Dear family and friends,

Greetings from sunny central Florida. Our Headquarters in Sanford, Florida has had a change of address. We have acquired a newer building just a few blocks from the old one. This 6 story building will better suit the needs of the home offices of our mission organization. The new address is 312 West First Street, Sanford, FL 32771-1231.

Dear family and friends,

Greetings from sunny Florida! As you know, Brad and I live and work at our retirement center for folks who have served as missionaries with New Tribes Mission. Our residents range in age from upper 60’s through 95 years of age, with many in their 80’s and 90’s. I, Wanda have two jobs listed on my name badge, housekeeping and personal care. Our personal care staff, who work in the Assisted Living Facility, all have current Red Cross certification for First Aid and CPR. We regularly have drills for fire, hurricane, and elopement. Patient Elopement is when a resident who is cognitively, physically, mentally, and / or emotionally impaired; wanders away, walks away, escapes, or otherwise leaves a caregiving facility or environment unsupervised, or unnoticed. All of these drills are for the safely of our residents, the training of the staff, and fulfill the requirements as set by the state of Florida.

Dear family and friends,

We thank-you for praying for us as we headed north to Ohio to attend my mom’s funeral in January. We felt the Lord’s sustaining grace and comfort as we traveled, met with family and friends, and attended the visitation times and funeral service. We were gone from home for just 7 days, but packed a whole lot into those days. We spent 4 days in the car. On our way home we stopped in Savannah, Georgia to visit with some friends of ours. We did some hiking and sight-seeing in a local state park. Of course, Brad had his camera along and took quite a few photos. Spending time with friends and being able to relax was a good thing after all that we had just been through. It was a blessing to have this time at the end of our trip before returning home and going back to work.

Dear family and friends,

There is a quote by Melody Beattie on one of the bulletin boards in our Assisted Living Facility. “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” I walk by this particular quote quite a number of times each day. It has given me food for thought. Brad and I have so much to be thankful for. We both are in relatively good health. We have sufficient funds to meet our monthly bills. Our Heavenly Father loves us with an everlasting love. We have the Scriptures in our own language. We have family and friends who care about us. Wow! We are so blessed!

Dear family and friends,

One day this past week I was about my business of doing some cleaning in our Assisted Living Facility. A lady walked in the door and greeted me. Dee said that she had just arrived from Wisconsin to see her mother. Before going to Lorraine’s room she wanted to give me a hug. She said that she was so thankful for all that I do for her mom. This greeting blessed my heart. Lorraine and her husband Les joined New Tribes Mission in 1942. They left for Paraguay in 1949 with their 3 kids. (Two more were added to their family a bit later). They worked with the Lengua, (an unreached people group). Les translated the New Testament into the Lengua language. Among other things, Les served as the field director in Paraguay, taught at the New Tribes Bible Institute in Wisconsin, and served on our executive board of New Tribes Mission in Sanford, FL. He also took on the ministry of encouragement to missionaries around the world in the 1980’s. Les and his wife Lorraine retired here at NTM Homes. Les went home to be with the Lord in 2013. Lorraine moved into our Assisted Living Facility in 2015. Lorraine has some memory issues and needs help in caring for herself. This is where I come in. I wash her clothes, sheets, and towels, remake her bed, and clean her bathroom and apartment. I also assist Lorraine when she misplaces things, needs help finding her way to Bible study or the dining room. I try to be a blessing in any way that I can be. I hope this gives you a window into my ministry here. (The above information was given to me by daughter Dee who has served the Lord with her husband in Paraguay for 35 years.)

Dear family and friends,

Greetings to you from sunny Central Florida! I read a quote yesterday that I could relate to. “To love what you do and feel that it matters; how could anything be more fun?” (Katherine Graham)

I love what I do! Washing clothes, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming carpets, washing windows, etc. are some of my cleaning duties each week Besides these, I was a driver for a Wal-Mart trip, found a missing telephone for one of the Assisted Living residents, sent a package from the local post office for another resident, plus other misc. tasks. How could anything be more fun? Matthew 25:40 tells us what really gives these tasks meaning. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” These words are written in red in my Bible and are words spoken by our Lord himself. This is why it matters. As I go about my daily activities, the Lord gives me a song in my heart and a spring to my step. I hope this is true for you as well.

Dear family and friends,

Greetings to you from sunny Florida! During the month of May, Brad and I did some traveling. We were away for two weeks and traveled a total of 3,141 miles. We visited with 3 of our brothers (and families), Brad’s parents, my mom, as well as a number of friends, relatives, supporters and churches. The churches were in Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We considered it to be a ministry trip but were also able to get in some time of relaxation and refreshment.

Dear family and friends,

I recently read some facts that may be of interest to you. In the last twelve months there have been nine New Testament translations that have been completed by missionaries serving with New Tribes Mission. There are one hundred ten New Testament translations that are in process. Translating takes a whole lot of preparation, time, and effort. It also takes friends and supporters who are willing to pray for the missionaries until the task is completed. Many folks doing Bible translation are friends and co-workers of ours from Thailand and Papua New Guinea. Over the years, Brad and I have invested in their lives in a variety of ways. Through your partnership with us, you too, have had a vital part on the team. We look forward to meeting our Christian brothers and sisters in the Lord in heaven someday.

Dear family and friends,

Hello to you once again from sunny Florida!

Life here is not all work and no play. In fact, just a few days ago we had a special event called “The Country Fair”. Since this is my first year as a full time staff member at NTM Homes, this is my first time to attend and participate in the festivities. I volunteered to serve on the planning committee for “The Country Fair”. It is quite the event and takes a lot of planning and preparation behind the scenes. My teammates did a fantastic job! Things ran quite smoothly this past Friday. Our NTM missionary retirees, retired volunteers from up north, and staff members all had a great time participating in the games and other events. This included horseshoes, Hillbilly Golf (Top-Toss), shuffleboard, obstacle course race in a golf cart while blindfolded, Wii Bowling, darts, and pool. The photo below is of me playing Hillbilly Golf.  I made it to the playoffs!

Dear family and friends,

Greetings to you from the Sunshine State.  Even though we are getting some cooler temperatures, we still see the sun on a regular basis.

A couple of years ago I received a special gift from a friend. It is a little box 2 ½ inches by 6 inches by 1 inch deep and sits on a bookshelf in our living room. On the front of the box are the following words: “Every day of your life is an opportunity to be a blessing to someone.” An old hymn says it this way: Make me a blessing. Out of my life, may Jesus shine. Make me a blessing to someone today. Please pray for us as we look for opportunities to serve those around us.

Dear family and friends,

Hello to you from sunny central Florida! Christmas Day is just about over, but I wanted to send greetings out to you before the conclusion of this day. It has been pure joy to sing some of the old familiar Christmas carols this season. I will give some of the phrases that I think say it so well. (You can find them all in your hymn book with their authors.)

Dear family and friends,

One special blessing that we get to be part of by living here at NTM Homes is the stories that we hear from our retired folks. Each morning, Monday through Friday, retired missionaries and staff members attend chapel services from 8:00 to 8:30. Our times together begin with 15 to 20 minutes in the Word, singing, testimonies, or answers to prayer. The last 10 minutes are reserved for prayer requests and a time of prayer. Visitors, birthdays, and anniversaries are acknowledged. Can you tell that we have a great time together? Every Tuesday our administrator fills us in on what is happening around the property and within our fellowship. This includes the maintenance projects, residents who are coming and going or any other information we need to know.