Osiyo is a common Cherokee greeting. I'm saying it more and more these days since we are in the heart of the Cherokee Nation. Currently we are in Talehquah, Oklahoma finishing our linguistics program.
We are beginning to get into the swing of things. Typically Jon gets up in the morning and goes to spend time with his language helper: Mr. Dreadfulwater. He helps Jon for two hours a day by teaching him Cherokee words that Jon can write down and analyze for his linguistics project. Cherokee has to be one of the hardest languages in the Americas, so the challenge keeps things from getting boring!
Jen gets up with the kids and helps out around the camp by cooking and cleaning. There are about 16 people taking the linguistics course with Jon, so helping them by cooking and cleaning is a big blessing. Jen also continues her Spanish study as is getting excited when she understands more and more.
Jamen has some older kids at the camp to play with so he is really busy trying to keep up! He still loves playing with his matchbox cars and is starting to get the concept of coloring.
Jade is recovering great from her minor surgery two weeks ago. The incisions are healing up well and will barely be noticeable when all is said and done. She is crawling very well these days, and is starting to get the concepts of waving and clapping. We started solid foods recently and she isn't a big fan...but hey, she'll figure it out :)
We will be finished with our training completely in about 40 days. It's hard to believe that this long road to preparing ourselves for the job ahead is finally coming to a close. We cannot thank you enough for providing the way for us to focus 100% to the training at hand. We are going to be that much more ready because of your partnership.
A lot of our support money has been eaten up by vehicle expenses since we have traveled so much. We spent a good bit on gas, and also had to address a couple things that couldn't wait any longer (tires, alignment). We feel a lot safer on the road now and are thankful the Lord is keeping the engine and transmission on this old Ford in perfectly fine condition. Sometimes we feel like our 92 Ford is like the jar and bowl in 2 Kings that never ran out. It just keeps going and going, and you can't help but recognize the Divine hand in that.
We have also spent a good chunk of our support in living expenses such as tuition, food, and we also pay our Cherokee language helper.
Praises:
For the support of our churches and friends
Our Explorer is running smoothly
Jade's recovery from being put under for MRI and birthmark removal
Safe travel
Prayer:
To work hard as we finish our training
To make the Lord priority in our business
For our unsaved Cherokee language helper
Upcoming decisions regarding where we will go once we are finished in Oklahoma in October
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast
To read more about the Quast's adventures in following the Lord's leading in their lives and to see more pictures of their journey, go to Quast's Quest (http://jonandjenquast.blogspot.com/) This is a different blog than the one at the New Tribes website. To read Jon and Jen's blog on the New Tribes website, go to http://www.ntm.org/wp/jon_quast/
At the New Tribes website you can access old news articles, search the blog for something you read once but can't find now, see their most recent postings, and read New Tribes Mission news. On their blog, to read about their Ministry, go to the "About" link near the top. You can also give online through the "Give" button. And at the very top of the page you can be connected back to NTM.org.
Ministry Report
(May, June, July 2010)
Thank you all for your continued financial support as we prepare for our ministry in Paraguay. Let me update you on what we are doing, and how we are spending the money you have blessed us with.
In these summer months we have been doing a lot of traveling. We have spoken in 4 different churches and have seen fruit from those visits. Two of the churches are praying about entering into a partnership with us. Praise God! We have also met some individuals in those churches who have joined our support team, or have provided leads to sharing in other churches, so this is an exciting time. We have also spent a good chunk of our time serving in the churches we have visited whether it be by chaperoning kid's events, or doing drywall (yes, I said drywall) we have tried to make ourselves available to serve. It's just a way that we can deepen those relationships and give back. We have also had a decent bit of time to catch our breathe after the past semester in Missouri. We thank God for a couple weeks at my parents house to really just have fun. We really needed that time as we haven't had time to catch our breathe since Jade was born.
As far as our expenditures, let me hit the highlights. We have exciting news in one of our purchases as we went and bought passports this month. We read that the rates were going up so we quickly got everything together and got the passports for the four of us. Hopefully we'll get those in the next couple of weeks. We also have started to put away some money in anticipation for our plane tickets. That bill is inevitable, and likely to be needed by January. A couple churches blessed us with some large donations, so we took those and put them aside to prepare for that cost. Besides travel and living costs, we didn't really spend much else, putting the extra away for the bigger ticket items coming up in the near future.
