On our “About” page, we posted a video a while back… some of you may have seen “Awayo” – Very well done. Please check it out it you have not already. You will be moved. Recently, NTMfilms has released something of a follow-up which has also been very encouraging to our hearts. The following is the testimony of another Moi believer like Awayo named Degamee. It is a pretty amazing testimony to the worldview shift that happens at the introduction of Christ.

This just gets me so excited to actually get involved, and get my hands dirty. I want to GO NOW! but at the same time, the recent graduation has scared me a bit… Are we really ready? Are we that close? As if in answer, I got this in an email recently…

“…So, I was wondering what your plans are in 2010, and when it would be best… Are you going to be back any time? When are you starting support raising?”

I caught myself as I was responding- WOW. Things are really happening quickly. 2011 is already on the schedule, and we have lots of plans between now and the launch date! We have some semblance of a schedule UNTIL WE LEAVE! I found myself thinking that this is really kinda scary.

As many of you already know, we have been planning for this for a long time. It feels a bit like I did before I got married. I had been looking forward to that day so much, thought about it so often – I was taken aback that I was really standing there at the altar… with HER. WOW.

So I responded with this-

…We are officially NTM members now, and so we are now officially raising support. I am doing some “graduate” course work in linguistics, which is why we are not immediately planning on leaving – Basically I am doing the linguistics semester – otherwise training is DONE.

We are in California now, and will be here til the 12Jan. we fly to Oklahoma on 12Jan, and I start class on 17Jan. The semester ends in May, and we plan on driving to California, as my brother gets married 05Jun, and we will likely drive back to Indiana towards the beginning of July (likely soon after the 4th) as we did last summer.

My linguistics practicum culminates in a linguistic and grammatical analysis of a foreign language. The coursework requires close to 40 hours with a foreign language speaker, and even more time to do the documentation work. We will be going to Oklahoma in August of 2010 so that I can do my project on Cherokee, and Evelyn can spend time with her family in OK while I work my tail off.

When that is said and done, it will be likely September/October of 2010, and we will be kicking support raising into an even higher gear. 8-9 mos should be enough… we are praying so. We will likely be splitting our time during this period between California, Missouri, Indiana, Oklahoma, and that graduation in Michigan. We will need to make sure our support level/paperworks/immunizations/etc. is up to snuff before we leave in June/July of 2011. We want to see my brother graduate from bible school (Jackson NTBI) in May/June 2011 before we scoot for 4 years…

There they are. Our plans, and even prospective launch months. Crazy, I know. We are going to need a miracle to do this – and TONS of prayer. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

We have already met a ton of new friends, caught up a bit with some old ones as well. We GRADUATED from the NewTribes Missionary Training Program, which is very exciting… I am now ordained clergy, and our tax status has officially changed as of 01Jan. More paperwork=awesomeness.

We are so thankful for the love and the support of our families and friends!

This summer was an amazing time for us to reconnect with friends and family. Our time spent with family has been an especially huge blessing as we realize that time to be with them is only more limited as we quickly approach 2011 and NewGuinea.

Oklahoma.
It was great to see Evie’s family- We were able to attend the college graduation of her sister from OU (Congrats to her!), and see the rest of the family as they came to watch Lauren walk the stage as well.

California.
From Oklahoma, our trek to Southern California was a long one. 24 hours of driving later, it was nice to say our goodbyes to some good friends of ours who are now serving overseas in Southern Asia. It was so nice to see our friends and family in the LA area, and visit Cornerstone in SimiValley- a home church for me through HighSchool. We had the privilege of photographing the Hartzel’s wedding in SantaMaria (they are classmates of ours headed to Indonesia) before heading north to Livermore (east of SanFrancisco) to visit with my family and home church, Cornerstone. It was a blessing to be back among the great friends and family we have among that body of believers in Livermore. We were able to share our ministry with the young adult ministry there, where we made several great new friends. It has been a privilege to get more involved with Sunset Community Church- where we were blessed with the opportunity to share our ministry with the youth and adult congregations. Overall, our time in California was a huge blessing and encouragement, and we look forward to returning for the holidays this year!

Indiana.
The long stretch of Interstate 80 between Sacramento and Chicago is long and straight and FLAT- But that rough drive was rewarded with the blessing of more encouragement from the friends and family of our sending church- Christ’s Covenant Church in WinonaLake, Indiana. During our years between Bible School and Missionary Training, this body of believers has loved on us more than we could ever say. Our time among these faithful brothers and sister in Christ is ALWAYS rewarding, and between evenings spend in the company of friends and camping trips with small group members, WinonaLake has become another home to us.

Missouri.
Back at the MTC here in Roach, Misery… Our semester kicked off with a really intense course that we are thankful is over. We learned a lot from our “Culture and Language Acquisition Practicum” – but this part of the training has been some of the most intense stuff we have encountered yet. We have spent our days here in Roach learning how to document foreign language, and catalog culture for reference when translating the bible and lesson plans for tribal people. This term so far has been difficult, but encouraging as it is slowly hitting home- We are actually going to do this tribal church planting thing. Heavy.

