Flying the Gospel to the people of Indonesia

Indonesia is a country consisting of thousands of islands that vary greatly in culture, religion, and language. NTM missionaries work in villages throughout the country, often in locations far from civilization. That is where we come in! Justin will be flying a small plane and/or helicopter in and out of these remote villages acting as a taxi, ambulance, mailman, food and medicine delivery man, and so much more. Without the presence of a flight program, it would take many of these missionaries days or even weeks to travel between the supply town and their village; with an airplane or helicopter, it is only a matter of hours. We are very excited about the prospect of supporting missionaries’ emotional, spiritual, and relational needs, as well. Oftentimes the stress of living in a different culture and being distant from family and friends can overwhelm missionaries. A big part of our ministry will be providing a listening ear and encouragement to missionaries who are struggling. Our role will be one of supporting tribal church planters so that they are better able to focus on the awesome task of bringing the Gospel into places that otherwise have no access to it.

Getting to know us:

Justin grew up in a small village in the jungles of Kalimantan, Indonesia with his parents, who are also missionaries with NTM. Growing up with friends in the village, who had never heard of Jesus Christ before his parents and their team came, gave Justin a love for tribal people in need of Christ. Justin knew that God gifted him in the area of mechanics and service and that airplanes have an incredible role in spreading the Gospel, so he decided that he would head toward missionary aviation. Justin completed the Missionary Aviation Technology program at Moody Bible Institute.

Courtney grew up in Vermont and became excited about overseas missions when she went on a mission trip to Papua New Guinea in High School. God had given her an interest in counseling and psychology, and she was encouraged by a missionary in PNG to pursue that passion with the goal of working with missionaries and their children. Courtney received degrees in counseling from Moody Bible Institute and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

New Tribes Mission’s purpose:

Motivated by the love of Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, NTM exists to assist the ministry of the local church through the mobilizing, equipping, and coordinating of missionaries to evangelize unreached people groups, translate the Scriptures, and see indigenous New Testament churches established that truly glorify God.

Dear Family and Friends,

We have several prayer items; but also wanted to let you know we will be coming back to the US to have the baby in VT. It is NTM's general recommendation for new missionaries having their first child to return to their sending country. However, we have been waiting on a bunch of other decisions to be made and various other details from NTM Aviation and our partners HeliMission before we felt like we could make a final decision on where we would have the baby. Our current visas run out in the beginning of July so we would be required to leave Indonesia anyway in order to come back in on a different visa. Justin would also have to fly back to the US at some point this year to complete a week long Factory Bell Helicopter course in order to meet the regulations for insurance on the helicopter in Palu. With all of these factors, along with the support of our leadership, we felt a peace about coming back to have the baby as it seems like the best all around option, especially for Blanche (Courtney's mom). :)

We are just starting to make plans and work out the details. We would love to see each of you; but at this point we do not know how long we will be in the US for or how much traveling we will be able to do. We are currently planning to leave Indonesia around the 27th of April. We will be in VT with Courtney's parents for the baby's arrival; but Justin will have to travel to TX in order to complete the helicopter course and possibly make a short trip to our headquarters in McNeal, AZ. As of right now, we are hoping to be headed back to Indonesia as soon as possible after the baby's birth (but obviously that will be up to the Lord as we have heard tell that the arrival of babies and visas are almost equally unpredictable). :) That would be our first prayer request that both the baby's birth and paperwork would all go smoothly.

After returning to Indonesia, we are not sure exactly how everything will work out. We have been asked to visit Switzerland to complete some interviews and to get to know the Helimission organization since we will be partnering with them in Palu. They have also asked us to possibly spend a few months in Papua (yet another Indonesian island) in order to become familiar with Helimission operations there before moving on to Palu, Sulawesi to begin the checkout process. It is going to be a very busy time with a new baby, moving several times, setting up a house, adjusting to the new places, finding out where everything is at, learning how the two programs operate, completing the Indonesian pilot license process, and all the flying. We would appreciate your prayers as we try to sort out the details for everything with our coming home, Justin's helicopter course in TX, shipping our stuff that is still in AZ, Visas, all of the traveling, and the moving process to Papua and Palu. Also, Courtney asks for specific prayer for her through all of this. Traveling/moving, having a baby, having to adjust to yet another culture or possibly two, not having a place to call home, and not being able to make plans very far in advance all make life very challenging and can bring about a lot of shed tears.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support. You make all the difference. We could not be a part of what God is doing in Indonesia without you.

Justin & Courtney Wallhoff
New Tribes Mission Aviation
Serving in Indonesia

Thanksgiving Greetings from Indonesia!!

We're thinking of you all as you sit down for some turkey and pumpkin pie...but don't worry about us, we're having a traditional thanksgiving feast on Saturday (we had to go to school on Thanksgiving) with a bunch of friends at our place. We'll be a little late for the football games and Macy's Day Parade, but we'll have a blast anyway! :)
Regardless of not getting to eat our turkey on the correct day, we still have a lot to be thankful for...and one specific thing that we're pretty excited about is that there's a new little Wallhoff on the way!! Our due date is June 17th. We went in for an ultrasound last week and things are all going well...the little guy/gal is already waving and doing sit-ups. We're very proud. :D
We're also thankful for all of YOU! Thank you for your prayers, interest in our lives and ministry, and support. We miss you!! We feel like we have the best team behind us that anyone could have...THANK YOU!!!!
Love,
Justin & Courtney
PS - If you're interested in seeing the little munchkin, you can check out the video of the ultrasound on our blog .

May 23, 2010

Hey Friends,

Things are happening...Justin leaves for Haiti tomorrow and we leave FL on June 2nd. Check out our blog for more news and a few pictures of flying in FL.

Thanks so much for being on our team...we appreciate your prayers and interest in our lives!

Love,

Justin & Courtney