Hello everyone!
I’ve been meaning to put together an update for a while now… Finally! Didn’t want anybody back home assuming I’d fallen off the face of the planet.
For those of you who haven’t heard, I left Renton in August to attend New Tribes Bible Institute (NTBI) here in Jackson, Michigan. Quite a long haul from home! I’ve wanted to go to a Bible college for a while now, first and foremost to know God’s Word better and also to explore vocational missions.
Looking back on these last few years while I was pursuing attendance at NTBI, I don’t think I knew quite what I was getting myself into. And now as I look back on these last few months, I am awestruck. To share all that I’ve been learning—where to start?!
I’ll begin with a little about the school. NTBI is a fairly small school with only about 400 students. Almost all the staff is here on a volunteer basis and is supported by their sending churches. Many of them either were on the mission field overseas or had plans to pursue overseas missions, but due to unforeseen circumstances (health problems, change in government policies in the country they were working in, etc.) had to remain in the states. What an incredible difference it makes to know that our teachers are here purely because they see the value in equipping prospective missionaries with knowledge of God’s Word. NTBI is closely associated with New Tribes Mission (NTM), and this Bible college is in essence the first step in NTM’s missionary training process.
I’ve had the privilege to meet many people from all over the world from all walks of life. In my dorm alone, Texas, Missouri, Maryland, Washington, and Thailand are all represented! The testimonies of my fellow students and the staff are incredible—God has pulled some crazy stunts to bring people here.
Now to mention the nutshell version of what God has been teaching me…
I’ve realized that I’ve fallen into self-condemning patterns in my faith, caused by some misplaced notion that I want to be a “good” Christian versus a “bad” Christian. I know that doesn’t make any sense on any grounds but for some reason I’ve found myself locked in that mindset. God has been teaching me is how incredible small I am. I, on my own strength, can do absolutely nothing. Aside from the Holy Spirit, there is no good thing that can be found in me. The first month and half here was characterized with feelings of brokenness and terrifying vulnerability. I have experienced tremendous freedom in the reiteration that because of Christ’s blood shed for me, I am eternally in right standing before God. Eternally! Forever! Because of Calvary, nothing can ever damage or hinder the fact that God sees me as clean. Praise God!
Subsequently, though my flesh nature remains a part of me, I am no longer under the authority of sin. I suppose I always believed on some level that if a ‘major’ sin existed in my life, God would be displeased and thus would not be able to use me. Funny how legalistic our thinking becomes sometimes, hm? The sin of the flesh that remains in my life will cause me to be out of fellowship with God, there in laying the need for spiritual growth and maturity.
There you have it; the nutshell version of a bit of what God has been teaching me.
I’m not going to lie; I have not felt this spiritually immature in years. God is breaking me down; stretching me; challenging me in ways I’ve not been challenged before. But that’s how He works, isn’t it? NTM emphasizes a chronological teaching of the Bible, meaning that they believe the gospel message begins with Genesis 1:1, not John 3:16. Subsequently, I will be studying the Bible in depth chronologically, beginning with the Pentateuch and ending with Eschatology. I also will take other classes throughout the Bible-only courses, such as Bibliology, Evangelism, Hermaneutics, State of Man, etc. It is an honor and a privilege to be here committing at least two whole years to studying the Word of God. I believe that it is important to know the Word better than I know anything else, and now I have the opportunity to learn! I am so incredibly blessed.
Thank you all for your encouragement. I hope for a chance to chat with each of you sooner rather than later.
If at all possible, please be praying for me and the opportunities I’ve been presented with here at school.
- Please pray for continued brokenness in my life. I need to be humbled, to be taken to the end of my own self-sufficiency. Please also pray for maturity. I know that maturity only comes after time and trials, but please pray that God will help me mature in these next two years.
- Two of my fellow students and I have been given an incredible opportunity at the Salvation Army, which is located only two blocks down the street from my school. Vayle, one of my fellow students, has been discipling a group of five young girls since last year. She, another fellow student named Erika, and I started a bible study with them a few months ago. Since that time two more girls have started attending, and one of them accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior three weeks ago! Praise God! These seven girls come from homes of the most broken of circumstances. The junk these girls have to deal with on a daily basis in their homes is heartbreaking. Please pray that God would protect them. Pray that their homes would not prove too much of a distraction in their walk with Christ and that they would continue to mature and grow. The girls in our Bible study are Kiersten-age 17, Cheyanne-15, Nicole-18, Kami-17, Kayla-14, Kiana-11, and Courtney-17.
- There is an opportunity to serve on a short-term mission team to Papua New Guinea during the summer of 2010 called Interface. It is actually more of an educational experience than a mission trip. I would spend a total of eight weeks in Papua New Guinea. The first six would be spent on a school campus taking all sorts of language, culture, and Bible courses. I would have the opportunity to go into several tribes and interact with many different tribal and support missionaries. The last two weeks would be spent in a business administration intern position, working alongside missionaries in one of Papua New Guinea’s major cities. The trip would be an incredible opportunity to explore vocational missions. Please pray for clarity as I try to figure out if this is something God would have me pursue.
Thank you again for all your support and encouragement.
God Bless!
In His service,
Abbey Smith
