• The joy of envelope-stuffing in Kenya
• The eyes of the world are on Greece – are we praying?
• Now that is a cool tree house in Taiwan!
• A video – flight to Sudan!
• Thoughts about corruption in Russia – or is it corruption?
• Thoughts from a medical missionary in Ukraine – Am I Contagious?

Finally, this video from Chile – Chilean folk music meets an old hymn…

Boyana River, Bulgaria

• Celebration Christian Center & Prayer:  How to pray for missionaries who are preparing to go to the field – in this case, Mexico!
• x3:  Busy times coming up for this family!  I’m sure they could use your prayers as well (South Africa).
• Beginnings in Greece:  Well, the title speaks for itself.  Some thoughts after a move to Thessaloniki.
• Coffee Mondays & Rosehip Jam:  Somewhere between enchanting and tragic – the things missionaries see, and something to pray about in Bulgaria.
• Youth Camp:  Thoughts on an upcoming youth camp with 200 teens in El Salvador.
• My People:  So what does that term mean to you?  Thoughts from the jungles of Cameroon.
• A Trip Into Mexico City’s Urban Slums, and a summary of the mission objectives…

Thanks for coming along for another year of missionary blogs!  Join us again next year for much more from about 500 active missionary blogs from around the world!

And who can explain the rewards?  Rewards that will only really be known in eternity – and yet we see glimpses now.

Here are some examples of both…

• A Diamond in the Rough… The village is dirty.  Walking on a dirt road so full of animal manure that you simply can’t dodge, through a tunnel of thistles blocking all view, the word ‘beauty’ simply cannot be used to describe the scene…
• Low-Hanging Fruit… The spiritual harvest is ripe, but sometimes we need reminded. Saturday, as our team prayed together before Tea House, we asked God for…
• Another Reason We Love to Blog and facebook… We have “met” many wonderful people through our blog and facebook. Many we will never “meet” in person but feel like we know because we share our lives with each other. This past Saturday we had the opportunity to meet in person one of those people…
• Ramadan is over…… Ramadan is the most holy month for Muslims and the month that it is celebrated depends on the lunar calendar (so it changes every year). It is a time where they fast from all intake (eating, drinking, smoking, etc.) from sunup to sundown for one month…
• Why is this so hard?… We had the refrigerator “dropped in” a week ago, and we’ve been staying in the house since Wednesday, yet, we don’t feel we’ve made much progress. I don’t remember having to be so inventive or innovative before in moving into a home…
• Prayer …Are you a person who believes in the power of prayer? If so, our family needs your prayers. We strongly believe that the fervent prayers of many are absolutely…
• God’s Orchestration… I love to see the Lord work His Salvation miracles. His works are Master Pieces of sweet music. They are arrangements that only He can make happen. Two weeks ago I began my second attempt at…

So in this post, let’s look at recipes missionaries have shared in the past – first, some with a cultural flavour, either very authentic or variations.  Then, some unique recipes that are just for fun!  (Note: once in a while the recipe isn’t in the post, but is linked to).

Cultural flavours:

• Sarmale Recipe (Romania)
• Pork and sausage shishkabobs and mote with dried peaches (Chile)
• Chupe de Pescado (Ecuador)
• Kourabiedes Greek Christmas Cookies (Greece)
• Empanadas (Mexico)
• Guatemalan/Mexican Chicken and Rice Soup (Guatemala and Mexico)
• Balkan Pie (Macedonia)

Mexican empanadas

• Black Bean Soup
• Chai Mix
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownies
• Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Pizza

