USING THE SUN TO SPREAD THE SON

Over the last few weeks in my Missionary Technology course, I have been learning a lot about electricity; specifically, solar electricity. When tribal church planters move into a tribe there will be no electricity available; therefore, they will need to be their own power company. The electricity will come from a solar-powered system. The sunlight will be turned into electricity by solar panels and then be sent to 12-volt deep-cycle batteries until they need the power. Because the electricity is going to be 12-volt Direct Current, most appliances that we commonly use in America will not be able to run since America has 120 volt Alternating Current. Probably the biggest difference you would notice if you walked through a tribal house is the outlets won’t be the traditional 3-prong style, rather they will look like the cigarette lighter outlet in your car. While I could go into more detail about inverters, power loss, wire sizes, and more, I will just know that if you have questions or want to know more you will ask me, and then we can save everyone else from all the technical stuff (although I love these details).

Someday as a missionary pilot I will have other missionaries very dependent on me to deliver their solar-powered system so they can use the power of the sun to be able to do their job. Also, every Christian is 100% dependent on the power of the Son to be able to do anything. While the sun may not provide the needed power if there are a few cloudy days, the Son will never lack power. The sun will only give so many hours of sunlight each day that will be able to charge batteries, but there is no end to the power or accessibility of the Son. I find it amazing that during the creation of the world God was thinking of how we would be able to most effectively reach remote people groups with the Gospel. With solar power, we will be able to power the equipment for literacy programs, Bible lessons, Bible translation and more; enabling us to communicate the Gospel more quickly and effectively.

Using the power of the sun to spread the Glory of the Son to an unreached people group,

Brian

Final Semester at the Missionary Training Center

Classes have begun for my final, Spring semester.  I am already learning a ton.  I have never DC-soldered before this week, for example.  I will be finishing here at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in May, and then in August I head over to New Tribes Mission Aviation (NTMA)  in Arizona.  I will spend 9 months there, honing my pilot skills, mechanic skills, and character development.  After that, I will leave for overseas (probably Brazil), after I am fully supported.  Please be praying even now for financial supporters to rise up.

Here is a description of some of my classes this final semester:

·      Animisim—I will learn about how many tribal people perceive their world, in terms of spiritual things.  They often believe in spirits (good and bad), ancestor spirits, and everything sick-related or bad-events related are because the spirits are unhappy or have not been appeased enough.

·      Biblical Parenting—How to raise children well, to become heart-focused people who honor God with their lives, words, and actions.

·      Biblical Peacemaking

·      E-linc—This continues from last semester, and I call it a discipleship group, or growth group.  Some classmates and I are paired up with experiences missionaries and we go through life together.

·      Families in Ministry—We will consider many aspects of a whole family in ministry, and develop a family mission statement.

·      Field Health—How to stay healthy overseas, how to recognize and treat sicknesses, and how  to administer medication (including needle injections!).

·      Folk Catholicism

·      Folk Islam

·      Grammar—related to phonetics and learning another language.  This will be useful for me to learn the national language of the country I will serve in.

·      Ministry Partnership Development—Developing partners in ministry (aka supporters) and keeping them informed of how I see God working in my ministry.

·      Ministry Practical—This also continues from last semester.  This is the academic side of the local ministry I am involved in, putting what I am learning of missions into practice.

·      Missionary Technology—I love this class!  I have been playing with wires, lights, and switches most of my life.  In this class, I will learn how to properly select and install a solar panel system for my tribal/overseas house, as well as surge suppression, to ensure my appliances last as long as possible.

·      New Testament Church Principles—Foundational principles for planting New Testament churches in any cultural context

·      Romans—We are going through Romans, chapter by chapter,

·      Student Teaching—Improving my ability to communicate verbally to a group.

Brevity

           We have a new president, and I was reminded that my hope is not in men or politics or leaders, but it is in God.  God is the only One who can make any big, lasting changes.  He is in control, and I am so glad He is.  No other leader has His goodness, knowledge, or power.  I look forward to praying for the leaders of our country, for them to lead well, to be men of integrity, and for them to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

            I have seen God’s abundant provision lately.  For one, I received a support check from my Spokane church.  Thanks be to God, and to any of you who were a part of this recent gift.  I received encouraging notes, phone calls, and emails, all of which arrived in God’s timing.  My friend, Dan, has taught me about hunting, and processing deer.  He shot his buck opening morning of gun season, and I shot mine about 2 weeks after.  Both of them walked right up to us, out of nowhere (mine ran up to us!).  It was amazing to shoot my first animal, and I learned many new things since that buck died.  I have never hunted before this.  Thanks to God for His provision!