So I saw this little film today, and thought i would post it quickly. It makes me miss the Hazen’s a bit. Almost a month through the summer, and there are a lot of people that I miss. I am LOVING the time we get to spend with family and friends though. So far, this has been a fabulous break.

Even though My name is in the credits for this promo piece for a staff couple at the Training Center, I really have to give Weston Dilworth the credit for the time (HOURS I am sure) he has put into this. I hope those Hazens will be able to continue to serve as they have these last few years. Thanks again to Weston for Posting this on trusty old YouTube.

I post this to communicate the stories of some of the people we sit under here in training. So many of our teachers at the training center have stories like that- who would have thought that some of the coolest people on planet earth could be found in the Ozarks of Missouri? It has been a privilege to sit under such amazing training, and Evelyn and I look forward to going back at the end of our summer break.

As some of our friends and family may know, we have been praying for a new vehicle for some time now. We have enjoyed our years with the our blue Dodge Caravan, but the time came that we didn’t know if she would be able to keep up with our traveling lifestyle.

This spring, God provided the opportunity to purchase a more reliable vehicle! After looking for the right combination of affordability and reliability, we found our ‘99 gold Saturn Station wagon! It is not an automatic…. so this Mrs. Jones has to learn how to drive manual! Look out world! I have only conquered one hill since- so needless to say, I am slow learning. It’s easy to say at the moment, but it is true that God is Jehovah Jireh: The Lord that Provides. After a good cleaning and the official Apple sticker in place on the back window we took her the ultimate test: The 2009 Jones Summer Road-Trip.

Over the span of a week and half, we stayed with family in Oklahoma, drove through Texas, NewMexico, ran out of gas in the desert of Arizona, spent precious time with friends in Southern California, and had the privilege of taking the wedding pictures for our friends (now) Hartzels! We are enjoying our time here in Livermore, California, before heading out to Winona Lake, Indiana to spend time with our friends and Church Family at Christ’s Covenant Church for the rest of our break. Please be in prayer for us, as we start the rest of our Road Trip on July 6th!

So all of our training here in Roach, MO is for one purpose– preparing us for our ministry overseas. I have to be completely honest. This training does exactly that. I have not yet been to the field, but I can be so sure about this because of the staff here. These people have been there, done that, and are pouring into the lives of missionary candidates here at “The Center.” I cannot begin to describe to you all of what they provide and how they provide it, but I am pretty sure that this is the best training you could possibly receive for this profession we are going into.

Everything from practically managing your time in a foreign environment where time vampires lurk around every corner, to setting up solar panels and water filtration, finding a spring for fresh water, how to bury your poop- to things like how to maintain your relationships in a healthy way with your coworkers when you are thousands of miles from anyone in the jungle, and they are the only ones you know how to talk with– but you hate their guts. It has been a privilege to train here, and I would like to thank all those who are making it possible through finances and prayer for the teachers, staff, and experience you are employing to reach the ends of the earth through his servants and missionary candidates here in Roach, MO.

Above are some pictures of class, and our water filtration lab. I help a lot of people with their computers pretty regularly… it is an honor to possess the skills to help these people who, like us, are sold out to seeing unreached tribal people touched with knowledge of God.

I guess I write all of this because occasionally, I just am humbled at this huge thing we are all a part of- it is so easy to forget and make ourselves the center of our attention. LAME.

This is FotoFest 2009! We had a fun evening here at the school wherethe student body could enter photographs to be voted in four different categories. Nature/scenery, People, Open/Creative, and Slideshow. I entered in all the print categories, and won 1st and 2nd place in the scenery and people categories respectively. Evie entered a slideshow she had made of some baby pictures she had taken. The whole night was fun and relaxed and there were some VERY good photos featured at the event. Below is some footage of the evening and our entries that took the cake, and above are the printed photos we entered.

So we went to Oklahoma this weekend… and had an absolute blast. A cousin of Evie’s was tying the knot, and we were delighted to see the family, and witness this beautiful event. Mr and Mrs Pat and Lisa Trompeter were beautiful, and the food was great. The wedding and reception were both in Oklahoma City, only 1/2 hour drive from the home of Evie’s parents in Norman. We stayed there in Evie’s Childhood home, the place we were married, and enjoyed relaxing with family and dogs.

Weekend Oklahoma trips are always a bit stressful for me… driving seems a chore and stressful – but seeing the family is always worth it. I had to purchase clothing for the event, as I own very little in the way of formal clothing. A shirt and slacks from Express were in order! Shopping at the mall in Norman is always a blast.

All in all, it was quite a relaxing weekend! In OKC, I also had my iPod replaced (it was giving me weird screen issues) at the Apple store there, so Evie and I could enjoy an audio version of C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity”… which was almost exactly the length of our car ride. Audio books are the bomb.

You can see the rest of the pictures I took of the wedding on flickr if you are interested!

Recently, we have had to rework our site… we apologize to those of you who are looking for certain things from our old rendition… all of our photos have been moved to hosting on Flickr, and all videos will be hosted elsewhere for faster and more reliable playback.

Hope you guys enjoy this video!

After a 15 hour drive Christopher and I kicked off the 2009 year with the Christs Covenant Church youth group Winona Lake, Indiana. Feels good to be back and we are looking forward to sharing with others our ministry and catching up with our friends here!