End of 2021 Newsletter

 Dear family and friends,

The year is almost over. After 2020, we are grateful for what we were able to do, even though it was a scaled-back version of pre-Covid years. Looking back, we want to give thanks to you who have encouraged, supported, and prayed for us this year. Most of all, we want this Christmas season to be a season of praise to God for His grace in our lives through this year so we filled in this “Thankful” acrostic.

Trip to South America: For the first time since Covid shut borders throughout our world, we were able to travel. In Arequipa, Peru, I taught about Biblical finances to the Bible Institute students and spent hours with the church leaders going over qualifications for those in leadership in the church. Joan taught the children’s workers how to plan lessons and advised the children’s teachers on developing their own curriculum.

Abigail and Joan

Health: Two years have passed since my stroke. Life changed dramatically that day, but God continues to give grace for ministry. I tire more easily, but the trip to Peru proved that being able to teach invigorates me.

Abigail: Abigail is an eleven-year-old girl in Peru. When she was three, her parents asked us to be her “spiritual parents.” Due to the distance between us, we cannot do much more than pray, but we are delighted to see her growing academically, socially, and spiritually. We look forward to seeing how God will use her.

Next year: We are expecting a busy year in 2022. Right now we are planning five trips abroad: to Bolivia, the Amazon, Luxembourg and Spain, Mexico, and Liberia. Of course, much can change between now and then.

Kindness of neighbors: We were in Maine when we received a call from our neighbor about a tree that had fallen in our yard. We are thankful that they were willing to check for damage to the house (none) and to take pictures for us.

Family and friends: The encouragement we receive from our family and friends helps to motivate us in our ministry despite fatigue or discouragement.

Unreached goals: We still have things we want to do before
God calls us home. We thank God for these unreached goals as they keep us pressing on.

Love: Your love demonstrated to us in many ways has encouraged us many times. However, God’s love keeps us throughout the trials and triumphs of life.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers. We look forward to seeing what God will do in the coming year.

Your partners with missionaries around the world,

Charlie and Joan Farley

Newsletter

Even though we cannot fly, time still does. We usually write these newsletters after trips abroad, but without trips to remind us to write a letter, we have let too much time pass since the last one.

We are in a season of slow recovery in our ministry. At the beginning of this year, we wrote to the people who were expecting us to work with them in 2020 to see if we could reschedule. At that time, things were still too uncertain to schedule anything, but Antonio Jordan in Bolivia asked us to come in 2022. Most of the others told us they didn’t know what to expect.

Slowly the world has started to ease up on restrictions, and we begin to hope that our travel will resume. IPM’s church planters in Liberia, Matthew Troy and Edwin Gbor, have asked us to come in November of this year. We are talking with other church planters in other countries to see if there might be a possibility of a trip in September or early October as well.  

The rocky coast of Maine.

In the meantime, we asked God to give us more opportunities here in the U.S. As a result, I have been preaching more and both of us have been teaching. In early May we took a trip to Maine for a niece’s wedding where I was able to preach four times during the 11 days we were there. At our home church in Georgia, we teach discipleship classes, children’s church, and fill in as needed in other ministries and in doing pulpit supply in other churches.

Recently we received a very encouraging note from a parent. “Thank you for speaking truth into the lives of my boys and letting the Holy Spirit guide your words. Through your teaching, the Holy Spirit convicted my son of a sin in his life. We were able to resolve the issue through tears and prayer. Thank you for being used of God to encourage deeper spiritual growth in my boys.” We are so grateful to see the Holy Spirit move in these young lives.

This summer we plan to spend a week in Wisconsin helping with a VBS. That was an answer to a particular prayer. You see, Joan wanted to attend a writer’s conference in St. Paul, MN and I wanted to attend a class at Central Seminary, but the two events had a week between them. When we prayed about it, we received an invitation to teach at a VBS in Wisconsin during the week between the two events. I will attend my class. We’ll go to Wisconsin for a week and return to the Twin Cities for Joan’s conference. Only God could have lined that up so beautifully.