We thank you all again for your continued support. We are living completely on faith and your kindness. Our hearts beat for the lost who have never had opportunity to hear, and your support is making it possible so that we can prepare for the task ahead, to actually go and reach them, and hopefully see people who had no hope of knowing Him come to Him in faith on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we never lose sight of the fact that God's heart beats for the world, therefore so should ours.
Till All Are Reached,
Jon and Jen Quast
New Week
Thursday, July 1, 2010
I’m sitting down to write an update, and hopefully I’ll soon be able to send it out once I get a chance to get a wifi signal. This update is going to be written a little differently. Believe it or not, there are books out there for missionaries to teach us how to write newsletters. It’s kind of funny when you think about it, but anyway one of the things they tell you to never do is make your newsletter sound like a sermon. People want news, not a devotional. Well … this time I think I’m going to go against the experts and write a newsletter that has some devotional undertones.
We continued our journey last Saturday as we headed down to Charlotte NC. We were very excited, and a little nervous about this opportunity. We were going to a church we had never been to, to share in both Sunday morning services. The set-up was more interview style than straight sharing as the associate pastor was up on stage with me asking questions to direct the conversation. On Saturday night we went out to dinner to get ready for the morning and everything felt so right and I was very comfortable.
Sunday morning went great, (and also Sunday night when I shared with the youth group) and we are discussing a possible partnership between us and their church, but what impressed me most about this church was their hospitality and their hearts for the lost of the world. We were blown away, literally in shock by this congregation.
In 3rd John we read about something that was somewhat unique at that time. There were people going around preaching the truth wherever they went. The church that John was writing to made it a habit to help those who were doing that along their way. The reason that church was helping those traveling preachers was not because they were persuaded to do so, or because they were looking for some traveling preacher ministry to be involved with, but rather they helped these traveling preachers because of their genuine love (vs. 6) and because of their desire to be fellow workers in proclaiming the truth (vs. 8). This is what we felt from Rocky River Community Church: genuine love and a desire to be fellow workers in proclaiming the truth to an unreached people group.
We got into GA last night (actually now 3 nights ago, but it took me a couple of days to send this). While we are looking forward to spending time with our sending church, we are looking forward to spending time with Ignite Church for the first time. They are hosting us right now and we are very thankful and looking forward to this month of July back home.
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast (Jamen and Jade)
Here We Go
(Late June 2010)
The start of the summer found us in Virginia. We decided that after our hardest semester of school to date, and with a busy summer ahead, starting out the summer visiting family would be a good idea. It was a slow start to the summer, but praise God, we feel refreshed and ready to keep moving ahead.
Virginia
Our time in Virginia was spent mostly with family. It was a great time as my (Jon) grandparents were able to be done from New York. Being with family actual ties into our upcoming ministry. You see, it is important for us that our kids spend time with our family, and vice versa, before we take them away for four years. It's hard on everyone when we take kids overseas. Especially hard for my grandparents as there is a very real chance they may not see their great-grandkids again. There wasn't a dry eye as we said goodbye.
We also were able to make a really good contact with a lady in the area who has caught the vision of what the Lord has called us to do. It was an exciting time as she expressed that she wants to be involved in what we are doing in some capacity. That's a God thing.
Rocky Mount
We had the honor of speaking at a church on Sunday morning in Rocky Mount, NC last Sunday. They are a two campus church, so after I shared at one campus we got in the car and drove to the other campus and shared there. (That was a first). It was cool to see eyes enlarging as we pulled out a list of the 2500 unreached people groups of the world. The 50 page list that was stretched out across the stage will definitely remind people of the need that still exists in our world. We also gained some new prayer and financial supporters. Thank you Lord!
Coming Up...
This weekend we are in Charlotte sharing at a church in the morning, and then their youth group that night. Exciting! Next week on to Georgia. That's right...we're going home!!
