This semester, we will be taking a total of 17 classes:
1. Big Picture
2. Child Protection
3. CLA Intro
4. Communication Skills
5. CP1 Wrap-Up
6. e-linc
7. Form and Meaning
8. Foundation Bible Teaching
9. History of NTM
10. Learning Styles
11. Love and Respect
12. Ministry Partnership 1
13. Ministry Practicum
14. Phonetics
15. Stewarship
16. Teamwork
17. Worldview Analysis
We have taken or are in the middle of taking all but 2 of these courses, so I thought I was at a good point to share about these classes! For those of you who are interested, I have wrote more detailed descriptions of these classes below.
1. Big Picture:
I missed all of this class because of sick kids, but I did listen online. In this class, we looked at the way New Tribes works, from start to finish of a missionary's career. It's easier to show than explain, so I will show you a picture from my friend Lauren's blog:
2. Child Protection:
This is a two-day course, and we started it today. This stuff is HEAVY. We are being taught and discussing the topic of child abuse.
3. CLA Intro:
CLA = Culture Language Acquisition. When we move overseas, we will have to learn to adjust to the language and culture in order to truly minister to the people on all levels. In this class, we touched on the basics of this. One thing we did was consider how even in America we have to understand someone's culture and language when moving to a new place.
4. Communication Skills:
In this class, we considered different facets of communication and how to be good communicators ourselves. We talked about how to ask good questions and how to relate to different types of students. We considered how Jesus communicated with people as well.
6. e-linc:
This is a small group that we were placed in and meet with twice a week. Our leaders are two staff couples, and then there are three other couples and two single guys in our group. We really have enjoyed getting to know our group! I'll have to get a better picture of our group since this is the only one I have :)
7. Form and Meaning:
In this class, we discussed and compared different versions of the Bible (NIV, ESV, NLT, NASB, KJV, etc). If you've grown up in the church, you've probably heard others talk about one version is better than others. This class was really eye-opening because we discovered that ALL versions have some word-for-word translation and some meaning-based translation. There is no pure translation. At the same time, we can trust that God has worked in the translators to give them as much wisdom as humanly possible, and we can trust the version we have. Our teacher (who wrote a book on this topic if you want to learn more) suggested we spend time in different versions, perhaps doing our devotions in a different version each year. And while you're still debating in your head whether one version is best, PRAY FOR US... in the future, we will have the huge task of being a part of translating a Bible into a new language, Lord willing!
8. Foundational Bible Teaching
NTM has a curriculum that they use to teach overseas. It's called Foundational Bible Teaching (FBT), and in it, we teach from Creation (Genesis 1) to Christ, covering 72 different lessons. In this class, we had the opportunity to teach through a lesson ourselves (with a couple of other people) as well as to listen to our classmates teach other lessons. It was so neat to see the Bible in this way. It really helped me to understand attributes of God and to see his overall purpose in history. There's a book called The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus as well as a similar version that's intended more for our younger post-modern generation called By His Name that take this curriculum and put it into a book version for American readers :)
9. History of NTM:
We looked at the history of NTM, from its start in 1942 until now. It's incredible to learn how God has worked in this mission from the start.
10. Learning Styles
We all learn differently. We all perceive the world differently. This class focused on this and allowed us to identify the way we learn and the way we perceive the world. It was rather fascinating and helpful. If you want to learn more about the Mind Styles, you can look at the chart below!
11. Love and Respect
There's a good chance if you run in Christian circles that you have heard of the book Love and Respect before. Ben and I read this book while we were engaged, but it was good to learn this information again (this time, in video form), five years into marriage. It's easy how quickly we adjust back to being selfish individuals who want the best for me, myself, and I.
13. Ministry Practicum:
As the name suggests, this one isn't a class. Rather, we are encouraged as moms and expected as men to be involved in a ministry during our time here. There are a number of different ones to be involved in, but Ben and I are focusing on ministering at our church, by getting to know the people there and being involved in a small group. It's nice to be able to minister together. Ben is also ministering by helping with sound during chapel and he is planning to help with a small discipleship group of teenage guys.
14. Phonetics:
We are currently in this class. There is something called the Phonetic Alphabet, and we have to learn it. This will help us to transcribe new words we learn overseas. We also have to learn the sounds of each phonetic letter, which is fine when it's a sound we say all of the time in English. It's rather humbling/scary/hard/exciting/funny when it's a sound that does not exist in English, and we have to try to say it! Who knew how hard it could be to make our mouths say a sound that they are unfamiliar with! Just incase you're wondering what the letters in the Phonetic Alphabet look like (and each of these letters has a sound that go with them), here they are:
15. Stewardship:
We look at both how to best use our time and our finances in this class. Certainly important topics for anyone, but especially for missionaries!
16. Teamwork:
When we work with NTM, there's no way to escape working with a team. When we move overseas, we will be working with a team of people in the tribe (around 4 other people, marrieds or singles, American or non). We also will be working with a team of people who help to keep us in the tribe (leadership, supply buyer, pilot, guest house, medical, etc). We better know how to work with other people! This class is here to prepare us. We are sinful people, and we are going to encounter other sinful people, and this working in teams thing will not always be easy. We appreciate your prayers NOW in this area as this will greatly affect our ministry overseas. Pray that God will work in our hearts to be good team players.
17. Worldview Analysis:
I've already talked some about this class in a previous post, but it was fascinating! I was amazed to truly realize how deeply everything we believe, do, and say is impacted by our worldview which is impacted by all of the things around us (family, media, friends, culture, school). Equally important is to realize how deeply the tribal people are affected by their world views. This is why it is so important for us to commit long-term to taking the gospel to these people! We will be penetrating values and beliefs that are DEEPLY saturated in these people. Pray for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment