People Really Are Going

Sometimes I forget that there really are people, like you and me, who are in tribes right now working to learn a language that's barely known, creating a written language, teaching Bible stories to ears who have never, ever heard the name of Jesus. Sometimes I forget all of this when I live in comfortable America... even when I live at a Bible/Mission school that is sending out new missionaries all throughout the year to reach these people. Sometimes a speaker comes here to NTBI and reminds me though that there really are people going. Not enough. Never enough. But there are SOME people going.

Yesterday and today a man named Tim shared with us during orientation. He spent time as a missionary in the South Pacific, and he worked in a tribe, lived with men who wore gourds as their only clothing, dodged bow and arrows, and witnessed the salvation of people who had never previously even known that Jesus Christ existed. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that this man standing in front of me had done all of this. He looked like me and you. He talked like me and you.

Even more so, it's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that there are thousands of people groups who never heard the gospel, and many of these who have never ever heard the name of Jesus Christ. I grew up in America. Even though I know many non-Christians, these people still all KNOW the name Jesus Christ and know the basic story of the Bible. It is literally impossible for me to grasp that there are people who know none of this.

This is why we are passionate about what New Tribes does. First, they go to people groups (and build friendships there) who have no written language and give them the gift of allowing their language to be put on paper (which allows for the preservation of a language, for better health, for better education... for so many things... I wrote my senior paper on this subject in college). But then, even more importantly they give them the Bible in their language. This is such a privilege that we take for granted often because we have so many copies of the Bible in America.

There's a video called Awayo that NTM has. Tim spent time with the tribe that Awayo is from. It's a video I've seen a number of times, but I think the story became more real when I met a man who actually knew Awayo. Awayo is a real man with a story; he just lives half-way around the world. I'll post it below incase you would like to watch it.

New Home and Leadership Training

We are officially settled into our new home, and leadership training has been going well. We arrived on the 10th and the training began that night. We spent a few days here and then headed to a camp where we stayed in cabins and enjoyed time at a beautiful beach. I was lame and didn't take any pictures. We had fun, although I (Alisha) was limited in what I could do because of Sophie. Ben has been asked to be a Student Work Program leader. In order to keep the costs down at NTBI, each student (except for mothers) has a work detail that takes anywhere from an hour to 3 hours a week. As a leader, Ben will be in charge of making sure a group of students gets their work detail done.

Today is registration day, so there are a lot of students moving in. We are excited about meeting new people, and we are especially excited about getting to know the new families that are coming to NTBI. We have met a few already.

I tried to upload a video of our apartment but couldn't get it to load. Here are pictures for you to enjoy though :)

Our door:

Looking into our apartment from the door:
Kitchen:

Living Room:
Our bedroom (which looks really boring, I know... we also have an awesome huge closet to the right):
Sophie's bedroom.. this is the first time Sophie gets an actual bedroom so I had so much fun decorating:

Moved In :)

We're back at New Tribes!! And we're moved into our new apartment. We are very excited about our new apartment for three main reasons:

1. We now have running water!!! They've put in running water in all of the apartments now.

2. Sophie will have her own room!! I really enjoyed having Sophie sleep in our room for the first 4 months, but we never had any other option. It's nice that she can have her own room now.

3. We have a real living room area!! (See pictures below) This will be so nice for entertaining, but also for Sophie... she has already been rolling all around on the floor.

We still need to decorate, but we've unpacked everything. We are currently doing Student Leadership Training which is keeping us busy. We will be going to a camp for the next 5 days, and then we start classes on the 24th. We are ready for another semester :)

Final Summer Update

It's hard to believe that summer is almost coming to an end in the sense that we head back to school next wednesday!! Our summer has been crazy with Ben working in three different states and with me learning something new every day about being a mother :) While school won't be easy, it'll be nice to have routine again and to have a permanent home and be a family :) Here is what we have been up to in the last month:

- Ben has worked at Alisha's Uncle David's house and has completely redone their bedroom including running plumbing and electricity. He has done several other odd and end jobs.

-Alisha and Sophie spent three weeks with Ben in Ohio.

-Alisha read a book for fun :)

-We all went to the Mosers for the annual Walton-Moser pool party.

-We all went to the Whitley County Fair.

-Alisha attended the church carry-in lunch.

-Alisha picked and sold corn at her parent's house for two weeks. The money goes toward our school bill :)

-Alisha's sister Nikki cut Ben and Alisha's hair.

-Alisha and Sophie attended Kylee's (Grace College friend's) bachelorette party. Congrats to Jeremy and Kylee who get married this Saturday!!

-Sophie has learned to grab toys and roll from back to belly in the last month! She is now 4 months.

-This saturday we leave to go on vacation with Ben's family. Then next Wednesday we will head back to school to begin leadership training!

Here are some pictures. Enjoy :)

Sweet Summertime #2

We have one month left before we go back to New Tribes for our second year! Thought I'd update you on what we've done these last few weeks:

- We dedicated Sophie at our church

- We spent Father's Day at Grandpa Miller's house with the Miller family

- Ben did odds and end jobs for Dad Walton and Dad Miller

- Ben sanded Andy Royer's floors

- Alisha visited her old job and some friends from Grace to show off Sophie

- Sophie got her first shots and did well enough, considering

- Ben and Alisha hung out with friends from our old church at Trevor and Nikki Moser's house

- Ben and Alisha watched fireworks at Trevor and Nikki's

- Ben started working on (remodeling) Alisha's Uncle David's house

- Alisha sent letters to her sister Brianna who is on a mission trip with Teen Missions International in Serbia

- Ben went out with guy friends go-karting and to B-Dubs

- Alisha went out with girl friends to Flat Top and to watch Bridesmaids

- Ben and Alisha spent time with their small group

- Alisha has been enjoying her time as a stay-at-home mom to Sophie

- Sophie has started laughing some and has gotten better neck strength and head control

Sweet Summertime

I suppose it's time for a summer update. I'm going to do a bullet-point list to let you know what we've been up to because that seems easiest :)

- Moved back to the loft above Ben's parents' garage and SLOWLY unpacked.

- Celebrated 3 years of wedded bliss by having Grandma Walton watch Sophie and heading out to Logan's restaurant and Fast Five (movie).

- Went camping with Alisha's family over Memorial Day and almost got hit by a tornado.

- Ben traveled to Virginia to work on a Buffalo Wild Wings for 2 weeks with his buddy Dan.

- Alisha and Sophie went to California to visit best friend Abbey and baby Emma!!

- Sophie has gotten lots of time with Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, and Uncles. She doesn't lack in the spoiled department.

- Alisha and Sophie went shopping with Aunt Nikki for a day.

- Alisha and Sophie attended their small group from CCC- it was good to be back!

- Said good-bye to Alisha's sister, Brianna, who is serving the Lord this summer by helping lead a mission's trip with Teen Missions.

- Ben, Alisha, and Sophie attended Alisha's 5 year high school reunion

And that brings us up until today :) We miss school and our friends there, but it's been nice to have a break and to spend time with family. Here are a few pictures because... well, let's be honest... that's everyone's favorite part of a blog.

Sophie and Emma hanging out... becoming best friends :)

Sophie and I at Huntington Beach: Sophie's first beach experience
Sophie's 2 month picture. Getting so big already!

Done With Our First Year...

Tomorrow we have our last day of classes for this school year. It's hard to believe that we are already done with our first year here at New Tribes and that little Sophie is already 7 weeks old! We have had a great year and have learned a lot that we hope we won't quickly forget. We've also made some great friends. We're thankful we have another year left to learn about the Bible and get to know students and staff here at NTBI. The above photo was taken by Joel Myers We are so thankful for the family pictures he took to capture these precious moment when Sophie is a baby.

Sophie is now a smiley girl... below is a picture to prove it!
We are finishing up 1 Corinthians right now, and Ben is also finishing up Bible Basis of Missions. 1 Corinthians has been a great class where we have learned a lot and been challenged. It's amazing to really look into the letters Paul wrote and examine them carefully... you realize how much you miss with just a quick read. The homework load has been heavier for this class. Below is a picture to show you what we do... we have to color nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc to help us get a better grasp on the text, and then we look for key words and key thoughts in the passage. I (Alisha) have really enjoyed this homework as it's right up my English-lovin' alley... Ben's ready to never see a noun again, though ;)
We have made time for friends amongst being students, parents, and working (Ben). We have watched a few movies and talked with friends after Sophie goes to bed... and we also went out to eat and bowling with our friends Jason and Laken and had our first true date night away from Sophie... our wonderful staff friend Tamara watched Sophie. Building good relationships take time, and so we're bummed to be leaving for the summer right as we're beginning to build some solid relationships. Some of our friends will be back next year which is nice, but some will graduate.

Below is another picture Joel Myers took... it is of Sophie and I and his wife Bethany and their baby Elsie who is 2 days older than Sophie. I have been so thankful to have a friend here to go through pregnancy and beginning of motherhood with.

Ben and I are looking forward to summer break when we will be back in Indiana. Ben plans to work construction... he's glad to have a break from Red Lobster to do what he really loves. I am going to California for a week to visit my friend and her baby, and the rest of the time I will be in Indiana, enjoying being a mother without the schoolwork load. We're hoping to spend times with friends and family that we miss while in Michigan!