August 2025 News Letter

May Prayer Request Update

We are still looking for and praying for a church(es) with the capacity to support us in MBP. Please continue to pray with us in this. We met our financial goal at the end of May, when Brenton was let go from his job. However, this was not our plan. After re-evaluating our accounts, we realized we had met our goal; it just looked different from what we had envisioned. Through this, God made it clear that it was time for Brenton to step away and focus on MBP and JAARS. 

My traffic trial did not go as well as we had hoped, and I was found guilty of one of the charges against me. It came with some heavy consequences, but I was obedient to what I felt God was telling me to do. To go and tell the truth despite the potential consequences. “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth.” Proverbs 12:22. While it has been discouraging, the Lord has revealed some areas of growth for me to work on. Primarily, I need to seek Him in humility (Zephaniah 2:3). 

We are still seeking new mentors. We have decided to pursue membership at the church we’ve been attending since February, and are hopeful that as we connect with the other members there more, God will give us mentors (and someone to mentor). 

What’s Happening at JAARS? 

 We've run into some budget constraints across JAARS. There is a lack of "unrestricted" funds. Unrestricted funds is the bucket of money that pays for departments like mine. My hope is that we can take care of the people that God has put here to serve, and that this is just a teaching opportunity for us to get rid of what is unnecessary.

JAARS has signed its Partnership Agreement with SIL Papua New Guinea(PNG), and we have sent seven missionaries into PNG to serve the aviation program there. The Cameroon efforts are growing stronger too. We have started working on the digital onboarding of the missionaries already there. It is exciting to see JAARS getting more and more involved globally with every passing day. Please continue to pray that God gifts us with the resources to continue to expand.

If you would like a copy of the JAARS 2024 Year in Review report, please reach out, and I can send it to you.

MicroBible Portals (MBP)

EMDC, the conference I attended in May, was a very humbling experience. I've met fantastic people from around the world! Over 400 people from about 173 ministries/projects were present. It was great seeing how God is using everyone and everything possible to advance His Gospel. I was able to demonstrate MBP to hundreds of people, and people from OneWay and Cru Ministries became early adopters of MBP and are conducting my user testing in the fields they work in. Both Cru and OneWay are using my system to deliver the Jesus Film and other visual Biblical content to the minatory language groups that they are helping come to Christ.

Seeing how useful MBP could be for the dissemination of Biblical content has convicted me to adjust the program so that it can be used more ubiquitously across content types in addition to scripture. I'm very thankful to God for putting such faithful people in my life who continue to inspire me on how to use my gifts for His kingdom! The adjustments I’ve made are the ability to select where in your phones hard drive you place the content, the ability to advertise your hotspot/WIFI address to allow others to connect to your phone in a way that isn't cellular, and I've built the foundation to a secure tunnel network that will allow others to access your phone in an additional discreet manner besides using cellular connection.

I've been invited to another conference in Helsinki, Finland, in late September. At this conference, the focus will be on sharing biblical content through digital media. If you would like more information, please reach out to me directly. Please pray with me that the funds needed for this conference will be raised quickly, so my ministry partnerships can continue to grow and strengthen. The conference ticket, travel expenses, and lodging will come out to about $1,600.

My friend Waseem from Pakistan is searching for a  way to obtain a Visa for himself and his family. He is the father of a special needs child, and because of their Christian faith, his son isn’t treated properly. Please pray with us that God will provide an avenue for Waseem and his family to obtain Visas outside of Pakistan. 

Family Update

It has been a hot and humid summer here in North Carolina, and we’ve been finding ways to stay cool. The kids enjoy trips to the library, swinging at the park, grocery store trips (especially if there is a car cart for them to “drive”), pool days, wagon rides to the laundry room and dumpster, and dance parties. 

In June, we visited the Alphabet Museum at JAARS, which has displays on alphabets of different languages, writing systems, world cultures, and Bible translation, along with an exhibit that tells the story of Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (JAARS), its history, and what JAARS is doing today. We also attended the JAARS Pre-Field Orientation (PFO) graduation ceremony for some missionary friends who have already or will be heading overseas. Anastasia enjoyed playing in the helicopter with the other kids at the graduation. In July, the kids got to experience their first Fourth of July parade. Anastasia enjoyed the parade, but was also confused by its purpose. The holiday ended with a BBQ with friends and some sparklers at home. 

Anastasia loves to color and is improving every day at staying inside the lines. She loves to pretend to write, so we’ve started practicing tracing numbers and letters. Pretend play is still her favorite, and she is always pretending to be a character from a book or movie. She has been learning so much at church each week and can tell us what she learned based on the craft they made that day. 

Theodore will turn ONE this month! He is such a joy (and a Mama’s boy). He is crawling, pulling himself up on furniture, climbing stairs, waving “hi” and “bye”, and has eleven teeth. Some of his favorite things are books, finding items that make loud noises, corn on the cob, mandarin oranges, wagon rides, car carts at the grocery store, swings, and our cat Stella. He also thinks his sissy is the funniest person, which Brenton and I would agree. Anastasia is a giant goofball! 

While we’ve been making the most of summer, we have been facing some challenges. My driver's license was suspended as a result of being found guilty in traffic court, and Brenton has been gone twice for a couple of weeks for Army Reserve training/work the last few months. With him being gone for extended periods of time and me not being able to drive, I have been leaning on the generosity of our community at JAARS and our church to help me get to needed places like the grocery store and church. The extra fellowship time has really been a blessing for me while also humbling me. I did put in a request with the Judge to receive a limited driving privilege license, but that has not been approved yet. Please pray that it would be approved soon and that I would have patience until it does get approved (the Judge verbally stated he would approve it for me once received).  

Please let us know how we can be praying for you!

Until next time, 

Brenton, Nicolle, Anastasia, and Theodore Maltbie