A Christmas Spent Giving: A Change in Perspective

Acts 20:35b, "...to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

The Spirit of Christmas.  We hear that phrase quite often: in Hallmark movies, titles of books or plays, sermons.  What does it really mean? Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year.  The day after Thanksgiving Day, my tree goes up, every-day items get packed away and Christmas decorations are seen all over the house!  The traditional ornaments that have been given to us or purchased during our travels over the years adorn our tree.  Blinking, colored lights that never blink all at the same time are seen from the road as you look into our front window and the angel or star on top of our tree is always present.  I look forward to this time of year every single year...except last year.

You see, last year at this time, was my very first Christmas away from all of my family.  Every single year, we have the same traditions, the same get-togethers, the same hideous gift for the Chinese auction/white elephant gift.  We gather all the little cousins together to try to get some type of decent picture of everyone.  I was missing all of the festivities.  I was missing my family, my hometown, my church.  The night of my family's gathering, they Face-Time'd me.  To my surprise, they all had mustaches on and sang Feliz Navidad. To their surprise, I stood in my kitchen in Costa Rica and bawled my eyes out.  When I hung up, I was crying so hard I could barely breathe.  I wanted to be with them so badly, but it just wasn't possible.  I prayed often.  We had to go on a visa run out of Costa Rica, so we headed to a resort in Panama to spend time together--just my husband and kids.  I replaced our big Christmas tree with all of our favorite ornaments with a small $2 hobby lobby tree.  We replaced our traditional Christmas breakfast and birthday party for Jesus with a hotel breakfast.  We replaced our day spent heading from house to house with a lazy day exploring the Panama canal and rain forest and swimming in the pool.  Being by a pool on Christmas Day was just weird to me.  I enjoyed spending this precious time with my children and husband, but I was almost depressed not being with my family.  After living in the same town with all of them since birth and spending every Christmas enjoying all of our traditions, I had a really difficult Christmas.  I honestly was not looking forward to what lie ahead on the mission field.

Fast forward to this Christmas, I am loving every minute of being in Mexico.  Do I still miss my family?  YES!  Can I wait until they Face Time me during our yearly Christmas gathering?  NO!  I love that crazy group more than words can say.  But, the "Spirit of Christmas" has returned to this house and to my heart.  What's the difference?  Last year, I was out of school with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no family around.  This year, my days are packed planning, preparing, and participating in several different Christmas gatherings at the different churches within our ministry.  In just two weeks, we've already been a part of three different Christmas gatherings at three different churches; we have one more to go.  We were able to pass out boxes from Operation Christmas Child, such a treat for us!  We've packed those boxes and volunteered at the headquarters in Charlotte, NC for several years; to be on the receiving end was truly special.  The day after Christmas, we are heading to two different indigenous villages to hand out more gifts and a few hundred pairs of shoes that have been donated by churches in the states.  We will be traveling with a fellow Mexican missionary in our town.  I'm enjoying being here so much that when my parents mentioned flying the kids and I home for Christmas (my 10-year-old son has had a very difficult time adjusting to Mexico), I told them I'd love to, but it would have to January.  I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with these children, communities, and churches.

It's been such a different Christmas season for me this year.  Why?  I honestly believe because I am spending my Christmas giving to others.  My husband, children, and I have the amazing privilege to show the love of Christ in a tangible way to those around us.  God has given us friends here and family in Christ with whom we can share our Christmas.  Even my children have been blessed in the giving (although they were thrilled to receive a gift too at one of the churches). Being away from family, changes in traditions, missing loved ones who are no longer with us--all of these can dampen the "Spirit of Christmas" in our hearts and home.  However, if we remember the gift  God gave us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and focus on sharing that gift with those around us, the Spirit of Christmas--the Gospel of Jesus Christ--can truly shine through.

Missionary Quotes - Griffith John

Missionary Quotes - Slessor II

Out of Tune

Several years ago, I was able to purchase a piano for our home.  Pianos are expensive.  I had saved 40,000 Icelandic kronurs, about 400 US dollars.  For this price, I knew it would be used and probably even old and out of tune.  I was right.

