• Two new little lovebugs! (South Africa)
• Equipo San Andrés es lo mejor! (Guatemala)
• Even if My Father and Mother Abandon Me . . . (Philippines)
• Plan B: punt (Ukraine)
• Precious Children (Ukraine)
• Drive-By Shootings (Niger)
• A Milestone, of sorts (Honduras)

The pictures and the story will give you a feel for this family’s visit.  The village is K’ekchi’ – (Q’eqchi’) – a people group numbering about 400,000 in Guatemala.

Thursday night we were invited to the village of Nueva Jerusalen La Laguna to attend a special service for the women.  The village is about an hour away.  The pastor and another man met us at the store in La Torre to show us the way.  He wanted us to be there at 3:00. Why so early?

…continue reading

• Christ School Stories (Uganda):  The stories of a couple of students.
• Am I a Cool Christian? (Philippines):  On being a cool blogger, a cool church, and a cool Christian.
• nou la (Haiti):  "We’re here. We’re watching the place we love fall into further chaos. We’re sad. We’re hopeful. And we’re praying."
• Crossing The Passion River (Guatemala):  A common event for these missionaries – some pictures of the crossing.
• Bangkok Taxi Evangelism (Thailand):  "Sealed inside an air conditioned bubble, far from the eavesdropping ears of society-at-large, Bangkok’s taxi drivers will give you their uninhibited opinion on just about anything. Politics. Religion. Education. The monarchy. Their hometown. How to manage multiple wives in different cities. Nearly nothing is off limits. "
• More nuggets from Russia (Russia):  Cold day?  Whatever you do, don’t open your mouth!
• Oh, What a Day! (Paraguay):  Here’s where la lucha (the fight) comes in.  Sometimes minor setbacks, sometimes big problems.  Also, from the same blogger, check out Manger Scenes.
• December Kekchi Pastors Module (Guatemala):  More students!  49 pastors hearing God’s Word…
• Christmas Dinner Recipe (Malawi):  Actually, this is the same video I posted below.  (Warning: real insects are harmed in this video)

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…

• What happens when a 4 year old finds a tarantula on the wall… (Ecuador)
• A birthday party in South Africa
• An upcoming women’s conference, Being a Mother, a challenging reward (Mexico)
• Working with pastors and their kids – no fighting over the toys, please… (Guatemala)
• It’s not easy going to school that isn’t in your mother tongue – read about Eliza’s first day (Thailand)
• Travelling in your "home country" as a kid can be hard – just ask Micah. (Kenya)
• You never know what some missionaries are in need of until you ask.  How about cloth diapers (Russia)?
• Pray for what’s-his-name and his Mom… (Rwanda)
• And what better note to end on — Daughters are a Gift of Love (Chile)

Boy in Rwanda

• How to train fleas (Ecuador) – I know you’ve always wondered.
• Retreat and Prayer Requests (Japan) – just a basic update – always nice to see someone’s face!

And for some other interesting posts, many including some great photos:

• Into Indochina – lots of photos
• Another Busy Day (Haiti) – some great photos of the relief effort
• A Name for God? (Papua New Guinea) – a great illustration of the challenges of Bible translation
• Hot Lava and a Burned up Computer (Guatemala) – Take a hike with the Glicks
• Travel The Road (Guatemala) – what kind of a road would your life be like?

And here’s one more video for you – this one from
the delorenzo flyer (Kenya)  The video is about Sudan, Chad, Congo, and Central African Republic…

It’s time to congratulate those who have completed 5 years of blogging!  5 years is still a good old age for a blog – in fact, these blogs are still older than this site (which started in 2005).

I’ve done this in the past, but I’m not sure if I’ll do it again – the more time goes by the more blogs are celebrating!  But here it is, at least one more time – Happy Blogoversary!

