But did you know that missionary bloggers are always giving things away?  They’re taking the time to share their lives with you, and share with you about what God is doing!

So let’s look at a few recent posts:

• How appropriate!  Here are some people looking to work together to share stories about what God is doing in Africa!
• I love posts like this – both pictures and text answer questions about life in Jamaica – awesome!
• Thinking about image while making tortillas – curious?
• Just happened to be passing by – God’s surprise encouragement in Bolivia…
• I love it – learning a little about urban gardening – what a great idea! (Kenya)
• Babies in Bolivia
• Thankful for short term teams in Ukraine!
• Serving as dorm parents – what do the students think about it?  Here are some quotes from Niger.
• I know you’ve all been wondering – what does Brian do?  What’s it like to work at a Bible institute in Peru?

Here are some of the experiences missionary bloggers have been through lately.  For example, this blogger in Niger laments If I want to feed my family… …I have to go grocery shopping.

Speaking of groceries – spotted in Thailand was the Sausage-Cake Sandwich.  Full pictures provided in case you want to check your local grocery store.

And a day of adventure in Senegal – yes, it’s Caca water!

All right, I’m glad that’s over.  But… wait!  Danger looms ahead!  This time, not from roaming the country, but from blogging — as seen in this Disclaimer in Peru.  Yes, always remember – the world is reading your blog!

Finally, some peace.  A good report on a concluded Bible study – A SWEET ENDING in Bolivia.

Quick fact of the day from Taiwan:  Early Christian Influence on Asian Buddhism

And finally, some reminders to pray.  First, out of Honduras, challenging times:  Praise and thanks for prayer.  And an incredible post from Paraguay – Thoughts on a Funeral.  Not only will you learn about missions, and Paraguay, you’ll learn about God’s grace.

This is a long post, but worth reading.  It’s filled with challenges missionaries face, tragedy, culture, questions and emotion.

Dealing with death is never easy, and yet it gets to the heart of the reality of this world and our need for salvation.

Thursday, May 21. Daniel and Ines were ready to go back to their house in La Pista.  The onions were planted; the patuju was cut along the road; the work for the day was finished.  They would return tomorrow. But now it was around 6 o’clock and getting dark.  Their two school-aged children, Gustavo and Grabiella, were waiting for them. They mounted the motor bike with 3 year old, Aiden, and 14 month old, Graciela.  Travelling to and from the chaco was much easier since they purchased the moto a year and a half before.  It was dark and the first part of the road required concentration since there were many potholes and bumps…

[Read the rest]

• And how is your string?  If you don’t know how to answer, click here (Mali).
• Why the violence?  And why are leaders so silent about it? (Nigeria)
• I don’t know, how often do you ask for a cat at a gas station? (Hungary)
• Here’s a chance to give input at a blog – what kinds of posts would you like to see here? (Taiwan)
• Can I be content without – all this stuff?  Good question. (Brazil)
• "Could you tell me About Jesus, just briefly?"  Wow, where would you start? (Thailand)
• Why not just teach them all English?  Really?  People actually ask you that? (United Kingdom)
• This is certainly a favourite question for missionaries – what is your schedule like? (Chile)  Of course, it’s different for everyone – and changes once a week…
• What are you doing to support healthy family life?  This is kind of neat. (Bolivia)

Sounds like a good sport for MKs to learn, right?  Or maybe just showing a little interest in kids playing fútbal could go a long way.

It’s great to go and watch a game together, like this one between Ecuador and Uruguay.  If you can’t go to the game, you can always watch it on TV – you’d be surprised what a community event it can be!

Here’s someone else using sports to reach out – maybe you can help.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is coming up!  There will no doubt be more and more football buzzzz in the weeks ahead – stay tuned!

• From Peru – a glimpse into the joys of red tape that missionaries so often face – The Cafe – The Latest and, well, not the Greatest
• From Romania – a very random post, but a very good question.
• Do you want to learn something about Chile?  Now’s your chance – ask your question right here!
• The story of Manwellcito (he hates it when she calls him that) from Ecuador
• Check out a Middle Ages festival on May Day in Germany
• Finally – a post about the cold and flu season that has nothing to do with H1N1! (Brazil)
• Some thoughts on Twitter: Short And Sweet from a missionary perspective (Ukraine)
• Time to meet just one child in Bolivia – Child History 7.0

First, from Argentina – Ministering with Wisdom.  George writes:  Name almost any activity, and you are sure to find a Christian organization somewhere that has created a corresponding "ministry": Wednesday Night Bowling Ministry, College Dorm Xbox Ministry, Texas Hold ‘Em Ministry, Dove Hunting Ministry, etc. To be charitable, we must admit that such programs can sometimes provide a framework for the development of community and may also serve to encourage people to begin acknowledging Christ in every area of life—even in the midst of entertainment. But…

Women in Peru

And out of Bolivia, read from football to commitment:  I just returned from a five day evangelism outreach in Oruro. These events are the big highlights of my year. We plan for 9 months in advance, build relationships with local churches, do a lot of training events, invest a lot of our resources, and as a side note Oruro is 4 hours away from where we live, so…

And from Brazil, read Counting the Cost to Follow Christ:  …to ask them to pray the ‘sinner’s prayer’ without having heard and understood the claims of Christ only leads to sycretization, confusion, and in the end a dead faith. So, from day one we sow the Word asking the hearers to count the cost before they make a decision to follow Christ. This led one family to a crisis of faith…

Let’s take a culinary visit to Chile with Food from Conf. (Part 6):  Part of living on the mission field is learning to enjoy new foods and new ways to eat food. This is one dynamic in learning a new culture. We are happy to announce that adapting to Chilean food has NOT been a problem

This is really cool – a podcast out of Peru!  Check out Our First Podcast from the Poe family.

Thanks for your interest in, and your prayers for, the people of South America!

• TO THE NEW YEAR (Romania)
• Merry Christmas from the Bracketts (Croatia)
• Christmas Season… (Moldova)
• Home for the Holidays (Bolivia)
• Counting the Days ’til Christmas! (Portugal)
• Holiday plans . . . (Austria)

And if I don’t talk to you before then – I hope you all have a great Christmas season, remembering the One who did the greatest cross-cultural mission trip of all – the Lord Jesus, who left His home and came to earth as a baby.  And that’s something incredible to celebrate!

Yeah, He’s real everywhere, of course.  But today we’re going to grab a mate (don’t forget to pronounce the e) and visit some friends in the beautiful South American republic of Argentina!

• Let’s start at a university.  A team is down to talk to students about Jesus
• Go check out the home page of Greg and Carolina Travis.  They have a neat new feature – a newsletter with recent reads and cultural tidbits in pdf format.  Also read about their recent travels to Bolivia.
• Never a dull moment – find out what Emily saw on a recent Saturday.
• Finally, you can pray for these Bible studies, and the people attending them who need the real Jesus.

Click around each of these sites to learn more about serving Jesus in Argentina!

Also going since 2006, you can read about the Life of a Pastor in Guatemala.  And how about another blog about the Life of the Wife of “A Pastor in Antigua, Guatemala”?

On the move, going from Haiti to the Philippines, is Bethany.  She’s been blogging since 2007 at Updates From a Missionary.  On the move at the moment, between Germany and the USA, is the author of The Journey Has Begun…, blogging since 2007.

Back to South America, be sure to check out the family that is Real Nutz 4 Brazil, and almost finished a full year of blogging.  And, on a journey heading to another culture, check out B O L I V I A !

Just one more gets us over to Asia.  Visit Taiwan Prattler, and see what thoughts you can find about life in Taiwan.

Come back soon for more blogs – that you’ve probably never read!