Spanish Lessons in Bolivia

Charlie with one of the tutors

In the morning, we filled our hearts with prayer and the Word, our stomachs with a simple breakfast and then left the spacious guest house to fill our minds with Spanish. It was the primary purpose for which we came to Bolivia this time.  By lunchtime, our minds were bursting with conjugations, preterit vs. imperfect, double verbs and subjunctive tenses until it felt as though our heads would explode.

At the end of the first week, Charlie wondered why he was not making faster progress. I was coming to terms with the difficulty of correcting grammatical errors that had become bad habits. Then we realized we had only been here for a week and we still had three more weeks to go. That was reassuring. As Charlie gained confidence in his ability to communicate, I became more fearful that every time I spoke I would be saying something wrong again. But my teachers assured me that this was a sign of improvement.

After we had been here about three weeks, we ate lunch with IPM's missionary, Jose Antonio Jordan and his family.  During lunch, Charlie carried on a conversation with him, and he commented on how much Charlie's Spanish has improved.  I heard it too. This improvement will help us as we continue to make trips to Latin America.

On Thursday and Friday nights I taught a teacher training class.  I took the notes from a class I taught a couple years ago in Mexico and went through them, making changes as I saw the grammar errors I originally made.  Then I took my lessons to my language school teachers and they went over them with me. When we finished, I said to Alicia, my teacher, "Prepositions are getting me into trouble."  She agreed and added, "They seem to be difficult in any language.  I have trouble with them in English."

On Thursday night I was so concerned about my grammar that I had a very difficult time, so all day on Friday, I asked God to give me facility and freedom as I shared some of the things He had laid on my heart.  While my grammar may not have been any better, at least I felt like I was communicating better because I was freer and more fluid.

A month is certainly not enough to learn a language, but it has helped us move forward to becoming more fluent.  We now feel more confident that we can go somewhere alone without the aid of an interpreter for Charlie. I am far from fluent, but at least I will do better than I would have before. When I translated for him on Saturday night, I realized that I need to work on my vocabulary as well as my grammar. I also now have a better idea of what I need to do in order to keep improving and how to progress so that I will not fall back into the bad habits.

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

A Picture Summary of 2016

Take a trip with us and see where we were and what we were doing abroad during the past year.  We each took five trips and went to six countries.  Five of those trips we took together and we each took one trip alone. That does not even count the trips we took within the U.S. where we went to Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, California, and probably some other states too.  It was a busy and blessed year, and we are looking forward to an even busier one this year.

We put together a Prezi presentation online of our trips abroad. Just click on the link, and it will take you there. Then you can cruise through the photos and, if we visited you, maybe even find a photo of yourself.  Just tap on the link and then in the new window use the arrow keys to go through the presentation.

Christmas Sunday at the Beach

Early this morning as the sun rose, I stepped into the half light of the apartment where we were staying.  

I turned on the coffee pot and walked over to the sliding glass door and gazed at the beauty outside. When the coffee finished brewing, I poured myself a cup and added some cream from the refrigerator. Then, with the coffee cup warming my hands, I walked the few paces to the couch and sat down. I picked up the lighter and slowly lit the advent wreath, giving thanks to God for His unspeakable gift - a gift I needed far more than anything someone on earth could give me.  I breathed a prayer as I lit each candle.  "Thank You, God, that You became flesh and took on the form of a man so that I could know about You.  Thank You that You are Immanuel - God with us.  Thank You that You knew what I needed most this Christmas and every Christmas - a Savior.  Thank You for Your gifts of hope, peace, joy and love."  When I finished lighting the wreath, I nestled my body into the cushions of the couch and began to read from Galatians, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son . . ."  I read on, once again touched by God's gift to us.

Every Christmas no matter where I am in the world, this is the way I love to start the day - lighting the advent wreath and then with coffee warming my hands and the Bible and prayer warming my heart, I give this day to the Lord.  But today we were in Florida, so after a few minutes on the couch, I slipped out to the balcony where I could watch the sun rise over the distant ocean.  A cool breeze stirred the palm trees and a fountain rippled the water in a pool below the balcony.  I marveled at the beauty around me.  Imagine, I thought, that the God who made all of this became one of His own creatures - a man.  The God who is so powerful that He spoke this world into existence became powerless - a baby who needed His mother for nourishment to sustain him.

After reading a while and praying, my coffee cup was empty and it was time to head back in.  Just then Charlie came out.  "Merry Christmas," he said to me and lightly kissed my cheek.  "Merry Christmas, " I replied.  He stood for a minute behind my chair and joined me in admiring God's creation of this new day.  Then we headed back in so that I could make breakfast.