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast (Jamen and Jade)
Semester Close-out
Monday, May 17, 2010
We are closing out our time in Missouri. As many, hopefully all of you, know we picked up our family in 2008 and moved from our home in Kingsland, GA, to Missouri to be trained to do missionary work. Classes have included a range of subjects from how to teach the Bible, to how to learn a language, to how to hook up solar panels.
Upon graduation in December we decided to stay for another course dealing with some technical issues in language learning and literacy. This course seems as though it will actually be the most valuable and we do not regret our choice to stay for it. While we are done with our training in Missouri we have one last training related event to cross off our list, a 10 week "final exam" for linguistics using the Cherokee language. We will be living with the Cherokee in Oklahoma this August-October. Then our training will be complete.
This Summer
This summer we are continuing the process of establishing state-side ministry partners. We can't do the church planting work we are endeavoring to do without state-side partners committed to supported us in prayer and finances. We have meeting set up to share our goals in church planting so as to expose people to the need of this ministry.
This week we will leave Missouri and head to Jon's parents house in VA. We will be going there to transition from life in training, to life on the road. Also while there we will prepare for our summer schedule. In June we will be sharing with 3 churches in North Carolina. We hope to do just as I have just said: expose people to the need of ministry among unreached people groups, and to identify state-side ministry partners.
In July we will head down to our home area to spend time with our sending church, First Baptist Church St. Mary's, and also establish partnerships with other churches in our home area. We are extremely looking forward to this time home with friends.
Paraguay
And the question of the day is:
"Now that you are done with training, when do you get to Paraguay??"
Well, like I said we do still have one last training thing on our plate this fall with our Cherokee language practicum (final exam for linguistics). After some prayer and talking to the New Tribes leadership in Paraguay we decided to slate our arrival for April 2011 in order to give us enough time to raise the necessary monthly funds for ministry in Paraguay. We are very thankful for those who are currently supporting us financially monthly. However our current monthly support is about 8% of what the leadership in Paraguay recommend we have pledged before we come. Typically it takes people 2 years from the end of training until go overseas to raise the necessary finances. We are looking to the Lord to raise ours in under 1 year.
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast (Jamen and Jade)
Moving On
May 9, 2010
So much has happened in this chapter of our lives. Our time in Missouri has been long, and it has also been eventful. In the past 22 months we have added a new member to our family, completed 3 semesters of church planting training, spent a semester studying linguistics, grown as a couple, grown with the Lord…well you get the idea. But now it is finally time to move on.
Officially done in Missouri 10 days, and ready to set sail we thank the Lord for this time. Although we have every desire to be in a tribal location yesterday, and although we wake up every day yearning to be in Paraguay, the training that we received was vital for our preparedness in Paraguay and in a church plant. We now have the tools to show up in a tribe and build relationships, learn language, learn culture, develop community programs such as literacy and hygiene, and also how to skillfully teach the Scriptures chronologically in a dynamic way.
However the tools we have received are merely tools, and truth be told God delights in me presenting myself empty before Him. God prefers a hunk of clay that can be formed into a useful vessel fit for His service. If we endeavor to reach the lost with the tools we have received, surely He will cause us to fail, but if we in complete dependence and obedience to the Father give of ourselves, He will accomplish in us the good works that He has placed before us.
So with that in mind this chapter in the story of reaching the unreached comes to a close. Here’s a look into the chapter in front of us. This summer we will be heading our on a trip to accomplish two goals: Expose people to the need that exists in our world for tribal missions, and also to raise our financial and prayer support to a level that we would be able to leave for Paraguay. After the summer is over we head to Oklahoma for our 7 week on location mega-linguistic-test as we live with the Cherokee people. We will learn some of their language (enough for a linguistic write-up). This is kind a trial run in a controlled environment what we will do in the tribe in Paraguay.
So, maybe you’re wondering when we will be arriving in Paraguay. We do have some news to report. We are slated to arrive in Paraguay April 2011. It still seems like a ways off, but it is nice to finally have an arrival time set. In order for that to happen we are going to need to raise our monthly support level. We praise God for getting us to about 10% of what the field of Paraguay recommends we have, but we will need to get that up higher before we can leave. Pray for us as we visit churches and individuals this summer.
