Dear <<First Name>>,
The time has come to get up and go. After 4.5 years of preparation and training, we are eager to launch. However, we are also sobered with the many "see you laters" that accompany this line of work. We are trusting His grace to be sufficient.
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Packing fun! (I think...)
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Thankful to be sent off with much-needed prayer
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This diagram describes Ethnos360's three stages of Equipping. We just finished e1, and we're about to start e2. The goal remains to see a maturing/thriving church for every ethnic people group, which should be happening (by God's grace) toward the end of e3.
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...just fun to see a completed timeline :-)
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National Culture and Language Acquisition (NCLA): The goal of e2 is to become relevant and useful instruments in the new context in which God is placing us. This involves learning the language (pidgin English, properly known as Tok Pisin) and culture of the host country. We will be going through e2 with 3 other missionary families in Madang, PNG, at the NTM-PNG Training and Recruiting Center.
Lapilo: We will spend 10 days at the Field Support Center in Lapilo, where we will interact with key support staff (i.e. business, medical, boarding school, supply buying, leadership, and aviation). We will also get to visit with Jonathan's two sisters and their families, who are serving in Lapilo (fun perk).
Bush Orientation: For 4-6 weeks, we will live as a family within the context of an existing work, alongside experienced missionaries and new indigenous believers. This will be an opportunity to orient to remote living as a family, homeschool our kids, observe cross-cultural church planting and discipleship, and gain a healthy, firsthand snapshot of what we're getting into.
Finish E2 in assigned region: At this point, we will have decided on which sub-region we'll be serving in long term (the 3 sub-regions are the mountains area, river basin area, and islands area). The remainder of our year will be spent finishing up Tok Pisin study, solidifying team formation decisions, and staging to either begin a new work or to join an existing work.
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This video is just over 6min long, and gives a participants' overview of what E2 is all about.
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Thanks for journeying and sharing in what God is doing in us and through us. We love to hear from you too!
Here are a few prayer requests:
- To better know Him, and to view missions as a point of common fellowship between God and His Church.
- Marriage and parenting. To build Godly, gospel-centered, grace-based character into our kids' lives. To learn how to blend family and ministry well.
- For God to orchestrate the formation of our future church planting team; teamwork; unity; love
- Prepared hearts and minds of the unreached people group to whom we will be ministering.
- Perseverance, finishing mindset, love for one another, patience, grace, kindness, gentleness, confidence and dependence on Him.
We love you guys,
Diffusing His Fragrance,
Jonathan & Devon, Isaac, Jackson, Leah, Carter, & Selah
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Here's our new PNG mailing address:
Jonathan and Devon Ames
C/O New Tribes Mission
PO Box 1079
Goroka, EHP 441
Papua New Guinea
Our emails remain the same: jonathan_ames@ntm.org devon_ames@ntm.org
Our phones remain the same for now as well (texts are free): Jonathan (484) 951-9662, Devon (484) 951-5954
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We've had our Dodge Grand Caravan as long as we've had Jackson & Leah (10+ years). God has kept it ticking faithfully; thankful!
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