Usually on Sunday mornings, I put on worship music while I am preparing breakfast, but I had forgotten to bring along any CD's on this trip.  Instead, I hummed, "O come let us adore Him" as I worked.  How glad I was that this Christmas fell on a Sunday.  It seemed especially appropriate to me to gather with other believers on this, His birthday.  Even though we would be visitors in church that morning in a church where we had never gone, it would be good to sing His praises together with other believers and read His Word with them.  

After breakfast and getting ready we headed out.  On the way to church, Charlie found a radio station playing Christmas carols and we listened and occasionally sang along.  When we arrived, we were greeted by several people and found our seats.  Before long the choir filed into the choir loft.  "A small choir this morning," a voice said behind us.  When the first notes of "Emmanuel" were sung, I breathed a sign of thanksgiving.  "Thank you, Lord," I prayed, "for good music and for believers with whom to celebrate You on this, Your birthday.  I have never met these people before, and yet they are some of the ones with whom I will spend eternity.  How appropriate that I meet more of Your children on Your birthday."  

The rest of the day included dinner with my sister's family, walks on the beach, watching the sun set over the ocean, and taking a drive after dark to look for Christmas lights.  It was a good day.  As I settled into bed that night, I thanked the Lord.  


"Thank You, Lord, for today," I prayed.  "It was a lovely day.  I really enjoy it when I get to be with Your people on Christmas Day, even when I don't know them."

Then I thought, "Lord, did You have a good day today?  We say Christmas is the day we celebrate the day You were born, so did You have a good day?  I hope so.  I hope that all of the worship that was lifted to You by Your children today made it a good day for You.  I know You are outside of our time zones and You don't experience days like we do, but You came into our world on this day many years ago, so You know what I am talking about.  Next year, when Christmas falls on a Monday and it is unlikely that I will attend a church service that day, then help me to be as conscious with my worship of You as I was today.  Help me to make sure that YOU are the One that I am honoring on that day.  Help me to make it a day that is pleasing to You.  Amen."  

The Castle of my Heart

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.  Prov. 18:10

As a young girl, my mind always associated castles with princesses, princes, pageantry, and power. Scenes from Cinderella and other fairy tales colored my mental image, making it seem much more beautiful and elegant than my little ordinary life.  I could easily imagine it.  In the huge banquet hall, the tables were set with sparkling dishes, servants bustling in and out of the kitchen, bringing in platters of choice meat, fresh fruit from the orchards and vegetables from the gardens.  Candlelight filled the space with light, and a small orchestra softly played in the background.  Then, the music crescendoed and suddenly stopped, and the guests hushed their speaking.  A herald announced, "Bow before your King and Queen" as the two most powerful people in the kingdom stepped into the room.

It was so easy for me to imagine.

What was not as easy for me to imagine was other days at the castle when a watchman on one of the high towers spotted an enemy and raised the alarm. Soldiers ran to put on their armor and went out to defend the castle against the enemy. Then the sounds of battle filled the air. Children screamed and ran to hide from the noise and smell of blood as men and horses fought to save their castle, and more importantly, their King and Queen.  

Luxembourg is a tiny country filled with castles and ruins of old castles.  We visited the ruins of Esch-Sur-Sure castle and the reconstruction of the Vianden Castle. It was easy to see why these spots were chosen to build a castle. They both sit high on a hill overlooking the valley below. Beyond the castle was a wall that encompassed the town, with defensive towers. Watchers in the towers would be able to see people approaching and know if they were friends or enemies.

A watch tower

Castles are not primarily for pageantry, but for protection.  When the enemy advances, there is protection within the city walls, and additional protection lies within the gates of the castle.  The stone walls stop the arrows and are impervious to incendiary devices.  

So when the enemy of my soul advances and troubles me on every side, I can run to the protection that the Lord has given me - His very own name.  His name represents his character. His name carries weight and power and strikes fear into the heart of his sworn enemy.  

Inside the castle of God's name,

The wall protecting the castle grounds.

• I find mercy because He is merciful and gracious and abounding in mercy.
• I find light in my darkness because God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
• I find joy because He is a god who delights in His people. 
• I find strength in my weakness because He is all-powerful.
• I find hope even when things seem hopeless because He is my hope.
• I find peace because He is the Prince of Peace.
• I find safety because He is my strong tower.

Now when I look at castles, I see strength and protection, and not just pageantry and beauty.

I am glad that God has given us Himself, His name, and His reputation as the perfect castle of protection for our hearts.