Two years ago this week, our family was living in a tent in the middle of a field, about a mile from the North Sea.
We were there as students in the Cross Cultural Communications course, the second phase of NTM’s European Bible and Missionary Training Center. This 1 year CCC course is designed to equip believers, both practically and spiritually, to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups and is available to graduates of the Biblical Studies Course.
Subjects studied include Language Learning, Cultural Anthropology, Bible Translation and Church Planting. Part of the course also involves five weeks of practical language and culture acquisition which is done while simulating living in a remote area.
For us this meant gathering all of our supplies-food, clothes, pots pans pens and paper- everything we would need, and moving into the tent that would be our home for the next 5 weeks. And once our simulation started, we weren’t allowed to leave.
As we were preparing for our time in the tents, someone left a stack of Coke-Cola at our door. We thought it was a great joke, since everyone knew Joan and I came to class with a can of Coke each day. Counting the cans, we realized there were enough for both of us to enjoy a Coke each day of Mission Simulation…
…but we had other plans.
As July started we had been in the tents for weeks, spending 8 hours a day learning live foreign languages, and practicing all that we had learned over the year. It was time for a break.
So we, as the only American couple in the training, invited everyone for a good old Fourth of July party. We uncovered the Coke cans, and got out the hotdogs we had been saving just for this. Our friends and classmates came with salads and desserts. We even had some Sparklers and Poppers for the kids, but when your house has a grass floor, I guess those things don’t last very long. Everyone had a great time, and there were enough hotdogs and Coke-Cola for everyone!
We get to spend the Fourth with our family this year, and for that we are grateful. But since we leave for New Guinea in September, next year’s 4th of July will look a little different. While we will miss our family here in the States, we’ve seen already how the Lord gives us new family members wherever we are. Aren’t you glad you’re a part of the family of God?
Wherever you are, Happy 4th of July!
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