Vision

Who am I? What is my heart? What are my goals, my passions, my vision?

These are all very good questions, somewhat introductory, sure, but they shape your entire life. So here goes. :)

My name is Elizabeth Eckard. I became a Christian when I was four and felt called to missions when I was eleven. I struggled with this at first, not wanting to give up my hopes and dreams for my life (I'm sure you can remember your aspirations when you were 11...I had lots), but God has slowly built a growing passion in my heart to reach the unreached. I had the opportunity to go overseas three times, each time to a different country in South America. Two of those trips were with an organization called New Tribes Mission. During these trips, I got to experience not only life in a different country, but I got to see the heart of New Tribes Mission. They exist solely to fulfill the Great Commission, specifically in the capacity of "to the ends of the earth." Their heart is reaching those who have never had the opportunity to hear, those tribal people who may have never seen a white person and who do not have a written language. This organization is committed to raising up and equipping men and women of God to bring the Gospel places it has never been and giving the church opportunities to join them in that. What an awesome thing.

What is my specific vision? God has placed on my heart a desire to go. Sometimes that's hard. It would be nice to live close to my family, or at least in the same country. It would be nice to have a financially stable job. But God calls us to lay down our lives. He is our owner and He gets to decide what we do with our lives and our time. That looks different for many different people; some people are called to live here and have a financially stable job and they have other sacrifices, equally hard, that they have to deal with. But God has called me overseas. There is a need and I am going. My vision is completely dependent on God and will change as He instructs. However, the vision God has given me now is to be a tribal church planter.
Where would that be? Right now I am looking at Indonesia or Papua New Guinea.
With what organization am I going to go with? New Tribes Mission. (To learn more about this organization, check out www.ntm.org)
What are the steps that lead to tribal church planting? First, I need a good solid Biblical foundation. New Tribes has a Bible Institute that incorporates missions into their Bible teaching and teaches students in the same process that missionaries will eventually teach tribal people. It does not just teach the Bible, it teaches life application as well as giving students the tools they will need to effectively teach the Bible overseas. Second, I will go to the next stage of training, called the MTC (Missionary Training Center). This is more practical application. There are classes that teach practical survival tips, some brief nursing/health care, linguistics (how to break down a language), and so many other practical things. It is a stage where you learn how to survive overseas in different conditions while being effective at what God has called you to do. Third, I will be sent to a country (the country where the tribe I will be ministering to is in) where I will learn the country's main language and culture and get involved in a city overseas. Lastly, after mastering the country's language, I will move into a tribe and spend time learning and mastering their language. After that is done, the Word of God can begin to be taught and hopefully, believers will follow which will lead to discipleship and eventually, a church will be established with tribal leaders. Those last stages vary in time and are much more in depth than I portray them to be. :)

Where am I now? Right now I am training at the Bible Institute, studying the Word of God for two intense years and learning so much!! Stay tuned to see what I'm learning!