Senior Semester Begins!

The Final Semester Has Begun:

• Today we completed the first full week of classes. It is so wonderful to be back into the in-depth study of the Word of God. This semester started with us diving into the books of Daniel & Revelation (although we already studied through the Old Testament, we did not study Daniel because it goes along with Revelation), as well as Philippians. Today we are starting 1 Thessalonian's, and the ball keeps rolling after that. 
• Towards the end of this semester our entire senior class will be taking a trip to Jersey Shore, PA. There, we will attend Wayumi, which is a retreat that New Tribes has set up in order to get a feel for what Tribal Missions is like. We will be there for a week, and will take a class while we are there as well. We are SO excited for this, and can't wait to get a better understanding of what we might be doing in the future. 

The Camp

To see more click here!

• We are still getting about 20 hours a week of work with Andrew. This is helping in keeping up with our phone, and car insurance bills, as well as our monthly $475 school payment. It is always a real challenge to get the initial down payment for the semester, and we are still trying to play catch up. Please pray with us about the outstanding $250 we still owe by February 1st. After that we will have 3 more payments of $475 through the rest of this semester. We are so thankful for the job that we have, but it has put more of a strain on us with getting the homework done. 
• As we mentioned previously, we are student leaders this semester. Our time in training before the semester started was phenomenal! We are on the Campus Life team, which means we are involved in planning events and socials for the student body. It is a lot of fun, but it is going to consist of a good bit of time too. We never realized how much time and effort really goes into everything that the school does for us. 
• Continue to be in prayer with us about where God wants us to be next. There are many possibilities, and everyday it seems like another option would be better than the previous. We know, however, that wherever we end up, we want to serve God with our whole hearts, souls, and minds! 

Thank you friends for your prayers, support, and encouraging words!

Because He said "Go!", 

Alton & Grace Cale

What's now? What's next?

What are the Cale's doing now?
Hey Everyone!! We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. We surely did. After a wonderful week at home in NC, we returned to NTBI with a full work schedule ahead of us, in order to make our January 1st down payment for this semester. The Lord is so amazing, and He is always finding new ways to surprise us in the way that He provides. We are still a little short on our bill, but within the next couple weeks we hope to be back in the black! Nothing is on our schedule (except for working), until the 13th, which is the day we will begin our training to be student leaders. We were asked to consider being student leaders this semester, which we are so excited about. This basically means that we will have some more responsibilities on our shoulders, which we consider a great honor. Classes begin again on the 19th, and we will be into our final semester here at New Tribes Bible Institute. It is rather sad to think about at times, seeing as this is the only home we have shared together as a married couple, and considering how much the Lord has taught us within these walls. What a privilege it has been, and we couldn't have made it through without the Lord working through you all to provide financially, spiritually, and emotionally for us this past year and a half. Thank you!

Grace's family together for Christmas

Alton's family together for Christmas Eve

What's next for the Cale's?
This question is much more complicated than we would like it to be, but what fun would life be without God teaching us to be patient and trust Him? As we have shared with many of you before, our goal is to be Tribal Missionaries with New Tribes Mission. In order for this to happen we still need more training. The next step would be heading to the Missionary Training Center in Roach, Missouri. It is there that we would complete the last year and a half of what New Tribes Mission requires for us to go on. Essentially, we would love to go straight there after graduating from NTBI in May, and although we know that the Lord is more than capable to provide the finances to make this happen, we also know that there is a possibility that He wants to do something else with us first. Unlike it is here, once we start there, we are not allowed to work permanent jobs. They do allow some part time work on weekends, but essentially we will be committed to the training full time, everyday of the week. Due to this fact we would love to see more support come in from the Church body. In the event that we do not have the finances we need to carry on with the training right away, then our plan is to move back to NC, and work for a year, as well as spend as much time as we can with our home church, Grace Bible. Through working, we could hopefully save enough money for our training period, and hopefully we will gain some supporters along the way. We know that whatever path the Lord leads us down will be filled with growing, learning, leading, and trials, but we are willing to accept whatever the Lord has in store for us.

*We would truly appreciate your prayers at this time, as we know that the decisions we make are going to require absolute faith in God to lead us where He wants us to be. 
*We would also appreciate any advice you may have for us concerning these issues, or anything else you have on your heart. 

From the two of us, here at New Tribes Bible Institute

with love & appreciation,

Alton & Grace Cale