Instead of Pictures...

we are going to just do a regular post. Actually, it's not by my choice. You see, I can't find the camera to upload the pictures of us on Halloween. It stinks really, because I've also taken some after that that I wanted to share.

So, instead of a Halloween post I wanted to share something that one of my classmates, who is now teaching at NTBI, just shared with us in an e-mail update. I hope it as encouraging to you as it was to me.

"Here are some recent statistics of what is happening through New Tribes Mission:

269 tribal groups being worked in currently

Over 900 churches planted among unreached tribes

44 tribal translations completed and 86 in progress

As I became more aware of these numbers I was reminded of why we are here training these young people. God is accomplishing something in the World, and as His people He wants to use us to bring it to reality. These young people are the future statistics that we will read about and praise God for someday. They are the one’s leaving homes, family, and familiar cultures to reach the most unreached people on the planet. Here’s another interesting statistic for you-

To open a new work among an unreached people group it takes 18 full-time missionaries- 5 people to go into the tribe and 13 people to support their work (pilots, consultants, trainers, etc.)

This is a very telling number about the complexity of the task we have. It takes us all. This number does not take into consideration the thousands of sending churches and thousands of faithful financial and prayer partners that are the very foundation of the task. It is the task of the Body of Christ, and to accomplish it every member/body part needs to do its part.

I am convinced that this is the most significant task on the planet you can be a part of, and God has chosen you and I to be a part of it. But…it takes us being focused on the things of God to accomplish it. I think we all need to be reminded that what we are doing is part of something much more significant than the money we give, prayers we pray, or classes we teach. We are a part of what God is doing all over the world. Why would we want to invest our resources in anything else?" -Chris and Amanda McMaster

As many of you are aware, this is our passion as a family. To make it possible for people who have never heard the gospel before to hear it for the first time, and in their own language. This has truly become the biggest burden on our hearts right now as we are pursuing a new church to support us in what we think is the biggest responsibility we have as God's children. We are praying that God will see fit for us to get our debt paid off and have a sending church by the fall of 2009. That is when we would like to go down to Missouri to finish the last two years of the training with New Tribes at the MTC (Missionary Training Center). Please pray for us as we are seeking God's will in this area. Right now it seems He is telling us to wait and it is easy to fall into discontentment while we are doing so. Please pray that we will remain content while relying on God to open the doors to go on this exciting path. Also, that we will have wisdom and clarity in discerning the direction that God is wanting us to go.

I hope and pray that reading this will challenge you all to think about how you are affecting God's Kingdom eternally, and that you will lift up a prayer for us as we are doing the same.

In Christ's Love,
Julie