So in summary: training in Missouri is done, heading out on a support raising trip this summer, going to Oklahoma to finish linguistics in the fall, more support raising, and Paraguay in April! But only as James 4:15 reminds us: “If the Lord wills.”
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast (Jamen and Jade)
To read more about the Quast's adventures in following the Lord's leading in their lives and to see more pictures of their journey, go to Quast's Quest (http://jonandjenquast.blogspot.com/) This is a different blog than the one at the New Tribes website. To read Jon and Jen's blog on the New Tribes website, go to http://www.ntm.org/wp/jon_quast/
At the New Tribes website you can access old news articles, search the blog for something you read once but can't find now, see their most recent postings, and read New Tribes Mission news. On their blog, to read about their Ministry, go to the "About" link near the top. You can also give online through the "Give" button. And at the very top of the page you can be connected back to NTM.org.
Further Uphill We Climb
Thursday March 25, 2010
This post is extremely extremely overdue, but better late then never. In fact, the tardiness of a news update is a good indicator of why it is so overdue…business! Ok, ok, who’s not busy right? Well keep reading and we’ll be sure to fill you in on what we do everyday and how that relates to what we want to do with tribal church planting.
Jen is superwoman (have I said that before?) and supermom for that matter. She is longer in classes during the day, she has completed the church planting training and spends mornings and afternoons at home watching the two little ones. She does a great job of holding down the fort while I’m in classes. But right now she is also actively preparing for Paraguay. During the day she is currently making a list of all our earthly possessions to decide what things we have, what things we will need in Paraguay, what we need to buy, and what we need to get rid of. We really feel good about the list that we are coming up with. We are going to have to do that sooner or later, and she has been doing it now so we won’t have to worry about it later. Also in the evenings she is still plugging away at her Spanish course. How she still has any brainpower left after watching the kids all day I don’t know, but God is giving her some extra energy I suppose.
My day is spent in the classroom with the linguistics course. ( Again linguistics is just a fancy way to say taking the noises that people make and figuring out how to write it all down, and how to put it together) I am in class 5 hours a day, with an average of 4 hours of homework a night. Needless to say I am brain-dead most days by the end of the day.
So…..how are the things that you are doing now getting you ready for Paraguay??
The possessions list: This is an easy one. We are going to have to pack eventually, and we are going to need to get a few more things by way of supplies. Obviously we are taking stuff to Paraguay with us, but this is helping us decided what stuff.
Spanish study: I thought that they don’t speak Spanish in the tribal areas. Why Spanish? While it is true that Spanish is not the language of the people that we will work with, it is the language of the country of Paraguay (Think about 100 years ago English was the language of America, but the Navajo people only spoke Navajo, even though they were in what was called America at the time). Although the language of the country of Paraguay is Spanish, the tribal areas speak there own languages. But that being said…we will still be LIVING in Paraguay and therefore will need to know Spanish if we are going to be able to function in that country. Studying Spanish now gets us to the people we are going to reach more efficiently.
Linguistics: I spend all day looking at languages from all around the world to learn things that happen in languages so I can try to figure out how I would write those languages and explain those languages to others. The people that we will go to in Paraguay will likely not have any system for writing at all and will therefore need someone to help them develop their own system of writing. (How can they have the Bible in their language if there is no way to write their language?) It is of absolute necessity to be able to do the linguistic process with the people group we will be working with in Paraguay. Believe it or not it is extremely complicated to write and explain a previously unknown language. I will go on record and say that the study of linguistics is the hardest thing I have ever tried to do.
So, further uphill we climb. The road to the unreached is definitely uphill. If it were easy no doubt someone would have already reached them. But we continue on, looking unto Christ as our Provider, our Enabler, and our Motivation. For the love of Christ compels us…
Thank you for your prayers. We can’t do without those. Thank you for your financial support. You know who you are, and we would have had to go home long ago if it weren’t for your sacrifice.
