• Do we take for granted the simple things – like electricity?  In Senegal, getting basic steady electricity can be a challenge, as we read in Power Cuts.
• And not to complain – but what about the ability to get good milk?  Well, some of us could live without it, but some of us couldn’t.  Here’s what a family in Madagascar has been dealing with – bad milk!
• On a more positive note, let’s head over to Sudan for something that is badly needed – good, solid training for leaders!  Take a look at Church Leadership Training (details)
• Working in South Africa, David points out that some Bible passages – that may seem very archaic and far away to you – may seem quite contemporary in other parts of the world.  Read All the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked (Genesis 31).
• And how about an update about everything from the country of Niger?  Head on over and read Eleven in 2011.
• Take the time to get to know some real people in Ghana – The Privilege of Sharing our lives in Christ.
• Wow, how often do you face decisions like this?  Missionaries in Uganda want to share with you about this tough decision.
• I’m sorry – you’re under arrest.  For what, may I ask?  Find out what happened to this missionary in Liberia…
• It’s 435 years old!  What is?  Why, Luanda of course!  It’s the capitol of Angola.
• And this is totally unrelated to anything, but I was very excited to find this extraordinarily practical blog for those who aren’t eating gluten – and are living where perhaps it’s not so easy (not that it’s easy anywhere!).  So, from Senegal, check out Living GF in Dakar.
• And just one more – a video (below) from Mozambique, thanks to the Da Silva Family blog.

• 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)

I already commented on how many countries were represented – that’s great!  Those who entered represented 8 countries, and the missionaries they talked about also represented 8 countries.

But let’s talk a little about some of the posts – this is especially for missionaries, who wonder what people like to hear about!

Out of the valid entries, the most popular blog was The Jungle Hut.  People especially liked the posts about living in the jungle in Venezuela, though the Vernoys are now in Paraguay.

The most popular post was actually The Kitchen.  Interesting choice, since it wasn’t a post about ministry specifically.  But people liked how it showed courage in the face of change – starting over and turning a negative into a positive.  More than one person enjoyed hearing about the resourcefulness and ingenuity that went into the work!

Let’s face it – it was also a recent post at the time of the contest!

For older posts, people also mentioned Thw Witch Doctor’s Chant [sic], an old post from the oldest daughter of the family, Jackie (who hopefully is still writing!).

Another popular blog was Copeland Ramblings, and their post From above!  Also a current one, but still excellent (I might have to copy that one!).

Probably the second most popular blog was paradoxuganda.  Always well written, one person commented,"I could (but won’t) go on for hours about the ways that God has used their blog in my life, to enlighten, challenge, and encourage me and my family."

Their most popular post was Adventure -vs- Quest, a post most missionaries can relate to.

Also, many people were impacted by various posts about Dr. Jonah Kule, who died during an Ebola epidemic.  From the day of his burial is Bundibugyo, Where the tears never run dry, and a year later Remembering Dr. Jonah Kule 1966-2007

More popular posts included Things Are Not As They Seem… from Comings Communiqué in Brazil, and Five Years Ago Today from The Jungle Hut (another post from the kids!).

Yes, blogs can be used in ways you never expect.  They can disciple, they can give people a glimpse into another culture, they can help you connect with people – and every once in a while they might even win you something.

Check out the comments in the original post for more interesting posts and blogs!

Today, let’s look closer at missionary bloggers who are talking about disciple making – reflections on how they feel it should be done, stories about how it is being done, and even posts about how challenging it can be…

• Disciple making and makers (France):  Tom Julien just completed a week of teaching at the Château de St. Albain where he expounded on Ephesians 4:11-16. His teaching on maintaining balance in ministry was thought-provoking…
• Photos from our "Guns ‘N Roses" Baptism (Canada):  Here are a ton of fantastic photos of the baptism taken by Robert David. Unfortunately, you can’t hear the music…
• Is Francis Really That Crazy? (Ireland):  "Missions" or The Mission?  I was reading the final chapter of Luke this morning and was struck once again (Luke 24:45-48) that Jesus’ vision and his commission has always been about…
• September 2010 Update (Ukraine):  You may have read about record breaking heat waves, forest fires and grain shortages in Russia. Though Ukraine is…
• Short Term Missions: A Personal Expereince (Brazil):  For years, I have seen people impacted by a short term mission experience. First, while I still lived in the States and then as people have come to visit through the years. Angie Duplaga, a teacher…
• Reading with Nathan (Mexico):  One of my life goals is to disciple my kids. If you read the Bible, you’ll understand that…
• Culture 101 (South Africa):  (Leigh Writes) always comes a point in our spiritual journey when our faith in Jesus and our culture reach a disconnect. A point where we have to choose who we are going to follow.For many of the kids we work with…
• Do You Need a Bible Degree to be a Long-Term Missionary? (Thailand):  Because the need for people to hear the Gospel on the mission field is so urgent, it is sometimes claimed that doing a lot of Biblical studies or earning a degree in Bible is not necessary to be a long-term missionary…
• The Feast and the Cross (Uganda):  Sort of stuck in Luke 14. A good place to be. After meditating on how we steel ourselves for battle only to find out that the draft letter is really an invitation to a party . . . kept reading and…
• Discipleship and Mentoring in a Russian Context (Russia):  Karen and I came to Russia with the plan to church plant. Our desire was to plant a church that would reproduce itself and hopefully spark a…

How would you like to live and work in this place in Burkina Faso?