            Another example of God’s provision is when a friend on campus received a phone call from his church, telling him that he has enough finances for to finish his time at the Missionary Training Center.  His church took a love offering at Thanksgiving, and they were very generous.  I am glad to see God provide for others, and to rejoice with them.

            I went to this fall graduation on campus, and I left it saddened.  I have made several good friends in these few short months so far, and some of them left (because they graduated).  One big thing I learned or remembered this semester has been brevity—not brevity of life, just plain brevity.  Time is so short and goes by so fast.  I usually try to make the most of relationships, but at this pace I think I may need to step things up.  It is normal for me to be instant-friends with people, because I know time is short.  I am so excited for a giant reunion/party/hangout in Heaven with friends, and we won’t have to say goodbye.  Oh man, God is good.

Bible Teaching

When you think of your job, do you consider:

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK IN THE WORLD.  IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN RUNNING THE UNITED STATES, THAN THE PRESIDENT’S JOB. 

…?

These two statements are true of mission work.  There is no higher calling than to tell people truth about God, found in the Bible.

Class

I finished my Foundational Bible Teaching class, and I wish I was still in it.  I learned many new things from the Bible, and I now understand much more when I read the Bible.  If you would like to see the Bible in a new light, and be able to understand it better, check out the book, “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus” by John R. Cross.  This book is based off of New Tribes Mission’s methodology for Bible teaching.

For part of the Foundational Bible Teaching class, I had to teach one of the Bible lessons, New Tribes style.  I spent several hours preparing to teach for 15 minutes to my classmates, and it went very well.  My lesson was the Garden of Gethsemane through just before the crucifixion.  Click the link below to download the audio recording of my class Bible lesson:

 https://dl.dropbox.com/u/15172971/BH%20FBT%20Lesson%20Final.mp3

Outreach

I work with youth in a church plant locally, and here is an update:

We recently had a camping trip in someone’s large, forest-like backyard.  The day before camping, I was taking 2 guys home, and I asked them about their previous camping trip, in which they received foundational Bible teaching.  These small-town guys of Missouri, not raised in the church at all, were able to explain their faith and God’s truth to me better than most long-term churchgoers can—Praise God!  One went camping with us again, to hear the message and to help us teach the Bible foundationally to their own friends.  It was a good trip, but we ended it early after several youth went home early, and after a football injury.  What we did teach seemed to be accepted as foundational truth.

Me teaching through the Old Testament during our camping trip.

A Thought:

Heaven is not the primary benefit of salvation—a right relationship with God is, and Heaven is the final benefit.  Heaven does not engage until after death—why should anyone live differently in this life on earth?  What is offered in the meantime: Peace, purpose, power, problems, Holy Spirit, Body of Christ, plan/purpose, saying no to sin, bringing life to others, joy, love, freedom, identity in Christ, perseverance, persecution, love for God.  Eternal life starts now.

Tribal Work

Currently, there are about 2,500 unreached people groups in the world, and one tribe is reached about every 45 days.  Definition of “Reached”: The Bible is presented to them in their heart language, in their context so they can understand it, and they have all of the information needed to make a decision to either trust God with their lives, or to reject Him and His way to pay for sin.

Depending on the field of work (the country), 15-60% of new overseas missionaries do not make it past their first year.  Pray for prepared, committed, effective workers to be sent out to go and share the best news anyone can ever hear, the Gospel.

I am a Missionary Candidate, in training at New Tribes Missionary Training Center!

Acronyms

NTM = New Tribes Mission

NTMA = New Tribes Mission Aviation

MTC = Missionary Training Center

New Tribes Missionary Training Center (MTC) Information, and Timeline

Why am I at MTC

I want to be a missionary pilot with New Tribes Mission.  In order to become a member with New Tribes, I first had to pass a week-long pilot/mechanic/personality test in April 2012.  I passed!  After passing, I have to attend their Missionary Training Center in central Missouri for 9 months, and then I will be an official member of New Tribes.  

How did I get here to MTC?

I graduated Moody Bible Institute in Spokane Washington with a degree in Missionary Aviation Technology-Flight Emphasis.  I am a certified commercial-instrument pilot, and I have met the technical requirements to be a pilot with New Tribes.

Purpose of MTC

All New Tribes Missionaries have to go through New Tribes Missionary Training Center.  This is a ground-based training, meaning I will not be around airplanes for this training.  I am learning how to be a tribal missionary, and this is so I can know what I am supporting--a missionary pilot is a support role.

