Four Years of Training Nearly Over

My four years of training are nearly over now and with it comes a bitter sweet emotion. Although I am supper excited to be almost done with these four years of training I am also sad that I will be leaving behind many friends and seeing off many others. Perhaps the most jarring thought of all, though, is that I am now suppose to be equipped to be a tribal church planter, but if there is one thing that I have learned throughout the training it is how much I really don’t know and how little I am actually equipped. Let me assure you, this is not just a passing thought but a gripping reality that could very easily grow into a controlling fear. BUT, there is one other thing I have learned through the training and life’s circumstance; that is that this “work” I intend on doing is really no doing of my own but rather the Work of our Lord!
With all that said, I am now a New Tribes member. Am I excited? You bet! But for the same reasons above I am also very much humbled that I would be allowed to take on such a big task. As of June 1st I have been a member of New Tribes Mission. I graduated May 20th but don’t let that fool you. I am still in training. Although I graduated I am returning in the fall for a semester of special linguistics training. We will be learning how to decipher languages totally foreign to us from beginning to end. To top it all off we will be living amongst the Cherokee in Oklahoma for a month as we put into practice everything we have learned! =)
Much has transpired in the last few months and especially since the later part of May. The 21st Tiffany and I flew to Brazil for a terrific 3 weeks where I got to show her my stomping grounds and introduce her to a large part of my family. We did a lot of traveling as I took her all over central Brazil. She got a taste of everything from Piranha fishing to a beautiful hot springs resort. After a long trip back we spent a couple of days in Iowa with my grandparents. From Iowa we drove to California with a overnight stop at a friends place in Colorado in the beautiful Rockies.My plan is to stay here in California working until we return to school in August.
Throughout all of our travels and plans it has been amazing to see the Lord provide and take care of us. When we arrived in Iowa I had to send the car to the mechanic and received a 600 dollar bill which I could not have begun to pay with out the work the Lord supplied spontaneously through my Uncle. Again he provided a place for us to stay in Colorado with our friends. One other thing that he has supplied me with is a good job here in California. I have the privilege of working for a friend from Bible School. I’ve only worked one day with him so far but it has already been such a refreshment to be able to talk about our Lord and things of eternal value as we rake pine needles in the hot California sun! Our God is truly amazing! Praise him with me and if you remember keep me in your prayers as well!