coffee filters

You know, it's the little things in life that can be the biggest blessings - water, electricity, working vehicle, etc. A few years back my husband bought me an ipod and I've loved it ever since. I love to put on my earphones and listen to godly music that brings my focus back on my Lord. Another thing I really enjoy is my Kindle. We all know the struggle of trying to stay under 50 pounds in each of our suitcases as we return to the mission field from furlough! In fact, I still have a stack of books that I was given probably 4 years or so ago that never quite made it into my luggage. So to have a Kindle that I can download books in just minutes is amazing!!

So what does all that have to do with coffee filters?? Well, during Christmas we stayed with some dear friends while we held special meetings in their village. Upon arrival I was admiring the snowflakes her children had made with a visiting supporter. However, when Becky told me they were made out of coffee filters I gasped. She laughed and said she knew I would react that way. (Ahhh, the joy of friends!) She later told Beverly about it. Beverly immediately went into her room and came out with a bag full of coffee filters and handed them to me!

What little blessings do you have? Sometimes we can be overwhelmed with the difficulties of living in a culture far different than our own and miss seeing these blessings. I hope you'll take the time today to thank the Lord for the little things...like coffee filters!

Written by Tammy Brouwer in Tanzania

Click here to read her blog.

Former days...

A missionary friend recently sent me, along with some other fellow missionaries, this verse from Ecclesiastes 7:10 - "Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this." My friend went on to remind us that although it is easy for us to get down during the holidays and remember the "former days" it is not wise to do so. I find myself really missing my boys, who are now grown and living back in America. I remember Christmases gone by and miss not being together.  However, I'm going to CHOOSE to be thankful and content.

I thought it might be good to remind ourselves of things we can be thankful for as we celebrate our Saviour's birth in our respective mission fields. Here are a few of the things I'm thankful for:

1.  In Africa we don't have to hustle and bustle about preparing for the holidays so have more time for family.
2.  I'm thankful that people include my children living in America in their Christmas celebrations.
3.  I'm thankful that I can be a part of sharing the Good News with people that have never heard before.
4.  I'm thankful for the special Christmas money supporters send that show they are thinking of us, and allow us to enjoy special treats.
5.  I'm thankful for the missionary community that comes together and helps us have a sense of family away from "home."

I'd love to read the things that you are choosing to be thankful for this Christmas season!

Written by: Tammy Brouwer in Tanzania

To read my blog click here.



Tasty Tuesday

submitted by Patty over at Mrs. John in Ghana

My Nina was an amazing cook! I loved visiting her each summer, and I loved eating her delicious food!

Not only could she cook, but she could also sew! Every so often, we'd receive a big box in the mail full

of beautiful new clothes she'd made for us.

My Nina went to Heaven when I was just 12 years old. Oh, how I miss her!

But each year at Christmas, we have a little something to remind us of her.....her famous Christmas

Punch! What a lovely remembering it is!

Nina's Cranberry Punch

1 3-oz. pkg cherry gelatin (raspberry and cranberry also work wonderfully)

1 c. boiling water

1 6-oz. can lemonade, pineapple, or orange concentrate (a liter of pineapple or orange juice also work)

3 c. cold water

1 qt. cranberry juice (2 liters of any type of cranberry juice will do the trick - we have a delicious kiwi-cranberry juice we can often find in Ghana)

1 pt., 12 oz. ginger ale (I sub 2 liters of Sprite!)

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in frozen concentrate. Add cold water and cranberry juice. Add ginger ale.

As you can see, there are lots of ways to make this work! And trust me, everybody at your Christmas table

will thank you!

(This is a photo of a picture I took at my aunt's house over Thanksgiving. It was taken when my Nina was 15 years old,

right before she got married!)

Connecting

As I thought about what I wanted to write for this first Thankful Thursday post I couldn’t help but think about what a blessing the Internet can be, along with Facebook, instant messenger, and Skype. When we first arrived in Kenya in 1995 we had none of those things. We truly felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. It was a lonely feeling not being able to connect with family, church, and friends.

During our second term Internet became available – dial-up, but Internet none-the-less. However, even then there wasn’t Facebook or blogs to connect with the daily lives of people, let alone missionary ladies! What a blessing to now be able to read blogs of women who can relate with our lives, and look on Facebook and find a group of Baptist Missionary Women who we can ask for prayer about issues that others may not fully understand. So here is a big PRAISE THE LORD for being able to have access to Internet, and ways to stay charged to continue doing the work he has called us to do around the world!

Written by:  Tammy in Tanzania

Click here to read her blog.

Tasty Tuesday

submitted by Patty over at Mrs. John in Ghana

 

Good Morning, ladies, and welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I'm excited to share this recipe (actually two!) today! It is perfect for the quickly upcoming

holidays!

