Missionary Trivia Quiz

 

Dear family and friends,

Years ago at a Christmas gathering at our church in Maine, we played a game testing people’s knowledge of the record of Christmas in the Bible against their own understanding of the events. It was an interesting exercise to see how much information we had gathered from the right source. Today we would like to play a trivia game with you to see how well we have communicated our prayer concerns over the past year. You will find the answers at the bottom of the page. (Some questions require multiple answers.)

1. Which of the following countries did we visit this year? A. Liberia  B. Dominican Republic  C. Mexico; D. Guatemala; E. Luxembourg.

2. Which two countries had we planned to visit but were unable to do so? A. Liberia  B. Dominican Republic  C. Mexico   D. Guatemala  E. Luxembourg

3. What kept us from visiting one of those countries? A. Lack of funds  B. Epidemic  C. Political unrest  D. Changes in scheduling

4. How many countries do we plan to visit in the coming year? 2, 3, 4, or 5? Go ahead, take a guess.

5. Did we spend more or less time away from our home base this year compared to last year?

6. Do we plan to spend more or less time away from home next year?

7. How many car miles do you think we traveled this year? A. Less than 20,000  B. 20,000 – 29,999  C. 30,000 – 39,999   D. More than 40,000

8. Where is our support level? A. 57% B. 59%  C. 61%  C. 62%

9. As 2015 begins, which of these do you think is a big prayer need?  A. Invitations to share our ministry here in the U.S.  B. Travel funds for overseas trips.  C. Arrangements for trips abroad.

10. When will we be in your area again?  A. We usually go to the churches where we are invited.  B. We plan to spend four to six weeks in New England and Canada.  C. We are hoping to get back to South Carolina.  D. We are willing to go wherever the Lord leads.

Check your answers and let us know how well we are doing at communicating with you.

Thank you for your support for us in prayer over the past year. We are so glad to know that we have people standing behind us. May God richly bless you, and may He be the focus of and the reason for all your Christmas celebrations.

Because of Christmas and Calvary,

Charlie and Joan Farley

Answers: 1. C and D 2. A, B and E. 3. The Ebola epidemic in Liberia kept us from going there, and we had hoped to visit Luxembourg on our way either going or coming, so that fell through as well. The Dominican Republic is rescheduled for next year. 4. Four trips are planned – one to D.R., one to Peru, and we are working on a trip to Africa and one to Asia. 5. We were away from home less because we did not travel as much inside the U.S. this year. However, we spent more time abroad than any previous year. 6. We hope to spend more time abroad and more time away from home inside the U.S. 7. B. This is less than any previous year since we started this ministry. 8. The last time we reported, it was at 57%. It now stands at 59%. Thank you for your continued prayer for us about this matter. 9. All of them. 10. All of these answers are right.

Counting to Ten on Thanksgiving Day

 

On this beautiful day of Thanksgiving, I stop to count some of the sweet blessings that God has given through the years.  These are broad, sweeping statements.  Perhaps later I will add some more specific ones, but these are huge blessings in my life that I never want to forget.