This piano built in Germany in 1919 somehow made its way to Iceland.  It would be interesting to know the story of that passage and of the owners of it over the past almost 100 years.  One story, could it tell stories, would be of our struggle getting it into our second floor apartment.  The inside of this thing is, as best we can tell, cast iron covered in brass. After hours, yes, hours struggling up the stairs, we made it to the entrance of our apartment.  My husband, not a weak man, looked at me gasping for breath and said, "Honey, I love you. Pick a spot for this thing. I am never moving it again." I did. Then I asked him to move it. He's such a softy. I am sure this piano holds many other family stories over the past century.

One thing was certain, it was old and out of tune, badly so.  Not one key agreed with another.  The sound was very unpleasant.  We tried singing with it. My husband tried playing his guitar then clarinet with it. There was no hope for this noise. As is the way of things, other priorities came before paying for someone to come tune it.  For another several years, it sat in my living room only once in a while being played when somebody clunked out "Heart and Soul."

When my husband asked what I wanted for Christmas this year, I told him that I wanted my piano tuned.  The piano tuner came last week.  It started out rough but got a little better as he worked.  I asked him if it were too old to tune. His reply struck a chord in my heart:

"It is too old and stiff to tune completely.  The strings would snap. I can tune the strings to match each other, but I cannot tune the piano to the proper key. It will not sound right played with other instruments.  It will sound alright on its own, but it will always be a little flat."

Immediately I thought of my own heart.  Am I so old and stiff that I am out of tune with my family or fellow believers? Do I sound alright on my own, but can never really be in harmony with another instrument, another Christian? What about being in harmony with the Master of Music, the proper key? Am I in tune with Him, or does my life's music fall flat?

I was so excited to get my piano tuned.  Now I am challenged to keep my heart strings tight and tuned so that the sound of my life does not fall flat.

2 Chronicles 5:13-14  It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

By the way, we have been enjoying the Christmas season singing and playing our newly tuned piano.

Patrick and Vicki Weimer serving in Iceland since 1999

fbkiceland.com

Sugar cookies & Frosting - With Video

Sugar Cookies & Frosting 

I am going to be honest, I am not a huge sugar cookie person, or frosting person. I’ve always thought that sugar cookies were too sweet, same with frosting. But I like this cookie recipe because it isn’t too sweet. 

What You’ll Need:

1/3 cup butter 

1/3 cup margarine

1 egg

3/4 cups sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla (or your choice extract) 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

2 cups flour  

Cream your butter and margarine. Add the egg, sugar and extract. 

You can have some fun with the extracts. Almond is my favorite! But orange, coconut, and maple are also delicious! (Just make sure that your frosting or icing doesn’t clash with whatever extract you are using) 

Slowly add the flour and baking powder to the creamed butter and sugar. Once everything is completely mixed, chill the cookie dough for one hour. After the dough has been chilled, roll out the dough. I like to roll the dough out on a cookie cookie sheet, but a countertop will work just as well. A nice secret to getting a shiny crust on your sugar cookies is to roll out the dough in powdered sugar instead of flour. The powdered sugar “glazes” when it is baked, giving the cookies a beautiful crust! 

Roll out dough to the desired thickness. If you want thick sugar cookies, roll out the dough thick. If you want thin cookies, roll out the dough thin. (It’s pretty easy) 

Bake cookies until the bottoms start to brown slightly. If you want the cookies crunchy, bake them longer, softer, shorter. 

Once baked, cool on a cookie rack. If you leave the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet, the cookies will stick to the pan, and be near impossible to scrape off. 

Frosting! Now that is an important part of Christmas cookies. I am terrible at spreading frosting! It is definitely not my area of expertise. 

What you’ll need: 

1/3 cup butter 

1/4 cup cream (or milk) 

4 cups sifted powdered sugar 

2 teaspoons extract 

Food coloring 

Cream the butter. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the butter. After about a third of the sugar has been completely creamed into the butter, add about half of the cream. After about another third of the sugar is creamed into the butter, add the rest of the cream, and the extract. Finish up the last of the sugar. If desired, add food coloring. 

Frost cooled cookies to your hearts desire! 

Enjoy! 