I am in a season of slow recovery from the stroke that happened 18 months ago. I see progress here and there, but recently Joan became convinced that she should start asking God for complete healing, so that’s what we are doing. Please join us in praying for that.

We are also in a season of slow recovery in our nation. The Coronavirus will probably be part of our lives for the foreseeable future. The economy will wax and wane or maybe even falter, but the need to train national leaders will last until the Lord comes.

Your partners with missionaries around the world,

Charles and Joan Farley

Newsletter

Dear friends,

Our last newsletter found us recently returned from the Philippines. We traveled through an almost deserted Seoul airport and arrived to find the airports in the U.S. running normally. That changed a week later when international borders began to close. We are glad we returned before that happened, though we would not have minded an extended time in the Philippines. As with all of you, the Coronavirus has affected our lives in many ways. Here are some of them.

Church: We worshiped with our church here in Georgia that Sunday, and then for the next six weeks, we stayed home and watched online. Slowly, the church began to reinstate services. Now, most things are back online. People have overcome their fears of being together in a room, and we even sing! The difference is that Joan and I wear masks. We are not afraid for our own health, but we are concerned for the physically weak in our congregation.

Health: I continue to recover from my stroke. One provider told us that when you hit the one-year anniversary, you will not recover any more abilities. During the last appointment, the neurologist told us that he does not believe that. My verbal abilities were the most affected – speech, writing, spelling, and typing. Since those are activities I do every day, the neurologist expects me to continue to recover for a longer period than one year.

In January, doctors advised Joan to have surgery. Since she was not experiencing much discomfort,  the surgery was postponed until after our Philippines trip. Then the Coronavirus shut the hospitals. When they reopened, the surgery was scheduled and performed. She stayed overnight, but I was not able to be with her. However, I had recovered sufficiently so that I was able to drive her to the hospital and pick her up the next day. We even survived my cooking and washing for a while. She has recovered completely and is glad to have that behind her.

Children’s Ministry: Our church has reinstated its ministry to children, and we are grateful to be part of the children’s church team, but there were no special meetings planned this summer because of Covid. We also heard from neighbors that many of their children’s usual activities were canceled. So Joan sent out letters to the neighbors in our little subdivision of 22 houses to ask if anyone was interested in attending an outside Bible club. One of the neighbors contacted her and agreed to host it in her yard and they set a time. It was just three days because of the hosts’ schedule, but 12 children from the neighborhood attended.

Church Visits:

With churches closed, our visits to churches stopped. Now they are starting back up again. In September we are traveling to Maine to speak in churches there. If you live in Maine (or between Georgia and Maine) and would like to see us or have us share our ministry in your church, please contact us.

Through all these changes, one thing did not change. GOD. We rest in His unchanging character and thank Him for who He is and what He continues to do.

Prayer requests:

• Continue to pray for my healing. I am doing most things now, but I tire easily. The more tired I am, the harder it is to communicate clearly.
• Pray that we would be able to get back to our international ministry soon.
• Pray for our trip to Maine. We will need a Covid test before departing for Maine. Pray that it is negative. Pray for safety along the way and for Joan as she will be doing most of the driving on this trip. Pray that we would fill our calendar for our stay in Maine.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Charles and Joan Farley

August - October

My dad passed away on August 8. If we had gone to Bolivia, we would have been out of the country when it happened. Instead, I had the privilege of sitting with him on his last night here on earth. His plans are always better than our own.

In September, Charlie took a trip to Belarus and Luxembourg, this time as a working vacation since these are not IPM ministries. Since we had to book the trip in June, I felt I should not go so that I could be near my dad. As it turned out, Dad was already in heaven by then, but our bank account agreed that it was better for me to stay home. Once again it was clear to both of us how much we prefer to travel and minister together.