• Adventures With God serving in South Africa
• Musings of a Missionary serving in Thailand
• The Boyds to Columbia serving in Columbia (their former blog is here)
• The Kautz Family serving in Columbia
• Itsara serving in Thailand
• Always an Adventure… serving in Taiwan
• Coxes Quarterly serving in Germany
• les Davey de France serving in France
• Simplicity serving in Taiwan
• Under the acacias serving in Burkina Faso
• Life of a Steward serving in the United Kingdom
• The Ramblings of Norm and Debra Copeland serving in Guinea/Senegal
• Kingsley Clan serving in Ireland
• Into Rwanda serving in Rwanda
• Ramble Zone serving in Guatemala (AAAHHH!  They’re having a baby right now!)
• Kurt, Johanna, Kassia and Luke Metzger serving in Papua New Guinea
• Reflections of Refinement serving in Japan
• garcias2chile serving in Chile
• The Roe’s Garden serving in Germany
• Nanana serving in Mexico
• The Journey serving in the Netherlands
• The Naine’s Cameroon Adventure serving in Cameroon

Now before we start, I have to admit I’m still adding blogs from 2009, so there are lots more that could be mentioned.  But here are some fun facts about the blogs I’ve got in the system so far that have started in 2009:

Most unusual blog name of 2009

And the award goes to Juicy Pomegranate Bits, from Albania.  From the blog, here is the reason for the title:

I was introduced to this delicious fruit sometime during my many years in Albania and fell in love with it.

I believe that life is a gift to be savored and cherished– similar to a pomegranate– savoring one kernel at a time.

If you’ve ever eaten one, you know that pomegranates are often messy and complicated to handle– much like life itself– but if you persevere in unwrapping this exotic fruit bit by bit, the juicy kernels inside are oh-so-worth it!

This is a blog about savoring life in Albania- despite the messiness of living in a post-Communist country experiencing the growing pains of transition.

Here you’ll find bits to savor about culture, relationships, ministry, missions, leadership, mentoring, faith, cross-cultural living, language, marriage, travel, and of course, Albanian cooking!

Most useful blog of 2009

This one has to go to Missionary Moms, which is not only the blog of a missionary but also packed with great ideas and tips.  The blog comes out of Russia.  A brief explanation:

I made this site thinking about other moms with the same desires and specifically, though certainly not exclusively, for those to whom this means living their lives and raising their kids in a different country. It is definitely an adventure to be a parent in a place where everything is foreign! It is a joy, it is a challenge, but more than anything, it is a rich blessing from the Lord. I love connecting with moms on this adventure of parenting, whether overseas or not, and hope that this site can be used to pass on helpful resources and encouragement, and can be a place of community.

Best laid out home page of 2009

I’m looking for useful information that I can scan for and find at a glance – and I have to give the award to Updates from the Messick Crew, from a family preparing to go to Guatemala.  Tabs at the top, useful info in the sidebar, but nothing is cluttered or confusing.  Right on!

Best title banner of 2009

Right at the top, looking good – there were a few good ones, but I’m going to say my favourite was Life is Beautiful from Mozambique.  Check it out.

Most recent post as I write

As I write this post, which blogger from 2009 had the most recent post?  Turns out it was this I never thought to mention that … from Ryan’s Random Thoughts in Malawi.  It’s a good post, too, about something we often take for granted.

Pinkest Blog of 2009

No contest here.  The official winner of the coveted "Pinkest Blog" award goes to Perfectly Imperfect.  Did you know that the word pink originates from the 17th century, used to describe the colour of Dianthus type flowers?  And who says this blog isn’t educational.

Have a great weekend!

Let me leave you with some verses that bloggers of 2009 have shared with us in their sidebars – 2Sam 22:23, Psa 18:32, 2Cor 12:9, and Rom 10:14-17 (these come from Perfectly Imperfect and Scott & Ruth Yingling).  A good reminder that God shares the Good News through us, though imperfect people – the good news that He has Himself provided our salvation – a story that starts before the beginning of time, but was celebrated by angels, shepherds, prophets and prophetesses, wise men, and more, at His coming.

• From Niger, Gifts for Those Who Have Everything
• In Russia, find out what getting ready for Christmas is like when you’re away from home in Christmas Decorating
• And in Brazil, find out why practising for a Christmas performance took Guts!
• Ideas about Sharing Christ With Others Through Tradition from Russia
• Ah, the memories.  Visiting the USA from Guatemala, read O Christmas Tree
• From the Czech Republic, learning new traditions and keeping some of the old in These are a few of my favorite things…
• A little wishful thinking from Tanzania in Christmas Wish

A winter street in Russia

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