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast (Jamen and Jade)
The Latest
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Jade Noel
This sweet baby is definitely shaking things up in the Quast home. It's amazing how different your kids can be from each other even as newborns. As I speak Jade is sitting next to me doing her favorite thing...not sleep!! Oh well, she's good company anyways.
Overall the adjustment to two kids has been smooth for everyone. Jamen thinks she is a lot of fun; mommy has been super-mom; and daddy is not so nervous this time around with a baby in the house.
Linguistics Three weeks into linguistics and the fog is beginning to lift. When you hit the ground running in a subject you're not very familiar with, there is a definitely a difficult start. After trudging through for a couple weeks and after a wondering what I was getting myself into, I know am beginning to pick up momentum in the learning process.
Right now we are studying Phonemics. Phonemics is a subject that deals with getting inside peoples heads to figure out what sounds they think they are saying when they speak. Sounds strange, I know, but it makes for interesting conversation sometimes. You would be shocked to find out how many sounds we say in English, compared to how many sounds we think we say. We say way more than we actually hear. (In English we actually make about 4 different sounds for P, although we hear them all the same...as a P) The same is true of all languages, and the trick is to get inside their heads and figure out what sounds they hear (hence the important sounds to them) and what sounds they think are the same. There is a science to it believe it or not, and this science is essential for developing a system for writing a language that belongs to an unreached people group.
Spanish Study
Jen's Spanish study is going great! We were able to take some of the financial support we receive and purchase Rosetta Stone. Jen has been supermom, finding time in her busy schedule everyday to spend 30 minutes to an hour doing the program. She has already completed the first level!
Typically in the work we do with New Tribes, we would never use a computer program to learn language. However some factors went into this decision. Jon already has a good level of Spanish ability, so we are trying to even out our speaking abilities so we can work more closely together when we are getting to an advanced level of Spanish in Paraguay. Also we want to be able to build good friendships with the people of Paraguay starting day one during our short stay in the capital city before moving into a tribal location.
Prayer Requests - Jon is going to a wedding in Spartanburg SC next month, and is trying to find a church to share our ministry in while on that trip
- Jen's ongoing Spanish study
- Continued focus as we prepare for Paraguay (2 Tim 2:4)
Praise!! Our support level this month jumped up to about 11% of what the field of Paraguay recommends we have when we come. This is a huge jump. Thank you!
Praise!! Jade is a healthy little girl. We are blessed!
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast
To read more about the Quast's adventures in following the Lord's leading in their lives and to see more pictures of their journey, go to Quast's Quest (http://jonandjenquast.blogspot.com/) This is a different blog than the one at the New Tribes website. To read Jon and Jen's blog on the New Tribes website, go to http://www.ntm.org/wp/jon_quast/
At the New Tribes website you can access old news articles, search the blog for something you read once but can't find now, see their most recent postings, and read New Tribes Mission news. On their blog, to read about their Ministry, go to the "About" link near the top. You can also give online through the "Give" button. And at the very top of the page you can be connected back to NTM.org.
What’s New
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. However, either due to our internet connection or my lack of computer ability I am unable to upload a picture of Jamen holding our new daughter Jade. So I guess that means I’ll just have to write a news article at least a thousand words long :)
Maybe it would be cool to give an update on life/ministry (can the two be distinguished?) on each of us.
Jon. I have just started my linguistic training. Linguistics is basically just fancy talk for the process of taking sounds in a language and reducing them to writing. Sounds easy, but I assure you its not :) Many steps are required to get a useable written language. Right now we have been reviewing a process called Phonemic Analysis that we have studied previously in our training. We are now starting to dive in deeper into the subject, and it is definitely difficult. I wish I could be more descriptive of what is complicated with the process, but in order to do that I would have to talk about how symmetry would make you suspicious that a pre-nasalized bilabial stop would unite with it’s unmodified bilabial stop conterpart based in the pre-nasalized one’s limited distribution and also by the fact that a pre-nasalized alveolar stop united with its unmodified phone, but despite all this you have a contrast in identical environments making the two phones separate and not allaphones. I could say all that, but that may be confusing because it contains a lot of linguistic lingo. Just know that its a blast (for me) and also one of the most (if not the most) useful tools I will get before the mission field.
