign missionary.\u00a0 Her statement made me reflect on my life and the influences that have shaped it.\u00a0 While I can’t say that my salvation experience was the “product of a missionary,” my growth as a Christian and my decision to be a tribal church planter have definitely been influenced by my relationships with missionaries.<\/p>\n
It all began at New Tribes Bible Institute, where I learned what it really means to live the Christian life.\u00a0 For the first time, I heard that the Christian walk is not about what I do, but instead is all about what Christ has already done.\u00a0 But, what made these truths come alive to me was my relationships with the staff at NTBI.\u00a0 As I observed their lives and got to know them, I learned how to apply those truths\u00a0 in my own Christian walk.\u00a0 I heard that dependence on Christ must be central in the Christian’s life,\u00a0 but they showed me how necessary it truly is.\u00a0 Without their friendship, those amazing truths would have remained mere head knowledge.\u00a0 And, I would have considered myself inadequate for the Christian life – or for missionary work.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, God’s use of missionaries in my life didn’t end when I left NTBI.\u00a0 After that, I had the privilege of receiving two more years of missions and language training with New Tribes Mission.\u00a0 During this time, I learned so much about culture, tribal church planting, and language learning principles.\u00a0 But, again, what made those two years of training so profitable?\u00a0 It was the friendships I developed with NTM’s staff.\u00a0 In class, we learned how important relationships are in tribal church planting.\u00a0 As our teachers developed relationships with us, we came to believe that relationships are vital.\u00a0 In class, we learned how important discipleship is for the growth of a believer.\u00a0 As our teachers discipled us through their lives, we became convinced of this truth.<\/p>\n
Today, I’m 27 years old and will soon be in Mozambique, Africa, planting a church among a people group who has never heard about the amazing relationship that God desires with them.\u00a0 Do I feel adequate for this task?\u00a0 No, but I am convinced that Christ is adequate.\u00a0 Do I think I can love a people who will most likely prove unlovable?\u00a0 No, but I know that Christ can love them through me.\u00a0 In myself, I know I’m not adequate for the task ahead, but I am so grateful for those missionaries who invested their lives in mine and, by their example, taught me to rely on Him.\u00a0 I guess I am the “product of a missionary,” after all!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jenny Schafer<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The other day, I was cleaning out my desk and found an email that I had received about 2 years ago.\u00a0 It was so encouraging to me that I thought I would share it.\u00a0 It was written by a former NTBI student, Jenny Lowe, now Jenny Schafer.\u00a0 She and her husband are now currently serving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jason-weaver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}