In many places security is a big deal – here’s one way they deal with it in South Africa.

And over in Uganda, a description of a house some new missionaries are moving into.  (Page was temporarily down when I wrote this – check back or try here if it still doesn’t work.)

Not specifically house related, but this post takes a good look at ministry and challenges to ministry in Mexico.  Also in the category of things missionaries see and deal with regularly, this post from Paraguay.

One last house picture, as a missionary family finds a place to live in Sudan.

By the way – do you want to introduce your children to houses around the world?  Try Imagine a House: A Journey to Fascinating Houses Around the World.  It was written by retired Peace Corps volunteer Angela Gustafson for kids.

Talk about people around the world, and pray for them today!

In the past I’ve posted about posts based on cool pictures – ones that caught my attention.

This time I ignored content altogether – at least to start with – and just looked for titles that caught my attention.

You know, other than "Our May Newsletter".  Or "Even more photos of our trip".  Or my favourite, "(no title)" (that’s what shows up in my rss feed reader when you don’t bother to put a title).

No, these titles caught my attention – and it turns out that people who write good titles tend to write good posts too!

For example, who could resist a missionary blog post about Tap Dancing (Kenya)?  Or how about the tantalizing Catching Creatures on Camera! (Columbia).

New Bible Study and Peter Pan! (Indonesia) brings us even more creatures among other things.  Mixing together topics that don’t usually go together makes an interesting title – though it’s not great blogging practice!

Everyone loves to share an opinion, right?  So that’s why I clicked on Input Requested (Indonesia).

And of course there’s always the finish-the-sentence posts, like A Garbage Can Full (of what?!) (Rwanda), and Take this hot chocolate and (and what?!) from France.

How about a shocker like Before Wii (Venezuela).  There was something before Wii??

All right, I’d better get this post done – here are a few more that caught my eye…

• Become Nothing (Niger)
• I miss being sick… (Japan)
• Battling bats, and Romantic Roaches (Uganda)
• "Gossip" …or perhaps ~ (Niger)
• The "God-Father" (Peru)
• 3 lines, 5 guys, 17 syllables, and a billion diapers (Tanzania)
• In Which I Prove We Will Acheive [sic] FTL Speeds by 2050 (Thailand)
• The Biggest Holiday of the Year (Peru)
• Note to self: remember to appreciate these things (for more than a day!) when I get back to the UK… (Thailand)

Which is your favourite title?

• Acquitted:  …and Happy Anniversary!
• Amazing Love:  Thinking about what we sing. (Costa Rica)
• Good Friday and Alcohol:  Thoughts on an Irish controversy. (Ireland)
• Easter Cookies:  A variation on "Forgotten Cookies" to make with the kids over the weekend. (Mexico)
• Good Friday:  Yes, He was. (Romania)
• "Holy Week" 2010:  A video – as seen from a car window. (Philippines)
• Good Friday:  A precious baby gone. (Japan)
• How it happened…:  Don’t forget… (Romania)
• Sent to Coventry:  A saying – but what does it mean?  A story from the British Civil War. (Niger)
• Good Friday:  What a church in Uganda is reflecting on today.

Our newest blog is from a family preparing to go to Guatemala.  If you’re interested in community health, be sure to check out Updates from the Messick Crew.

Over to Europe, check out Carrie’s blog – Perfectly Imperfect.

We’re going all over the world – let’s head to the Philippines with OUR JOURNEY, the blog of Matt and Rina.  This one has been going since May.  And one more in the same country – Direct from the Philippines.

Let’s see – we haven’t been to Africa yet.  Go visit Cameroon Chronicles, the blog of the Hamm family, transitioning back to life in Cameroon.  And heading to Africa is For the Multitude, from the Baylors going to Kenya.

Now we haven’t been to North America, so let’s visit the USA with The Bobby Harjo Family, serving on a Navajo reservation.

Out of El Salvador we have the Wimberly Journal, and preparing to go to Uganda Among the Nations.  And let me give you just one more, out of Europe… Romania Missions.  It was actually started in March, but I haven’t mentioned it yet, so we’ll squeak it into the "new" category! 

First, let’s visit Strong Confidence.  There’s the unbelievable story with the title All in a day’s work.  Next, get your taste of a major Ugandan cultural event with The Introduction.

Next, we’ll visit our old friend paradoxuganda.  Taking time for a retreat by going To the Mountaintop, and another cultural event mixed with some familiar carols in Christmas Carols to Olukus.