Jen. Jen is taking a Spanish course right now through a computer program we got for her. While we are not hoping that she is fluent in Spanish before we get to Paraguay, it would be nice for her to have some knowledge of the language so that we can start building friendships day one in Paraguay.
Jamen. Completely potty trained and can identify every letter in the alphabet except “v”. Is there anything this kid can’t do? He is truly amazing and we count it a blessing to have him every day. His favorite things to do these days is play with his matchbox cars (rolling them into things to watch the cool crashes) and also reading Dr. Seuss (or more accurately having Dr. Seuss read to him). He likes Jade, although most of the time he just kind of ignores her. At least he’s not jealous…yet.
Jade. Jade is very healthy despite our concerns early on with her big birthmark. She is over ten pounds already (geez) and likes to be awake. (especially when we like to be asleep) She is doing everything a kid her age should be doing. She is definitely the life of the party at our house and we thank God for this new blessing.
So as you can see life is going on for us as we continue to pursue tribal church planting in Paraguay. Praise God with us about our support level as it is the highest it has ever been since we started with New Tribes. We still have a long ways to go, and we are already praying for our partnership time coming up this summer. By God’s grace we will see an indigenous tribal church established in an unreached people group in Paraguay.
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast
To read more about the Quast's adventures in following the Lord's leading in their lives and to see more pictures of their journey, go to Quast's Quest (http://jonandjenquast.blogspot.com/) This is a different blog than the one at the New Tribes website. To read Jon and Jen's blog on the New Tribes website, go to http://www.ntm.org/wp/jon_quast/
At the New Tribes website you can access old news articles, search the blog for something you read once but can't find now, see their most recent postings, and read New Tribes Mission news. On their blog, to read about their Ministry, go to the "About" link near the top. You can also give online through the "Give" button. And at the very top of the page you can be connected back to NTM.org.
New Year, New Baby
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009. No doubt I will remember this year. This year was filled with challenges, as I’m sure all would agree. The daily curve balls of life just kept coming and coming all year long. It was a year that we pushed on ahead to finish our training with New Tribes Mission. A year who’s summer allowed us to make many new friends who will help us with this task of reaching the unreached. 2009 was quite a year.
And now as we enter the new year, we enter it with a new family member. On December 30th at 10:26 am we welcomed our daughter Jade Noel Quast into the world. We are very thankful that our prayers that Jen would go into labor naturally were answered as labor pains started 8 hours before she was scheduled to be induced. She made it through the entire delivery like superwoman. We both cried as we held her for the first time.
2010 is a new year. Once again I will have to adjust to dating papers, by first scratching out the 09 I will inevitably accidentally write down first, and then trying to decide if I’m supposed to just write 10, or 2010…I’m not sure. This year as you all know we will be taking one last training course supplemental to the training we have already received and then making plans to be in Paraguay the first of next year. It’s always an adventure I’m thankful for, and now we get to experience the ride with one more family member.
Thank you for your support, your congratulations, and also your prayers during this joyous time. Please continue to praise Jesus with us for the awesome Christmas present.
Till All Are Reached
Jon and Jen Quast
To read more about the Quast's adventures in following the Lord's leading in their lives and to see more pictures of their journey, go to Quast's Quest (http://jonandjenquast.blogspot.com/) This is a different blog than the one at the New Tribes website. To read Jon and Jen's blog on the New Tribes website, go to http://www.ntm.org/wp/jon_quast/
At the New Tribes website you can access old news articles, search the blog for something you read once but can't find now, see their most recent postings, and read New Tribes Mission news. On their blog, to read about their Ministry, go to the "About" link near the top. You can also give online through the "Give" button. And at the very top of the page you can be connected back to NTM.org.
Previous Keeping Up with the Quasts articles: click here
2009. No doubt I will remember this year. This year was filled with challenges, as I’m sure all would agree. The daily curve balls of life just kept coming and coming all year long. It was a year that we pushed on ahead to finish our training with New Tribes Mission. A year who’s summer allowed us to make many new friends who will help us with this task of reaching the unreached. 2009 was quite a year.