Summer Update 2019

Hello again!

We wanted to write a big update to let you guys know of some big things that are ahead!

But first, let us share a bit about our "Simple Living" course. In case you missed it, we were in the woods for 16 days during April/May. This course was designed to provide exposure to practical skills that are vital for life and ministry in the places where Ethnos360 ministers. We’ve been posting videos and pictures from our time on our Facebook page to give you all a feel for what it was like.

Those days in the woods were packed full of incredible information and we would love to be able to share it all with you guys! But for now, here are some of our main takeaways.

1. Love your team

Over those 16 days in the woods and the many days of planning and preparation that took place before the course, it struck me (Nathan) how important it is to deeply care about the people you work with. In the tribe, we will have to work incredibly close with our coworkers (in both proximity and relationship). It is so important to love the people you work with. We were thankful that our team in Simple Living were a joy to work with, but that was just for a short time. We realized the difference it would make longterm to work closely with people you love for possibly 15 years or more. I love what it says in Romans 12:9-10: Don’t just pretend to love others, really love them. 

2. It won’t look like you expected 

This one was hard: Kelsey and I planned out our house out thoroughly. When I went out to build, she was unable to communicate with me and was only able to see the finished product. When she saw the finished result, I learned I had misunderstood some things that Kelsey had wanted. Later, I also became disappointed with many of the things I had built. I didn’t have the time to perfect anything since a lot of our time and efforts were focused on maintaining our groups' common-areas during and throughout the storms. Kelsey and I both had to deal with disappointment and come to peace with what we had. No matter where we are, failed expectations are a reality and we have to trust that God is working even in our failures. 

3. Life is busy no matter where you are 

We had a misconception that when we finally got out to our simple living site and set up that we would have plenty of free time. This did not happen at all. We had practical classes in the morning and afternoon, we had to fetch water, do laundry in a twin-tub, hang laundry (with little-to-no sun), collect and chop firewood, keep the fire going, prepare meals, cook over the fire, do dishes, collect more water to finish said dishes, and all this while taking care of a 7 month old baby. Everything took longer than we expected out there. I saw that something will always fill my time, and I will always be busy. The things that are important are worth making time for. 

These were a few things we learned during our time in the woods, but Simple Living is only a small part of our training at MTC. We’ve been learning so many other things that have been growing us and preparing us for a lifetime of ministry cross-culturally! 

What’s Next for us

Also during our time in SL, we were both separately convicted to be more open with our plans. We both have a huge heart for PNG but we felt the Lord pressing our hearts to possibly consider another field. It took a lot for us to even be willing to share that with each other, but once we did and heard that the Lord was working in BOTH of us that way separately, we knew it was from God and it was worth looking into. So we sent out letters to our supporting churches' leadership teams and asked for their thoughts and advice. We quickly got a resounding "YES" and lots of encouragement for us to take a vision trip this summer. At every step, the Lord was affirming our plans. God had already begun providing the funds for us to go so we bought the tickets and will be going to...

The Philippines in 2 weeks!

We leave at the beginning of July and will be gone for 3 weeks. We will attend a conference for the Northern works where we will get to meet lots of missionaries, field leadership, and see Manila. Then we will fly down to the South where the E2 program will be (equipping 2--aka in-country training). There, we would experience what ministry might be like if we chose to work in the Philippines and may have the opportunity to go into a couple of tribal works.

Would you please pray for this trip and the many things to consider while trying to decide what field the Lord would have us work? This is no easy decision for us, as we have been so excited to work in PNG for many years now. This is not us saying “no” to PNG, but we are trying to discern if PNG or the Philippines is the best choice for our family. Regardless of the outcome of this trip and its impact on our decision as to where to serve, this trip will provide exposure and aid us in furthering our training in cross-cultural missions. 

A pig's foot from our suturing class in SL! 
We participated in several mini-classes while we were in the woods such as:

• baking bread over a campfire

• how to operate chainsaws & Alaskan sawmills

• how to take care of our own plumbing, electrical, and gas needs overseas

• small engine repairs

• suturing

• knife sharpening

• knot tying

• conflict resolution & team dynamics

• butchering classes

• how to use a twin-tub washing machine

• how to radio-in an order (like we will do in the tribe for food and supplies

• how to build emergency shelters

  
  And plenty more!

Our team built a smoker out of things found in the woods to cook the meat we butchered!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!! We truly appreciate your desire to keep up with our ministry!


Yours In Christ,

Nathan, Kelsey, & Simeon Brendle