Jim and Kathy Tanner Serving God with New Tribes Mission in Papua New Guinea  The Tanners Jim's favorite verse: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek...

We left Cleveland, OH in a snow storm just before Thanksgiving in November 1969. We were 22 with 2 kids and one on the way. We believed God wanted us to serve Him in what was called then The Territory of New Guinea. We had only one supporting church and wentthrough...

Jim was born in Akron, Ohio in January of 1947 and was the third child out of four in his family. His home was not a Christian home although both parents had been exposed to some Bible teaching. Jim's mom would sometimes take the children to church or send them to one...

Kathy was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1947. Her parents went to church off and on over the first few years of Kathy's life and even taught Sunday school. Her Dad was a deacon in the church. By the time Kathy was 10, the family had stopped attending church....

During my Senior year of high school, I was given a book and some tracts to read. Little did I know that reading them would set the course of my life. The book was The History of New Tribes Mission and people in the same organization wrote the tracts. I had never met...

Music to His Ears orSongs From the Sweet Potato Patch "What is that? Do you hear it? It sounds like singing, but it's too far away to hear the words," some may say in the Elimbari tribe of Papua New Guinea. Named after the beautiful Mount Elimbari the people are...

Soap in His Eyes orBar Soap and Bubbles of Joy "We have enough money to buy a carton of bar soap," the Aziana women's group agreed. They had made the decision to order bar soap to give to their pastors and teachers in the churches there. I'm sure God got soap in His...

Super Power orWhites vs. Witches With wide eyes and rising emotion he kept repeating, "I'm telling you nothing is working! We can't stop the evil powers! That's why we've got to have a missionary come to our community."The man was from the Tokano tribe near the town...

With My Own Eyes Recently, I went to Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), the other half of this great island and I finally saw a "new tribe" with my own eyes. Well, at least they were a "new tribe" until recently. They didn't speak one word of Indonesian and still used...

When the Third Time Was Not A Charm The smoke was getting thicker as the three men puffed repeatedly on their cigarettes while walking rapidly in a small circle around the fire pit in the center of the hut. In their hands were fragrant wild taro leaves that each man...

By Sam Christiansen Bob and I watched the Yembi Yembi video and sneaked pieces of hot elk steak. "You'll be a different person when you come back," he said. I didn't tell him what I was thinking, but I knew better. I don't change that easy. In fact, I was so divided...

by Jim Tanner As the mountain grew dark with the encroaching clouds, I could still see a glimmer of clear sky to the west as I stood behind the big grass-roofed hut where we would be sleeping in the village of Kalanga. Glancing from the ominous black mountain to the...