Here’s the link to my video on how to make

Sugar Cookies & Frosting 

https://youtu.be/GJvEfIMZkm0

Amber Wells 

Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 

Come Apart and Rest

“And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.  And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.”  ~ Mark 6:30-32 

My parents taught me that, “The job isn’t done until the tools have been properly cared for and put away.”  That meant that the lawn mowing wasn’t done until the lawn mower was refueled, and the pack of grass was scraped out from under the mower.  The baking wasn’t done until the dishes were washed, the counters were wiped down and the floor was mopped.  

In these verses, we see Jesus taking the time to take proper care of His tools – the disciples.  This is a necessary part of missionary service. As tools, we need a fresh oiling that comes from time with the Master Builder.  If we refuse this time of repair, and just keep working in our own strength, we will become rusty, ineffective, and sometimes useless.  When we refuse to follow the Biblical principle of rest, we place ourselves in a dangerous place.  These websites outline some of what the physical, mental, and emotional consequences will be.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

The Symptoms of Stress

When the day comes that you feel like quitting, please ask yourself whether you have been obedient to the Lord in this area.  Please don’t quit, when all you really need to do, is rest in His Presence.

Missionary Quotes - Slessor

What is Furlough

What Is Furlough?
by Katrina P. Puckett

It’s a long plane trip
Back to the place you half-call home.
It’s all of your life
Condensed into two suitcases apiece.
It’s all of your family and friends
Ogling at you and saying,
“Oh, look how you’ve grown!”
It’s jet lag and reverse culture shock
And spending $300 on groceries
Because the aisles are limitless
As they abound in cereal
And candy
And all other wonderful treats.

It’s long car rides
To a different church every Sunday
And asking, “Do we have time
For one more Patch the Pirate?”
It’s finding license plates
From all the states
As you crisscross the land.
It’s praying to God
That your parents remember
American driving laws.
It’s the new animals
Along the side of the road
Because even squirrels
Are a bit exotic.

It’s going to a different church
And making new friends
That you may never see again
This side of heaven
(Unless it’s that lady
Who changed your diaper
When you were two!)
Making and breaking friendships in a day.
It’s watching the presentation
For the twentieth time
And whispering the script under your breath.
It’s hearing the same sermons multiple times
Until you could preach them yourself
If your dad ever got sick.
It’s standing by the display table
And answering a hundred questions
You’ve memorized the answers to.

It’s spending the night under a strange roof.
Maybe it’s a hotel room
Where you play with your siblings
With the few toys you brought
And drift to sleep with the lights still on
And the whisper of your parents.
Or maybe it’s a stranger’s house
Where you’ve eaten too much
And talked far past your bedtime.
And listening to the strange creaks
Of a strange house
Full of strangers
Who have become friends.

It’s growing attached to the foreign homeland
Where you’re a stranger who blends in with the crowd.
It’s missing your home in the foreign land
Where you’re a stranger who sticks out in a crowd.
It’s learning you have one home
Or two homes
Or no home.
It’s sharing experiences with those who marvel
At what to you is ordinary.
While you marvel at their ordinary lives
And wonder what that stability
And monotony must feel like.

It’s wondering if anyone here feels like you do
Until you’re at that missions conference.
And you meet another MK
From halfway across the world,
And even though your cultures differ,
Suddenly you’ve found a heart
That understands your joy and your pain.
Because just like you
They’re home yet they’re not.

It’s getting on that plane
And saying good-bye to what you gained
And going back to everything you left behind.
It’s straddling two worlds
No matter where you go
Because your heart is split
Between them both.
It’s the beauty and the ugly
All rolled into one.
That is what furlough is.

Christmas Apart

For those of you reading this post that are not missionaries, remember to pray for those that are serving away from their families during the holiday season.  For those of us that are missionaries, take a long look at Calvary.  That is the reason for us to be away from our families during the holiday season.

“On my second Christmas Day, apart in measure from my dear family, I found comfort in ‘taking’ a new carol, which, unlike most carols, would look not only at Bethlehem, but also at Calvary.  There are times when nothing holds the heart but a long, long look at Calvary.  How very small anything that we are allowed to endure seems beside that Cross.” 

