Daily Archives: June 15, 2013

Nicole had another first, watching the killing of 2 chickens and 1 large turkey. I enjoyed killing a chicken and helped kill the turkey. As you can see in the pictures, I wasn’t shy about killing them. Pastor Stine thought he would teach us something practical for tribal life, he said that Pastor Skelly wasn’t able to do that J. Those two men are best friends and are always making jokes at one another. So Pastor Stine showed Nicole and I the way to kill, de-feather, and remove the insides and other bodily extremities of these fowl(s). This was fun, Nicole did not get grossed out at all, but she also was not too eager to participate. It was fun to experience this with my wife and the Pastor’s family. He taught me all the techniques of “scraping the lungs off from the ribs”, and what “not” to “break open”, and how to pluck the feathers off. He even gave some science to the gizzard and even (yet again), poked fun at Pastor Skelly, impersonating him with a decapitated turkey head. There are many crazy and fun things happening here. We have been married for over 10 months now as of the 2nd of May, and we will be back in Pittsburgh PA in just a few weeks. Seems like things are always moving so quickly in this phase of our lives.

We started the infamous Phonetics class and love it! Nicole is doing really well in her pronunciations (her Spanish upbringing is coming into play now), and my (Seth) hearing/comprehension is pretty good.  So let me break down “cot ei ghoti” for you (incase you were wondering).

Cot- Most English speakers do not distinguish a difference in “cot” (something you sleep on), and “caught” (as in to catch something). English pronunciation, as you very well may know, is very inconsistent in its pronunciations.

Next, “ei”, is the middle vowels of “weigh”, which makes it sound like an English “a”.

Finally:

Gh- at the end of  “ laugh”; makes the “f” sound

o- in “women”, the “o” sounds like an “i” sound

ti- in the word “nation”, makes an “sh” sound

Put them all together and that makes f-i-sh… so last week Nicole “caught a fish”, or thanks to English inconsistencies, Nicole “cot ei ghoti”. Fun isn’t it? 🙂

Phonetics is a class that enables one to understand the sounds that come out of the human mouth, from a vowel, to a consonant. The only difference in making them is whether or not you constrict the air… even then, if you partially restrict the air, it might be a semi-vowel. Phonetics has its own alphabet, ascribing a letter/symbol to each sound that comes through the mouth (or doesn’t), through the nose, and vibrating through the vocal cords. What?! That’s crazy you say! But it’s not. One of our teachers likens it to being under water, and each day he gives us new Ping-Pong balls that he wants us to hold under water. Each day is a new ball, a new facet, and new sound. We have to have big hands, focus, and hold our breath!

God is great and powerful, wise beyond our comprehension. When God “confounded” the languages… (as my teacher says), He did a GREAT JOB! But also, our God created the mouth and everything to do with it. He is merciful, a God of order, and has said that He is working before our path in which we will take. I believe that one of those ways He is working is in the human mouth, He has made it possible for ANYONE to learn ANY language because all tribes will be before the throne of God, as it says in Revelation 5. We can rest in this promise and that He will perform this good work in and through us! His Bride!

There have been “lots of firsts” for us in the past couple of weeks as we both have had several opportunities to teach many new topics at our jail ministries. While preparing for our teachings, God has taught us the most. God has been challenging us to be affective teachers, and also to know what it means to be a teacher like our Lord Jesus Christ. In one of our classes, we learned about how Jesus was the greatest of all teachers and we took time to look at His life and how to implement some of His methods into our different ministries in which we teach.

Nicole and I had a blessing in one of our classes to teach together. It was the first time that we ever had an opportunity to team-teach. As a class we went through a condensed chronological teaching of 27 thematic lessons in the Bible, from creation to the Resurrection of Christ. We as a class, divided up the lessons and broke into groups, having your other teammates help with readings, skits, and most importantly, consulting the presenting group. We learned the value of walking through a lesson with people who have many different perspectives and to focus on main themes of the passage such as; Jesus Christ is Lord and Sovereign. We are learning how to use that thematic focus to target our audiences and try to understand any barriers they may have in trying to understand our teaching due to their age, culture, and/or their individual personal history. A theme to focus on is only as good as the target you are aiming to hit within a person.

On a lighter note, Nicole and I had another first. We got to ride a quad together (Nicole has never been on a quad). One of the families at our church in Kansas has a few motorized vehicles and lots of room to use them. We had a great time with a family from our church in Kansas and learned how God has burdened them to get involved in missions in various ways. We are so thankful to have many hospitable and great families at our church in Kansas-it lessens the sadness of missing the families at our home church in PA.