Belarus is an atheistic country whose churches suffered greatly during the previous Soviet rule. Although they have relative freedom now, there is still much resistance to the gospel. The majority of the older pastors that Charlie met had stories to tell of being in prison. They are miles ahead of us in standing for the faith, but they desire to learn more. So Charlie taught them about stewardship and then preached on Sunday to an audience of over 700. He also taught college students at a secular university. He taught hermeneutics to a group of philology students, marriage to a group of sociology students, and the benefits of exercise and religion in fighting depression to a group of medical students. One student approached him saying, “I can’t believe in a god who allows evil in our world.” Charlie was able to spend quite a bit of time with him and poke some holes in his logic that will, hopefully, bring him closer to the Gospel. All in all, Charlie felt it was a beneficial trip.

From Belarus, he flew to Luxembourg to spend time with missionary friends there. He preached and taught there as well. The international church that Tim Heijermans pastored for many years is continuing to grow under the leadership of a European pastor. We were encouraged when they invited us to return to be part of their family retreat next year.

In addition to these countries, God is beginning to show us what is ahead in 2020. We are planning on several different countries, and we are hoping to spend more time visiting churches. Please let us know if you want us to come to your church.

Praise God with us for:

• ·         Orchestrating events so that we would be home when Dad went home to heaven.
• ·         Safety for Charlie in his trip to Europe.
• ·         Rescheduling our trip to Bolivia.

Please pray that God would:

• ·         Work in the Belarusian student’s life to bring him to saving faith.
• ·         Give us wisdom as we prepare for our trip to Bolivia in November.
• ·         Show us all the places where we should go in the coming year.

We are so thankful for the prayers of God's people for us. We would not want to do this work without those prayers.

January Newsletter

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. Psalm 66:16

Dear friends and family,

God has done great things in the past year, and we want to declare His greatness to all who will listen.

Church in Guatemala

1. He funded our travel. When we started the year, we saw that the money in our travel account was inadequate for the trips we planned to take. Here we are beginning a new year, and we now have more money in that account than we did last year at this time after taking five trips and visiting six countries. How great is His provision!
2. He brought people to a saving faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout our travels we were witnesses to Christ's great work of redemption. In Guatemala alone, we saw more than twenty people make professions of faith.
3. He gave us new opportunities to serve Him. IPM held their first pastors' conference in the Amazon town of Mazan, Peru, and Charlie was one of the teachers. We both taught in Mindanao, Philippines, and they have asked us to come back and teach again. Joan partnered with Levi Schooley to lead a VBS seminar in Arequipa, Peru. It was the first time they had worked together and they both enjoyed it.

   

   Teaching a game in Peru

4. He gave us the opportunity to take a missions trip "vacation" to Europe where we were able to help out in ministries in Belarus and Luxembourg.

As we look back and see His faithfulness to us in the past year, we have no doubt that He will again be faithful in 2017.

1. We expect that we will take at least five trips again this year and maybe more, and we have no doubt that, so long as we only go where He sends us, He will fund those as well.
2. We expect that He will continue to save people in the various ministries we visit around the world, and we are looking forward to be able to witness His power at work in changing people's lives.
3. We expect that He will help us as we seek to improve our skills to do a better job. In just a few weeks we are headed to Bolivia where we will visit IPM's missionaries there and take an intensive Spanish course. In addition, Charlie has been working on his doctorate so that he will be better qualified to teach at a seminary level.
4. We expect that this will be a full year. In addition to trips to Bolivia, the Philippines, Uruguay and one or two African countries, Charlie also plans to go to Cuba. We also love to teach and preach whenever we are in the U.S.
5. We expect that none of this will be done well unless God works in us and through us, so we value your prayers and support.

