October - A Few Days Early

You may be wondering why we are posting our October update a few days early. Well that's because our class is starting a WebFast this morning at 8am until October 24th at noon! Therefore, we had to get this out a few days earlier but tried to get it as close to October as possible.

Why a WebFast you may ask? Well, on Friday we completed our Worldview class and in it we not only discussed what a worldview is and the worldviews of some animistic people but also our own culture's worldview. That was very enlightening as we explored the shifts in thinking of our culture and how those were brought about. Of course, a major element of our culture is technology and it was fascinating to see just how much impact it has on us without our knowledge! Therefore, for the next month or so we will not be using the internet, texting, watching movies, or anything of the sort. The purpose of this is to help build more face-to-face relationships and to use our time more efficiently. However, they did make two exceptions in allowing us to check our school email and the MTC Intranet so we can turn in homework. So, you can put your fears to rest knowing that our studies will not be affected!

Classes have been fantastic as we've had: Learning Styles, Love and Respect, Worldview and Biblical Frameworks. In Learning Styles, we learned not just about how we as individuals learn but we also realized the necessity of having a diverse team in order to be most effective in the tribe. Truly all learning styles are needed in order to learn as a team and also minister as a team! In Love and Respect Cameron and I are having post-marital counseling. Our last semester at Bible School, a very dear and wise couple told us that they highly recommended post-marital counseling to newlyweds because that's when you really need it! Now we are going through the series and we have learned a lot thus far.

I described the Worldview class in the above paragraph but one of the things that we learned that was very thought provoking was the fact that people in the tribe are not sitting there with empty heads waiting to be filled with the Truth. On the contrary, the Enemy has filled their minds with lies directly opposing the Truth! It truly is a battle and not one to be taken lightly.

In Biblical Frameworks class we are actually briefly going through the chronological teaching that we will use in the tribe. Obviously when we actually teach the lessons in the tribe we will go slower but, for us, we are focusing on key points in Scripture that point to God's character. An example of this is when we discussed the account of Noah. I, and probably many of you, have often viewed this account as follows: mankind was bad, God wiped out mankind, God saved Noah, God placed a rainbow in the sky. However, our teacher pointed out a different aspect that I hadn't considered before that totally revolutionized my view of this account. You see God has promised Adam and Eve a Redeemer and when God makes a promise He will always keep that promise. However, in Genesis 6:5 it is recorded that every thought of man was evil. Noah was the only righteous man on the earth. Evil hates righteousness and so it was only a matter of time until Noah or one of his righteous descendents was murdered. Therefore, in order to preserve the line of the Messiah, God removed all of mankind except for Noah and His family. God's actions were merciful in order to give the world the Redeemer He had promised! God was rescuing mankind by removing what would eventually destroy us.

We had our first family visitors this month! Cameron's Uncle and Aunt stopped by a Sunday afternoon and we had a wonderful time showing them around campus and sharing with them some of what the Lord has been teaching us through our classes.

We have exciting news! Earlier this month we were added to the New Tribe Mission "give" list! This means that you now have the ability to give a one-time gift to us online. Our picture is even included which makes it even more official.

We realized that we had not yet shared with you our address! If you have been desiring to send us a letter, package or carrier pigeon, please use the following address which is also listed on the Contact tab of this page:

Cameron and Caitlin Neace
134 Main Dr
Roach, MO 65787

(Please do not include "MTC," "Missionary Training Center," "NTM," or "New Tribes Mission" as this can confuse the mail service.)

Thank you for your prayers and support as we continue studying in preparation for serving the Lord overseas! If you are interested in supporting us financially, we invite you to review our Support tab.

United in Christ,

Caitlin and Cameron

Counting the Costs

Time. Money. Family. Children. Friends. Success. Failure. How much does overseas missions cost the missionary? I think the question should rather be have the missionaries put a limit on what they are willing to pay?

We had a guest speaker, Brooks Buser come through this month who gave a challenging message to us. He spoke for less than an hour but I have replayed his words for days. He and his family have successfully planted a church among the previously unreached Yembiyembi tribal group in Papua New Guinea and have finished translating the New Testament into their language. While this is an amazing accomplishment, he didn't tell us a string of funny stories but rather told us the hard stuff. He told us that we need to be committed. Committed for the long haul, the rough road, the unexpected. He said that we need to be prepared for sacrifice. We can't do it all and we have to sacrifice some things in order to fulfill what God has called us to.

What if we are willing to pay the costs? To make such a sacrifice? We then may become a part in God's work in reaching a tribe with the Gospel and they may shed their animistic lives of bondage and hold fast to the truth of God's Word! The Word of God will turn their lives radically upside down as they understand who He is and His desires for their lives. What a joyous day that will be!

But. What if that's not how the story ends. What if, after spending years learning the language, teaching the people how to read and write in their mother tongue, translating the whole of Scripture, and creating lessons that minister directly to their worldview; what if, after all of this, you present the Gospel and nothing happens. The people are not receptive and reject the message. Have you failed? Was the sacrifice worth it? Will you still remain faithful to what God has called you to?

Hebrews 11 records the great Hall of Faith where great men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others commended for their acts of faith. However, the end of Hebrews 11 records those who's message was not received. God does not call them failures but, rather, says that the world was not worthy of them. It continues by saying that they, "were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised." We cannot always judge success by the outward results but by the faithfulness of God's people.

Wow! Talk about convicting! Obviously, we are heading to the tribe with the goal and expectation that the people we will be ministering to will receive the Gospel but, if they don't, will we still call God faithful? I believe we will.

We strongly recommended you read this article about translation. It contains an excellent synopsis of why Cameron and I are desiring to do translation work in a tribe. It also includes some Brooks Buser's story with the Yembiyembi tribe in Papua New Guinea.