• Uruguay:  "When I picture an Uruguayo (a Uruguayan person) in my mind it is an image of someone with a thermos of hot water under their arm and MATE in their hand walking down the street…"  Read MATE, Uruguayo-style!
• Swaziland:  "We have found the children’s HIV infection rate to be about 6% of those we have had tested.  That is tremendous news as we expected the infection rate to much higher.  For those 6%, CHIPS is the difference between life and death…"  Read May Update!
• Italy:  "A couple nights ago the class representative for our oldest’s class organized an end-of-the-year dinner.  It was your typical Italian feast with all of the courses (appetizer, two pastas, grilled meats, salad, dessert, and coffee)…"  Read Being the Outsider
• Greece:  ""A" is from Iran.   His wife and two teenage kids are still in Iran, waiting for money from "A" so that they can leave the country.  Because of a health problem that developed while sleeping on the streets, however, "A" has not been able to work for several months…"  Read A’s Testimony
• Austria:  "This past weekend was very eventful.  It started with my wife taking Tobi to Prague for a wedding that was to be on Saturday…"  Read Separate weekend . . . Betka in Prague with Tobi Brian at home in Wien . . .
• Burkina Faso:  "I got back to Djibo yesterday, with David and Robert who are here as part of a gap year programme.  Great to have them here…"  Read Studio Progress
• Czech Republic:  "I can’t think of any better way to fulfill my two job requirements than to spend an afternoon at the zoo with my son and my new friend Lucie…"  Read A great way to work!

Do you like to browse missionary blogs just so that you can take time to pray?  Let me save you some time – here are some missionaries who are asking for prayer for various things.  Let’s take a quick tour and pray for these things – maybe there’s even a way you can be a part of the answer!

• From Honduras – Just a note for prayer. The well drilling is not going well…
• There are a few prayer requests here, but just listen to what’s happening in Nepal!  Now, under a new government, Nepal is opening up for Christian radio via local stations (more accessible and convenient than shortwave)…
• Moving to Guinea!  But there’s so much to do before then.  Thanks very much for your prayers, continue to pray for us as we go through all these preparations.  We can’t wait to be done with them.  They seem never ending!
• Terrible tragedy in Bangladesh.  Five of our projects seriously affected due to cyclone Aila.  We are providing dry food, Water purifying tablets, and ORS….  There’s a family to pray for here.
• Helping AIDS orphans in Ukraine… God has a marvelous [sic] way of pulling together just the right people at just the right time…
• A missionary that won’t be returning to Nigeria.  I was able to surrender last week and every minute since… I am in the midst of intense grieving… a death has happened… and yet, He promises strength and peace, which I receive and praise Him for…  Please pray for Erin.
• This from Greece – Please continue to pray for our ministry, our refugee friends, and the Greek government.  Why?  Read (and watch the video) Misery Meets Greece’s Migrants
• Does God really care about copy machines?  Of course!  I ask that you pray that God will make His plan clear for us. (And yes, really, I DO think God cares about our copy machine issues.) (Ukraine)

• Bangladesh:  I know of Bangladesh Adventures.  A recent post highlights the need for teachers.
• Bulgaria:  You can check out the Mellingers in Bulgaria, who recently wrote about slippers.
• Croatia:  America to Zagreb was recently writing about an early Christmas present.
• Greece:  How about Mike and Maria Long?  Their recent news includes a Court Case, Bike Trip, and Surgery
• Honduras:  Well, we do have The Sims Family in Honduras.  Their recent post had the eye-catching title Overdue and I am not even pregnant….
• Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast):  Actually, the Farho family has a number of blogs on their site.  Everything from family to fitness is covered here!  Recent posts include Why God allows pain and Youssef’s cancer is dead.
• Madagascar:  I do have the Slaubaughs in Madagascar.  Check out a few of their latest pictures here.

These are all great blogs, but they’re pretty lonely.  Does anyone know of more blogs from these countries?  Help me out here.

Petrich, Bulgaria

• Chilejournal (from Chile, of course)
• Slaubaughs in Madagascar (again, obvious – Madagascar.  Check out the recent flood photos)
• Calvary Chapel Mission School of Laguna del Valle, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Ok, I guess a lot of people include their country in their blog title now!)
• eastof.china (Hah!  This one’s out of Taiwan.  Mostly photos.)
• Mike and Maria Long (In Greece.  Cool, huh?  I do believe that’s our first blog out of Greece.)
• Sandy’s Neipu Notebook (Another one from Taiwan)
• Musings of a Medical Missionary (in Ukraine)
• Susidko Stories from Ukraine (another one from Ukraine.  They really know how to blog over there.)
• Angie and Enia (in Mozambique, Africa)
• A Treasure in Clay (from Mexico.  Some great pictures of the world of Mexico and the fam too)