Your partners with national missionaries around the world,

Charlie and Joan Farley

God Answers Prayer

God answers prayer

Some prayers were spoken in terms of simple desires.  "Lord, it would be nice to go to the Philippines to see the work of MEBSI and participate in that ministry."  We thought the door for us might be closed there, so it was more of a spoken desire than an actual request.  Yet God heard us and answered.

Some prayers barely left our lips before we saw the answers.  When we arrived at the airport, we discovered that our plane was delayed and we would miss our connection.  "Lord," we prayed quietly, "please help us."  A very helpful airline agent found another flight for us.  We got our tickets and then waited in an extremely slow security line.  Once again our prayer was, "Lord, please get us there in time."  We passed through security and ran for the gate, arriving just in time to board.  "Thank you, Lord," we breathed as we walked on.

We prayed that we might be a blessing along the way.  On the very long flight across the Pacific, Charlie sat next to a man who was on his way to reunite with his wife.  Charlie had the opportunity to talk with him about his faith and explain the gospel to him.

Joan teaching.

We prayed that we might be effective in our teaching.  We knew that our students had learned English as a second (or even third) language and there could be a significant language barrier.  For the most part, the students were responsive and enthusiastic about what they were learning.  We have been invited back again, and this time the students and faculty want us to spend some time observing their ministries after the classes are over.  That was another answer to prayer.

After classes and graduation were over, we headed to Manila where we were supposed to bard a bus to Baguio, a popular tourist town up in the mountains where many Filipinos escape the summer heat.  We headed to the bus station but were told they were all full.  "Lord, direct our steps," we prayed, when we saw that our plans were not working.  Within a few hours we received a call from Pastor Livioco who told us he had managed to get us seats on the overnight bus, and we were once again on our way.

Charlie preaching on Easter Sunday.

"Lord, let us be a blessing to Foundation Baptist Church," we prayed.  Charlie participated in a Q&A time and I shared part of my testimony in family camp.  Then on Sunday, Charlie preached in the morning service.  A number of people openly responded to his message.

There were also unexpected blessings.  First there was the blessing of music.  I taught the college students a new song to go along with the VBS curriculum.  When they got to the chorus, they broke out into four-part harmony.  What a surprise and pleasure that was.  Then on Easter Sunday, the church amazed us with their mini-cantata.  Their music ministered deeply to our souls.

Charlie's class - the MEBSI faculty.

Then there was the blessing to getting to know some of God's people in the Philippines.  Our hearts were bound to the Namocs and Liviocos and to others working with them.  We began to understand the unique role each of them has in God's work, and we really appreciate what God is doing in and through them there.

God answers prayers - all kinds of prayers.  We are grateful for the many prayers God's people prayed on our behalf because we know He answered those as well.

Thank you, God, for answering  prayer.

October Update

October, 2015

Dear faithful friends,

The countdown has begun and preparations are underway.  Tickets are bought.  Packing is beginning,  and we are excited about the opportunities ahead of us.  Please join us in praying about these things.

Travel:

·         October 25 – 26:  Fly to Montevideo, Uruguay.

·         October 30 – November 4:  Travel by car and bus in Uruguay and Argentina.

·         November 4 – 5:  Fly home.

·         November 7 – 8:  Joan flies with her parents to Japan.

·         November 23 – 25:  Joan flies home again.

Conference:  In Montevideo, we will join IPM’s missionaries from all over Latin America for a conference.  This is an opportunity for our missionaries to get some much needed encouragement from the home office and from each other.  It is a chance for us to meet our missionaries face to face and to find out who may want us to come to teach seminars or courses for them.

Teaching and Preaching:  The conference ends on Thursday.  On Friday, we will travel inland to spend some days with one of our missionaries, Anibal Fornazarich, where we will be teaching some seminars.  Pray for effective teaching for both of us and for effective translation for Charlie.  He has been asked to teach on hermeneutics, and that is a hard subject to teach in one language, let alone through an interpreter.  On Sunday we will cross the border into Argentina where we (or maybe just Charlie) will teach seminars for the next few days.  Charlie will also preach, probably both in Uruguay and Argentina.  