Nicole and I have had many “ups” and “downs” in our jail ministries. We have seen people make solid professions of faith and even thank God for them being in jail, because some of them got saved in jail (and to admit their guilt in jail is a rare and BIG thing), and we have seen others be disinterested and seem that they only want to be there to disrupt others from learning.

We recently had a field fair at the training center where missionaries from the field shared the needs of the countries they are working in. This was a great opportunity to make us candidates more aware of how we best could fit in with that particular field. For the first time in our marriage, God brought an answer to us individually without ever talking to one another. God placed on both of our hearts to serve Him in Indonesia. We will continue to keep this decision in prayer. Please PRAY with us about this.

We just started Phonetics, this class teaches you how to listen and break down another person’s speech. It is very useful for when we get overseas. We just took an aptitude test to see if we are naturally gifted in the areas of linguistics, such as grammar, etc. It was like a puzzle game and kind of fun (well I-Seth-thought so), except for the strict time constraint, so that gave me a slight heart attack.

Finally, we are excited to participate in the sunrise worship service at our home church in PA for the first time as a married couple! We are at my parent’s house, and Nicole’s parents are driving to be with us here in PA so we can celebrate this monumental time as a family. Our prayer is that we understand the gravity of what Sunday means to the Christian. The resurrection is the necessity of Life for the Christian. Without Christ’s resurrection, we would all still be in the grave living under the penalty of sin. (Romans 6:4)

Please Pray; Jennie’s (Seth’s sister) baby is due in June, and the baby has an enlarged kidney. Jay (Seth’s brother) and Briana are officially in Papua, Indonesia and now are one step closer in serving in a tribe that God has prepared them to serve in. Dave (Nicole’s brother) is still getting adjusted in Panama with college and full-time missions. Praise and Prayer; we recently had a field fair, in and which God has used to solidify our future service in Indonesia. PRAY for the Lord’s leading in this decision. We are going to start Rosetta Stone (once we get it) probably in May and start learning culture through various missionaries who have served in Indonesia.

Seth went to pick up some kids for the weekly basketball camp on Sundays and for a brief moment got lost. Everything worked out and the kids had a great time at the camp. One of the church members (Silas) helped Seth during the camp and he appreciated it a lot. Those kids make him run around the whole time ☺

PRAISE: last week during Seth’s outreach ministry at the jail, the guys (5 of them) opened up and requested one-on-one visits. PRAY: for Seth, he only gets 15 minutes at a time with each of them, ask God to give him wisdom on how to talk with them and encourage them in that brief amount time. Seth is unsure of how to use that time whether to pray with them, have a particular Biblical focus on a passage, to challenge their thoughts, or just try to encourage them because they are being so heavily attacked in jail from the guards, inmates, and the media, and might not see another fellow believer until next Thursday. Also, if you are looking to get involved, the man who leads this ministry purchases Bibles for all those who ask for them from his own money (no questions asked), and when Seth found out he did this, he (we) started getting involved as well, and just got 2 study Bibles for the guys that specifically asked for them because they want to go deeper in their relationship with God. So if they have a need, we want to be apart of the solution in helping them. Getting the Word of God into people’s hands is very dear to our hearts. This is one of the main reasons we want to go into foreign missions, to give the Word of God into the hands of people who cannot get the Word for themselves. Contact us if you are interested in buying a Bible for the guys in the jail.

PRAY for me (Nicole), I am looking at where I can best get involved as well in addition to the jail ministry. I too might start doing one on one visits with the ladies at the jail I minister, another place is a local youth group that is in need of women youth group leaders. I have been spending time with the moms/wives on our campus who also need to be ministered to as well with the busyness going on around here. PRAY God gives me wisdom in where I can best fit and minister.

Thank you for being apart of our lives!

Hello all,

Just wanted to quickly let you all know the tornado that hit Missouri was CLOSE to us but we did not get hit by it here in Roach. The main touchdown of the storm was in Branson, which is about 30-40 minutes from where we are. Thank you all for the concerns you showed. No worries, we are fine! 🙂

Everyone has multiple fires (or passions) within themselves (for many things; i.e. sports, cooking, entertainment, God, etc.). We want our passion for God to grow, and for a fire to grow you must “stoke” it (to stir up, feed, and tend to a fire). We want our fire fed and tended so that, we can be set ablaze for God. We (Nicole and I) want to “stoke” the fires within people for God. We desire that God would use us and tend to people’s fires and grow them, so all of God’s saints can be on fire for Him, both foreign and domestic.