Classes

Child protection

I have seen the importance of children, and the impact we have on them.  With every child you encounter, no matter how short your time is with them, you have the opportunity to build up or to destroy, and encourage or to tear down.  This is huge, and we should begin at a very young age to include them in everyday parts of life.

Foundational Bible Teaching

This is New Tribes Mission’s primary focus, to teach the Bible foundationally, emphasizing God’s character and over-arching biblical themes, so that when people do believe the Gospel, they have a firm foundation in their faith.

Worldview Analysis

This class shows how to teach at the worldview level, which is a person’s core beliefs, out of which flows all of their opinions on culture, behavior, and everyday life.  An example:  if someone believes God does not exist, then this life is all there is, and it should be lived to the full--do whatever you want, no matter how many people get stepped on; sin is relative and no one should tell others what they should or should not be able to do.

Stewardship

God has given us many resources, and we are supposed to be good stewards/caretakers of them, including time (very important), and money which many people already have a good concept of.  Time is also a very valuable resource God has given all of us recently.

Love and Respect

An excellent class, based on the video series by Emerson Eggerich, we sat through about 8 hours of learning how to have a good or better marriage.  As a single man, I still learned plenty of how to properly interact with ladies--single or married.  And I highly recommend this video or audio series (or the lower-cost book!) for all married couples of all ages.  All can make their marriage better.

Elinc

I call this a growth group for simplicity in explanation.  We meet in small groups of students with staff twice a week, and intentionally go through life together, like mentoring or discipleship.

Work Detail

All students here at the Missionary Training Center are required to contribute 7.5 hours of what I call mandatory volunteer work, helping out around campus.  Many are janitors or groundskeepers, some work in the car garage, and I work in the Tech Center (not computer related).  In the Tech Center, we build electronic things and send them to missionaries in remote tribal locations all over the world.  Tribal missionaries usually have solar panels, batteries, generators, and all of the problems that go along with them.  They also have their own plumbing and build all of their own buildings (or a tech specialist comes out to help them, when needed).

Ministry Practical

I am required to have a local ministry, and I love what I am doing.  I am helping with a church plant, and I would do this even if it was not required.  I wish I had more time to spend helping with it.  In general, I help out with the youth.  We do not have any sort of official youth group, but some of us spend time hanging out playing football, and talking about God and the things of God.  They are receiving some very firm foundational teaching, and it is so amazing to see them profess truths of God.

Future

I will graduate the Missionary Training Center in May 2013, and I will then be a member of New Tribes Mission.  My first assignment will be to receive advanced aviation training in southeast Arizona, where the aviation headquarters is.  Yes, I am already a pilot, I can fly solo, and I can get paid to fly (commercial pilot).  However, I am not adequately prepared for the bush flying that is done in remote, jungle areas.

Bush airstrips are often hazardous: mud, large rocks, potholes, slope, wild animals, high wind, unpredictable weather, and steep terrain.  It takes so much more skill and good judgment to land at these airstrips (notice I did not say “runways”). New Tribes Mission Aviation in Arizona (NTMA) teaches specifically for these types of locations.

Even the normal airliner that you have probably ridden in is complex, though it may seem simple to you: takeoff, go straight for a long time, and then land.  These are, in a way, more simple to fly (although they are very complex machines), because they have so much automation, radar, air traffic control, and sophisticated equipment.  But they are complex to operate in their own right: flying through clouds requires a special rating (I have one), and the pilots have to intimately know all of their fancy systems and equipment, and be able to troubleshoot most conceivable problems.

With the exception of the Kodiak, the average mission airplane usually does not have much automation, nor fancy equipment.  The pilot of a mission airplane flies manually most of the time (airliner autopilots can land the aircraft!).  To land on a bush airstrip, everything about the aircraft configuration and approach must be perfect, let alone the pilot needs someone on the ground to confirm the strip is safe to land at.  The pilot also must evaluate the field from the air, to see if it is clear, firm enough (not muddy) to verify the aircraft will be able to takeoff again after landing.

Why additional training?  Aren’t you certified and able to go to the mission field already?  Yes, i am .  However, going to NTMA will train me to fly into near-replicas of what we have overseas, and at a fraction of the cost.  The Bible says there is a time to reap and a time to sow (Ecclesiastes 3:2).  Now is the time for sowing, because once I get to the mission field, I need to be at my best.  All training must be done before I get to the field (but once there I will receive airstrip-specific training).  Once I am there, it is similar to giving a long-prepared-for presentation: everything must be in place, and the presenter (pilot) must be prepared; the show is about to happen.  I am now preparing for that show.