When I was growing up, my best friend's mom used to make these all the time. They are quite

possibly the BEST sugar cookie you will ever taste! I promise! Everyone who eats these asks for the

recipe. If that isn't proof that these are the best sugar cookies you'll ever put in your mouth, then I

don't know what is!

A few years ago, I begged Heather to get the recipe from her mom....and she did! And now, I share

it with you. Make them. Today. You'll be so glad you did!

 

 

Mrs. McNally's Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes!)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg, milk, and vanilla. Blend dry ingredients together

in separate bowl and then add to wet ingredients. Mix well. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll on lightly floured surface, 1/4 in. thick. Cut into cute shapes :)

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 4-6 min. If they start to brown, they've baked too long!

Enjoy as is, or........add the best icing to go with the best cookie!

Mrs. McNally's Sugar Cookie Icing

1 lb. confectioners'/icing sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup shortening

1/4 cup milk

Mix all the ingredients together. Beat until VERY smooth! Now frost those cookies!

(I usually pipe the icing on, but you could also just use a butter knife - it all tastes good!)

Both the cookies and the icing freeze very well. You could easily make some for now and

some for later....or you could just eat the whole batch in one sitting :)

As you can see, my kids love decorating them, too!

Christmas Blog Hop - Link Up!

It's that time - the most wonderful time of the year!  Would you please join our Christmas Blog Hop?!

If you are new to blog hops, here's how it works.  You write a post on your blog.  Click on the title of your post, and copy the url (what is seen at the top ie www.missionarywomenblog.blogspot.com/chirstmasbloghop-linkup)  then add your name and paste the url below.  Once you add your info it says it may take a couple of minutes, mine didn't add so I had to do it a second time...just so you know.

Wondering what to write about?  Christmas!  Share your traditions, your Christmas family photo, Christmas memories, anything Christmas related!  There are no set rules.  It would be great though if you would add the button to your post so others can find us, but not necessary.  This is a great way to get to know each other a little better as well as seeing Christmas celebrated around the world.

If you have any questions, please email us - baptistmissionarywomen@hotmail.com

Please join our Christmas Blog Hop, then take some time to see Christmas around the world, by clicking on the other links.

Good News From a Far Country ~ Devotional Friday

Proverbs 25:25
"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."

Growing up in a missions-minded church, I often heard this verse quoted as it pertained to encouraging missionaries. “Write your missionaries an uplifting letter. This will help the missionary like cold water quenches the thirst of a man in a desert.”

As a teenager, I remember having contests in our youth group, and for each letter we sent to a missionary during that contest, we received points to win a prize. I wrote letters until my hands ached, trying to write as many of our 300+ missionaries as possible! I never accomplished the goal of writing every single one, but I can guarantee you that I showed up to church with a stack of letters to proudly turn in that I had painstakingly spent many hours writing.

I am grateful for the church that I grew up in, that taught the importance of encouraging missionaries with “good news from a far country.” But, now that I am a missionary, I have turned the tables. This verse does not say that the “far country” is America and the “thirsty soul” is the missionary. So, I would like to mention the possibility that quite the opposite could be true here. That “far country” could be your mission field, and the “thirsty soul” could be a church member in America!

Sadly, of the scores of letters I wrote to missionaries as a teenager, I only received two or three responses. I have remembered that and determined that I want to be in that small group of responders. I never want to receive a letter from America that I do not respond to! People in America are keeping me here on the field, financially and prayerfully, and I want to show my gratitude by at least responding to their communication.

People in America need to hear our “good news.” Ladies, we are living where the real action is, and our dear supporters need to know and hear that their giving is not in vain! Just this morning I opened a letter sent through e-mail as a PDF-file by the teacher of a boy (about 10 years old) living in a single-parent home. This was my second letter from this young man, and he and his teacher wrote to tell me how thrilled he was that I had taken the time to respond to his first letter! Is it possible that I can influence this child for his own future ministry? Absolutely!

How about the birthday cards we receive from churches? Yes, many times they are very general, just filled with signatures of ladies who meet once a month in prayer groups. However, I look at those cards as a personal effort on someone’s part to encourage my family and I. So, what do my family and I do when we receive one? We write back! We thank those ladies for their prayers and we thank them for taking the time to think of us! We are so unworthy of their time and efforts, and we want to send good news back to their “thirsty souls,” letting them know that we are doing well and that we are grateful for their thoughtfulness. I have four children, and this project can become overwhelming at times; however, I have prioritized the need to do this and make sure it gets done!

How about you, missionary wife? Is there someone that you can send good news to from your far country? I encourage you to sit down and do that today!

Written by Jolene Sloan

Click here to read her blog.