As the English Hymn and good ole camp song goes:

Lord the light of your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness shining

Jesus light of the world shine upon us

Set us free by the truth you now bring us

Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus shine

Fill this land with the Father’s glory

Blaze, Spirit blaze

Set our hearts on fire

Flow, river flow

Flood the nations with grace and mercy

Send forth your word

Lord and let there be light

Lord I come to your awesome presence

From the shadows into your radiance

By the blood I may enter your brightness

Search me, try me, consume all my darkness

Shine on me, shine on me

*Coming soon: “Stoking the Fire” is the title for our newsletters

An example was given to us is class with the passage Ephesians 2:8-9.

“…By grace you have been saved through faith…”

If someone were to get definitions via an Internet dictionary, they might find the following:

Grace- a lady down the road, earned favor, elegance of form, mercy

Saved- rescue, keep, to avoid spending

Faith- something you believe in really badly, confidence, belief on something without proof, belief in anything

(Fill in the blanks)

“… By ________________ you have been ________________ through _______________”.

“…Take nothing for granted.”-Dr. Howard Hendricks. We need to learn how to approach everyone from this standpoint. We were challenged to change our evangelism, not only on the foreign field but also here in America. I don’t want to get too preachy, so I will stop here J the point is: There must be proper communication to bring about true change.

I (Nicole) am ministering with Mary Ellis at Laclede County Jail. We are teaching through the book Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, which takes an all-inclusive approach to the Bible and its historical context. We get to meet with the ladies for about an hour. There has been as little as three women to eight at a time. Each week is different. Most of these ladies are in jail for drug related offenses. Camdenton area is the meth (crystal meth) capital of Missouri. This drug has caused A LOT of harm to the people here, and has ensnared them in a lifestyle that is very hard to break free from. It has been really exciting to see these women engage in the Word of God and make it their own. Many of the women have a general understanding of the Bible but have a big disconnect when it comes to application of the Truth. Mary and I are trying to find ways to make more application for these ladies. Two weeks ago I shared my testimony with the ladies and this seemed to really encourage them that there is hope to break free from the chains of addictions. I am really excited to see how God continues to use Mary and I in this jail. Mary and I will alternate the teaching, and this week will be the first time I get to teach the ladies. PRAY for me, as I have never taught a lesson to more than one person at a time. I do get nervous. PRAY for the ladies as they await a court visit, to hopefully get treatment for their drug addictions, and to get out (in God’s time) and be on bench parole. Also, PRAY that Mary and I can convey Truth in a way that it impacts these ladies at their core beliefs, and causes them to change at a worldview level(a set of personal beliefs in which they interpret life in both their inward thoughts, and outward actions).

I (Seth) am ministering with Jim Turek and Jamin Peck at Camdenton County Jail. Together, we get opportunities to build relationships with the inmates, through Prayer, Bible studies, and spending time with them. These men are our brothers in Christ; they are going through daily struggles just like we all are. We are given time with them, to encourage, challenge, and love them. Some of these men came to the saving knowledge of Christ in jail, and others are learning to make their faith real in jail. There are so many parallels with these men and Paul, which is why we are going through one of the prison epistles (Ephesians). It seems God has allowed this epistle to come at the right time for these men to minister to them in their struggles. Right now we are in chapter 4 talking about the unity of the body and how this is possible with the strength that came from chapter 3! Love is something we all must learn to grow in, that is why the scripture says, “to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled”.  This is a never ending process we all are growing in, and as men, our culture/media looks down at men being lovers, men are suppose to be stoic and “tough”. Last week I challenged them to be different! To love everyone as Christ and Paul loved everyone, that is what God is teaching us in Ephesians. PRAY for these men, they are at a crucial point in their life and learning how to “live out” their faith.

E-equipping

-(Through)

L-listening

I-interacting

N-nurturing

C-challenging

This is almost like a small group, but with a more purposeful focus. We (Rachel Myers, Crystal McGrath, Rachel Neville, Mike & Kristi Day, Jeremy & Mandy Hambrice, Jon & Adie Leedahl, and us!!) get together in this group with two facilitators (leaders): Dave & Laura Percy and Keith & Angela Duncan, two times a week. They orchestrate the meetings in a way so that we can get to learn about one another, and learn from one another. We all get together and talk about what God is teaching us and what we are taking from the classes we are in, as well as our involvement in church and outreach ministries.

Nicole and I are falling in love with each and everyone person in this group. We are learning so much from everyone and are becoming close friends. We get together way more than that allotted time; we also get together for dinner, games, and of course coffee!!!!! We see God using this group to make life-long friends.