—Amy Carmichael in Rose from Brier, pg. 82

Homemade Eggnog

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like a Christmas!!!!! 

Ok....so maybe it’s not. Maybe you live in the tropics, like I do. I mean, it’s December and I just spent 3 hours in my garden getting sunburned and planting veggies. 

Just cause it doesn’t look like Christmas doesn’t mean we can’t taste Christmas! 

Eggnog is my second favorite drink on the whole entire planet! Seriously! I love it so much! It’s thick, creamy, sweet, and tastes yummy in my first favorite drink...coffee! 

Eggnog is not available, here, in Papua New Guinea. So, my mother and I decided we would find a recipe of our own! 

I hope you enjoy this eggnog as much as I do! 

What You’ll Need:

2 cups cream 

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar 

8 eggs 

(10 eggs if your eggs are small)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 

(The stuff from the jar is fine, too) 

Optional:

Maple extract,

Vanilla extract, or

Orange extract 

In a medium saucepan, heat your cream, milk, and spices. 

Separate the eggs. Make sure there is no yolk (even a tiny speck) in the whites. If there is, the whites won’t whip properly.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, until you get a thick, light yellow mixture. 

If you’re going to add an extract, do so now.

Temper (slowly add) the warm cream and milk to the egg yolk mixture. Pour mixture into a pitcher. 

In a clean bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. (My video shows you what that looks like.) 

Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the yolk mixture.

Chill, and serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg! 

For a more Keto friendly version of this recipe...

What You’ll Need:

3 cups cream

1 cup water 

Sweetener

(Whatever you use, add to taste.) 

8 eggs 

(10 eggs if your eggs are small) 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

(The stuff from the jar is fine too) 

Optional 

Maple extract

Vanilla extract 

Orange extract

The process is the same for this version.

Amber Wells
Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 

Pressed to His Chest

Stress. It is one thing to which we can all relate. Work stress. Family stress. Health stress. Emotional stress... the list goes on and on. With a premature newborn in the house, and two sick toddlers, my husband and I have been under a lot of physical stress. Long days; even longer nights. Hours of screaming babies. No couple time or dates. We were literally only surviving.

Paul did not nurse; and indeed, it was a lot of work to get him to even take a bottle. He would be diagnosed a "failure to thrive" baby in the States. As I spent whole days just in our room trying to get him to eat, I would be so tempted to give up on breastfeeding and just do formula. I found myself thinking "If I can only make it to _________, I'll be okay." Day after day, just trying to get Paul through one more day.

It is times like this that I remember something my mom once told me. There are always pressures in life: it is up to you whether the pressure becomes stress or not. We become stressed when we try to deal with something ourselves which God does not intend for us to carry alone. Pressures are designed to push us closer to Jesus.

As an encouragement to me, and to share with you all, I have collected some verses together relating to stress and the strength of God (emphasis mine). Please be encouraged to run to Jesus. He really can carry the problem and you- all by Himself! Rest in Jesus and the plan God has for you.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

2 Corinthians 13:4

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

1 Peter 5:7

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Hebrews 11:33-34

Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed. 

Psalm 6:2

He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.

Psalm 102:23

If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. 

Proverbs 24:10

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41

I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:13

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:29-31

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord; 

and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Jonah 2:7

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

2 Corinthians 4:1

For the which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, 

yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Galatians 6:9

For consider him that endured the cross, despising the shame, 

and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:3

O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee: or to they faithfulness round about thee?

Psalm 89:8

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Proverbs 18:10

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Nahum 1:7

Missionary Quotes - Brother Andrew

"Lord, Send Me Anywhere"

Mine was a long story of a teenage girl's surrender after hearing a challenge to pray Isaiah's prayer, Here am I; send me (Isaiah 6:6). Oh, there were places I didn't want to go—for selfish reasons, of course. Finally, after weeks of battling with God, I gave in and asked God to send me anywhere—or not—as He willed.

He sent.

Our first term on the mission field was difficult. Learning the language, adapting to a foreign culture, living in a city that was a hotbed of revolt, learning to drive around flaming barricades in the streets…. It was a huge adventure, but it wasn't easy. We knew God had placed us here, and we were content. Along with that contentment came the realization that this is a very hard field. Most people had shut God out of their lives. They were not interested in spiritual things. But, we believe that everyone has a right to hear or read the gospel, and we persevered.