Thank you for words of encouragement, prayers and support!

United in Christ,

Caitlin and Cameron

We invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us through regular monthly support or a one-time gift, as we prepare and train to go and share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
When designating which missionary you are supporting, indicate:
Cameron Neace Account #900458

A Typical Day at a Glance

The purpose of this mid-month post is to give you a glance into what a typical day is like for us! First, I know that we've mentioned that the Missionary Training Center campus is located right on the lake. Well here is an aerial view, courtesy of Zillow. I tried outlining the campus in red as best I could so you can see its huge size! We live toward the upper left-hand part of the campus in one of the rows of houses off of Service Lane and our classes are in that building that looks like a sideways "L" toward the middle of the map above Indian Road Drive.

Nearly every morning, Cameron has been faithful in getting up at 3am to study Greek for future Bible translation. We leave for class at about 7:30 in order to ensure that we get our favorite seats. Those seats are in the left column in the front row all the way to the right of the table. The only drawback to being in the front row is that the air conditioning pours directly on us! Hence the long sleeves we are wearing on an eighty-degree day.

At 8am we have "Hold the Ropes" named for the people who used to hold the ropes for scuba divers back in the day. In the same sense, we hold the ropes of missionaries by reading their newsletters and praying for the requests they included. We do this Tuesday - Thursday from 8am until 8:20am. On Mondays we also pray but with our ministry team and on Fridays we have chapel worship and then a speaker.

From 8:30 until 12:05 we have four class periods. So far we've had Worldview, Learning Styles, Love and Respect, and Foundational Bible Teaching. All of these have been AWESOME and have really challenged us in so many ways.

Then on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 1:15 until 5pm, Cameron has his carpentry work detail. So far he's ripped tiles out of a bathroom, cut wood, framed a wall, assisted in wiring outlets and all that entails, and painted. He's sure been busy and has learned a lot in just these first four weeks!

Meanwhile, Monday - Wednesday, from 2:15 until 5pm, I am in the Ministry Practicum office. During our time here, students are required to devote approximately eight hours a week divided into
both church involvement and a community outreach. This is under the responsibility of the Ministry Practicum team that consists of five staff members and myself. I've primarily been working on the community outreach sign-up sheet for the first semester students along with a variety of other lists, homework assignments, creating calendars and grading spreadsheets, and all kinds of other super fun things that I love to do!

In the evenings, Cameron and I will usually work on our homework and participate in some of the activities around the campus such as dancing, volleyball, bonfires, hanging out with students and staff, and other random things. Cameron will also prepare for his Sunday school lessons and I work on our church's website.

I hope that this gives you a better idea of what a typical day is like for us. We are really enjoying being here as we prepare to serve the Lord overseas! They say that this is the most thorough cross-cultural training available and I believe it as we are continually challenged in our worldviews and presuppositions. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

United in Christ,

Caitlin and Cameron

If you are interested in partnering with us financially, we invite you to check out the Support tab located at the top of this page.

Getting Involved

Today began our third and final week of orientation here at the Missionary Training Center. It seems like everyday Caitlin and I continue to grow in our longing to be overseas and reaching the world for Christ. However, we are asking the Lord to help us minister and serve where we are planted at this point in time and not just have our eyes locked towards what's on the horizon and miss the opportunities we have right in front of us.

We are continuing to get to know the staff and our fellow students through various means one of which is a dance class held once a week taught by a staff couple. We have gone twice now and have stumbled through the Two-Step, Line Waltz, Electric Slide, Dallas, and the 10-Step.
This is such a fun time and an hour and a half filled with much laughter! We've also had a couple game nights, two evenings of volleyball, a brunch potluck with some of our neighbors (as seen in this picture to the left) and so many other great times of fellowship. Caitlin and I have really enjoyed living right on the lake and have taken several canoe trips together and plan to go on many more before winter sets in.

My carpentry skills are coming along as are my demolition ones as my first project was to remove the tiles from a bathroom that had termite damage. It was quite fun breaking them apart. In addition to destroying things, this past week I was able to help put together a frame for a wall. I'm really enjoying this opportunity to learn such a useful skill. My cooking skills are being perfected as well and, to date, Caitlin and I haven't set anything on fire despite setting the smoke alarm off twice but we promise nothing was burnt!

We were blessed last week by our first visitors from my home church! Dave and Lynne Moll were in the area visiting family and spent the evening with us. It was great catching up with them and sharing some stories from our first few weeks here at MTC.

I am going to begin teaching the adult Sunday school class at Lake Area Evangelical Free Church on September 14th and I would covet your prayers! While this is an awesome growing opportunity in teaching, it is also a little intimidating. I have often desired to develop this gift but wasn't sure how since I have never practiced it to this extent. This will definitely be a growing experience but I am excited to see just how the Lord does grow me! Caitlin is also helping our new church by redesigning their website. It's a big and tricky task (computer programs do not always like to cooperate ) and she would appreciate your prayers as she works on this project.

Last night I had the opportunity to serve with a jail ministry. It was very different from what I expected and really brought home for me the reality of sin's penalty. These men are living out their penalties for whatever crime they have committed but we also have a very real penalty for our sin. It was quite an eye-opening experience. I'm going again on Wednesday to meet with some of these men one-on-one and then Caitlin is going to a women's jail ministry on Thursday night. This is far out of our comfort zones but we did ask the Lord to stretch us while we are here at MTC.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, encouragement and support!

United in Christ,

Cameron and Caitlin 

We invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us through regular monthly support or a one-time gift, as we prepare and train to go and share the Gospel with those who have never heard.
When designating which missionary you are supporting, indicate:
Cameron Neace Account #900458