Curriculum:  The VBS curriculum that Joan has been working on for a couple years is finally done.  A sample copy in English and one that has been translated into Spanish will be taken to the conference.  There our missionaries will be able to peruse the material and make any necessary changes to the Spanish edition.  After that we have to figure out how to get it into their hands.

Flexibility:  As you may be able to tell, flexibility is necessary.  It is entirely possible that the schedule and subject matter of our teaching will change when we get there.  This has happened before.  Pray that the Lord will use for us His eternal purposes.

Trip to Japan:  Pray for Joan as she accompanies her 90-year-old parents to visit their son and his family who are missionaries in Japan.  This is likely the last trip abroad that they will be able to take.   Pray that it would be a blessing to everyone they meet along the way.  Pray for Charlie as he stays home.  If you would like to have him come and speak while she is gone, it would help the time pass by more quickly.  He is more than happy to travel while she is gone.

Thank you for praying.  We could not do this task without God, and your prayers on our behalf before His throne assure us that He is at work. 

Co-laboring together with you,

Charlie and Joan Farley

So Little Time - August newsletter

Dear Faithful Friends,


We returned to our home in Georgia after a 10-week trip. During that time, we travelled by car through the upper Midwest, Canada, Maine, and back home. We also flew from Boston to Peru and back again. We give thanks for God’s grace for His protection and enablement. Even though we felt constrained by our limited time in each place, we are thankful that God, who is not bound by time, can multiply our short time and our meager ministry to do great things to glorify His name.

Four years ago, we met Daniel and Sonia Araujo who are investing their lives in making disciples in Arequipa, Peru. It was good to walk into their church on that first Sunday morning and see some familiar faces and new ones as well. Many improvements have been made to the church building. In addition, their son Junior was only beginning to be fully involved in the work of the ministry four years ago. He is now an integral part of their team. In fact, he is largely responsible for a new church
plant in Majes, a desert town about two hours away.

We arrived in Arequipa on June 20. For the next two weeks, we taught every night. Charlie taught a course on Hermeneutics where more than thirty people attended, and nine completed the course The following week, Joan taught on Christian Education. Forty people attended her course, and ten also completed the course work.  On Sundays, Charlie preached in various locations.

On our second Monday, we traveled seven hours over the mountains to a remote village in the Ubinas district. More than a decade ago, God placed this area on Daniel’s heart and he began to make the long journey over the mountains to win people there to the Lord. The growth has been slow, but now several of these villages have a small church. On the day we were there, six small local assemblies gathered for a big celebration together that included a baptism, a feast of alpaca stew, and a combined evening service. Charlie also had the privilege of preaching that day, and our nephew, Jeremy, who joined us on the trip, was his interpreter through most of those days in Arequipa.

The Araujos feel the pressure of time. What pastor do we know here in the US who is pastoring one church, filling in as pastor for another, planting a third church and working as a missionary in a district of multiple towns where there is no church?  So many people to win and disciple. So little time.

From Lima, we flew to Iquitos, the largest city in the world that is unreachable by road. Pastor Giovanni Avendaño, IPM’s Latin America director, met us there. From there, we took a boat down the Amazon River to the town of Mazan. For the next three days, we met with four men who are interested in becoming missionaries with IPM. Charlie taught classes that would help the men in their respective ministries – Communication; Dealing with Anger; Church Discipline; Marriage and Divorce; etc. Joan gave an introduction to IPM’s Children’s Ministry. Brother Giovanni went over IPM’s Policy and Procedure manual. When we were done, the four men were very appreciative. One of them told us as we were getting ready to leave, “Thank you for coming. I was so discouraged that I was ready to give up on ministry and go back to secular work. Now I feel ready to go back. I know I have made many mistakes simply because I did not understand God’s way of doing things. Pray for me and my family as I make the changes we need.” With limited resources, these men are struggling to make a difference in their areas for Christ. Pray for them.  On the Amazon River as well, there are so many souls, and so little time.