By the end of our second term, the new church was born. It was so exciting. For our inaugural service, over eighty people came to encourage us, including a few believers for the new church plant. The opening was held on a Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, we had our first service. I don't remember the attendance, but the great majority was our family of four.

Since then—over the last twenty-four years—we've seen ups and downs in the church. For a time, people came our way from another church's split. (That's not the way we wanted to grow, by the way.) When all was resolved, they went back—which decimated our congregation and left us with almost all old people. My husband and I privately called ours "the geriatric church." After that, people came and went. A few of the older people have passed away. Almost all of our experiences were negative, but some people got saved. Transformed. Sadly, some of them have since drifted away. We've tried to bring them back, but God knows. 

Pioneer fields are, after all, pioneer fields. Those who accept the Lord are almost always the only believers in their families. They face social pressures and mocking. Only those who don't care what others think persevere.

Many years ago, another missionary woman sat across from me at her kitchen table in Madrid. She said, "You hear all the time about the millions of people who are waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus. They don't tell you about the millions who couldn't care less." For the most part, that's the field she and I came to.

Let's turn this around a little bit. It's true that the great majority of people don't even want to hear about God. Most have absolutely zero spiritual interest. Many have never heard of Jesus—except in cursing or if their families are religious.

But …

• We actually see some people sitting outside, reading our gospel tracts that they received in their mailboxes. How many more read them inside their homes, where we don't see?
• Some people have been saved. Isn't one eternal soul worth a lifetime of effort?
• Lost people regularly attend our church and hear the gospel. Yes, we want them to be saved, but our job isn't to save them; it's to preach the Good News over and over again, pray for them, and let the Holy Spirit work in conviction.
• Business people where we do our banking and buying have had direct witness from my husband and me. They would probably never have heard a word about Christ otherwise. (Now, thankfully, over the last two years, two gospel-preaching churches have been planted in that town.)
• Our lack of church people has enabled me to have more time to pursue additional avenues for witness and ministry.

Is this a hard place? Yes. Are there other hard places in the world? Yes, of course. "Hard" manifests itself in different ways. It could be: idolatry, false religion, atheism, secularism, materialism, addictions, or some other influence.

God calls, enables, and gives fruit. We don't know how much fruit—and will probably never know until we get to heaven—but the Lord promises some fruit. Remember the sower? And he (Jesus) spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 13: 3-9).

May we hear God's Word and be encouraged today. Keep on sowing.

Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be ye stedfast, unmoveable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know that your labour

is not in vain in the Lord.

(1 Corinthians 15:58)

by Lou Ann Keiser, in Basque Spain since 1984

Sweet Potato Salad

Sweet Potato Salad

This salad is a warm, refreshing, and very different sort of salad. My amazing aunt taught me how to make this salad when my brothers and I spent a week with her in Texas. We had it for almost every dinner, and asked for it for several lunches! We liked it that much! I hope you do, too! 

What you’ll need 

3-4 yams/ sweet potatoes - peeled and cubed 

3-4 cloves garlic - chopped 

2 TBS coconut/olive oil (we prefer coconut oil)

1/2 lb bacon - cooked and chopped

2 green onions - chopped 

Sauce 

1 lemon (1-2 TBS, this is to your taste) 

2 TBS olive oil 

2 TBS balsamic vinegar 

1 TBS dill 

dash of cinnamon 

dash of pepper flakes or hot sauce 

pinch of salt and pepper  

Bake the sweet potatoes, garlic, and coconut oil until the potatoes are soft. 

Fry and chop the bacon. 

Mix the sauce. 

Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, place them in your serving bowl. Dump in the bacon, green onions, and the sauce. Stir gently. If you’re too rough you’ll smash some of the potatoes, and that makes the salad look a little funky. 

Serve this salad while it is still warm or room temperature. If you are going to eat this salad as a leftover, let it sit out on the counter for an hour or two, or heat it up in a skillet or microwave. 

Once again, I hope you enjoy this delicious salad as much as we do! 

Amber Wells 

Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