Peru has many children and often we were enchanted by their smiles and friendliness (some of the Mazan children are pictured on left).  It was obvious that Peru is an area where children’s ministry is needed. One night when we were sitting in a restaurant in Mazan, we saw four teenagers carrying a
stretcher to the hospital. The form on the stretcher was small and covered by a sheet. The restaurant owner told us, “He died this morning. He is the second ten year-old boy to die this week. The other one drowned on Sunday afternoon.” So many children. So little time.

We came back with hearts burdened for Peru, and especially Mazan and all the needs there. Please pray for IPM as they determine the best way forward to help these men.

In October, we are planning to go to Uruguay for IPM’s regional conference. We want to connect personally with IPM’s missionaries from all over Latin America and inquire how we can best help them. Joan is hoping to have a sample copy of a VBS curriculum for them to look over. Pray that God would help her complete that in time and that we would be able to get it translated as well. Pray, too, that God would supply the $3,000 we need to make this trip.

Thank you for your prayers for us. We felt God’s enabling grace on this trip and we saw His hand redirecting our steps.  Without Him, it would have been a disaster. It would have been so much time, with so little accomplished. Instead, because of God’s work, we believe that much was accomplished that will last into eternity.

Co-laboring together with you,
Charlie and Joan Farley

August News

Dear friends and family,

What a wonderful month we had in Guatemala.  

Giovanni Avendaño, IPM’s missionary church planter in Guatemala, asked us to come for a month because he knew that the module format that we often use would not work well with his people.  Instead, we would teach a series over the course of a month.  Charlie taught on Biblical counseling for two hours on Tuesday nights in their Bible institute.  Joan taught on teaching for two hours on Wednesday nights following prayer meeting.  We also taught in the monthly men’s and women’s meetings.  On weekends, Charlie preached, we both taught Sunday school, and we were both involved in the teen meetings.  It was a busy, yet rewarding schedule.

But the main question we want to answer upon our return is not “What did the Farleys do?” but “What did God do?”  While there may be things we will never know about, here are some of the things we do know.

• One child asked the Lord to save him.  He talked to his parents during the week, and the on Sunday asked the pastor if he could be saved.
• Four people were baptized.  Three were adults, and one was a teenager.  It was a day of joyous celebration.  As Giovanni said, “I want to make a big deal about the important things in people’s lives.”  So we spent the afternoon together as a church family.  After the baptism in a swimming pool, the children went swimming and adults played soccer.  The rest sat around and shared stories.  Then one family, whose child’s birthday was that day, passed out bags of candy to everyone and hung up piñatas, one for the girls to break and one for the boys.  Then we all sang “Happy Birthday” and had cake.
  
  
• Another church has been started since our last time in Guatemala.  According to Giovanni, it is taking a lot more work to get this one up and running than the other two he started.  Yet he is confident that the Lord led them to do this, and that the Lord will build his church in San Raymundo.
• God granted safety and health throughout our trip.  While Joan battled a couple minor things while we were there, she was able to teach whenever it was her turn.
• God opened the door for us to teach in the public school.  The principal, one of the new people in the church, asked if we would go teach English and the gospel.  Charlie used English sentences to talk of the gospel with the older grades, and Joan used colors and then taught the wordless book to the younger grades.  The following Sunday ten children from the school showed up in church.
• God used us in our teaching.  Over and over people thanked us for what they had learned and talked of how they were already applying it in their everyday lives. 
• We saw obvious change in one young woman’s life after a brief time of counseling with her.
• God is building a strong church in the small town of Cerro Alto.  Three new couples recently started attending, and Giovanni is taking them through discipleship classes. 

Thank you so much for your prayers for us while we were gone. 

Your co-laborers in the Gospel,

Charlie and Joan Farley