1. God saved me.  On a hot, sunny day in Indonesia as a five-year-old child, God showed me the enormity of my sin and my need of a Savior.  My mother led me in a simple prayer and my life forever changed.  Today my heart overflows with the joy of knowing I am loved and safe with God.
2. Sixteen years ago God gave me a wonderful, godly husband.  I had to wait a long time to find him.  I let other opportunities for marriage go by as I waited for this man that I hoped existed and who was the other half of me.  Today I give thanks for his godly leadership, his thoughtful intelligence, and his Christ-like love for me.
3. God gave me godly parents.  Throughout my life, I have witnessed firsthand their faith and commitment to God.  They have been faithful witnesses to me of what it means to trust and follow God.  Today I give thanks that at 89 years of age, they are still part of my life.   
4. The Bible.  What a precious book.  Everyday when I open its pages, I marvel again how it speaks to me afresh.  Today I found plenty of passages that gave me words of thanksgiving to fill my heart with praise.
5. Church.  Whether I am talking about our church in Georgia, the church my husband pastored in Maine, or the many other churches where I worshiped and worked through the years, I am so grateful for the role of the church in my life.  The teaching I have received there and the fellowship of the believers have been a help in hard times and a way to celebrate the good times.  Church has helped me grow and made me of more service to God than I ever would have been alone.
6. Health.  I know of so many people my age who are struggling with physical issues.  How thankful I am for good health. As I get older, I am getting glimpses of the fact that my body may not always be healthy, so I am doubly thankful for health today.
7. Beauty.  We live in a beautiful world.  I sometimes wonder how heaven could possibly be any better than this, but I am convinced that it is.
8. The gift of sight.  Every time I stop of admire the color of a fresh flower, the sparkling of dew on the grass, the arch of a double rainbow in the sky, or the glow of autumn leaves in the morning sunlight, I marvel that God would give me eyes to see such beauty.  Along with that gift, I am also giving thanks today for eyeglasses.  I see more clearly with them and appreciate God’s beauty more with them.
9. Music.  Right now the sound of a professional choir singing “We Gather Together” is filtering up the stairs and into the room where I write.  My heart soars in praise when I hear beautiful music, whether it is the sound of a pipe organ that leads a congregation in song, a cello playing “It Is Well” or a child’s voice singing “Jesus loves me.”  Today music helps me lift my heart in praise in a way that a world without music could not.
10. The gift of hearing.  As I get older, my hearing is not nearly as good as it used to be.  I notice it when a mosquito has to get close to me for me to hear it rather than hearing it across the room the way I did when I was younger.  Still, I am amazed that God would let me hear the beautiful and no-so-beautiful sounds around me.  Our hearing helps protect us from danger as well as letting us enjoy so much – the singing of birds, the patter of rain, and the thundering of the waterfall.
    
    Thanksgiving Day sounds are all around me.  I hear a knife on wood as someone cuts vegetables in the kitchen.  A full choir sings through computer speakers.  Footsteps sound in the hallway.  Muted conversations drift through the open door.  Dishes clatter.  The oven door squeaks open and then closed.  A door shuts.  The clock ticks.  A cell phone announces an incoming message.  Cars whisper by on the road outside.  All in all, they remind me that a family has gathered to feast and thank the Lord for His blessings.
    
    Thank you, Lord, for hearing.

And so I have counted to ten.  To be honest, this is only a start.  My blessings, should I count them all, would number in the thousands.

Too Wise to Be Mistaken and Too Good to Be Unkind

Years ago a dear friend gave me a copy of Gadsby's Hymns.  Since it was #7 in this book, it did not take me long to find this hymn by Samuel Medley.  Medley was led to saving faith in Jesus Christ when his grandfather read him a sermon by Isaac Watts.  After that, his life was radically changed and he became a prolific songwriter, writing over 200 hymns.  Unfortunately, most of them are no longer being sung in our churches even though many contain doctrine we would want to sing.  More modern songs and hymns have replaced them.

Although I do not know the tune it was sung to then, I find myself singing it to "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee."

    1   God shall alone the refuge be,

            And comfort of my mind;

        Too wise to be mistaken, He,

            Too good to be unkind.

    2    In all his holy, sovereign will,

            He is, I daily find,

        Too wise to be mistaken, still

            Too good to be unkind.

    3    When I the tempter’s rage endure,

            ’Tis God supports my mind;

        Too wise to be mistaken, sure,

            Too good to be unkind.

    4    When sore afflictions on me lie,

            He is (though I am blind)

        Too wise to be mistaken, yea,

            Too good to be unkind.

    5    What though I can’t his goings see,

            Nor all his footsteps find?

        Too wise to be mistaken, He,

            Too good to be unkind.

    6    Hereafter he will make me know,

            And I shall surely find,

        He was too wise to err, and O,

            Too good to be unkind.

Marriage Advice from Dad

Recently while I was sorting through the papers left behind by Charlie's parents, I found the transcript of the words of advice that Fred gave us during our wedding ceremony.  That day we asked both my parents and Charlie's dad to give us their words of advice for a good marriage.  We wanted to learn from those who had proven that a happy, successful marriage could be ours as well.  These words  were good words of advice which we welcomed as we began our life together.  We appreciated hearing them that day, and I enjoyed re-reading them today.  Maybe they will be a blessing to someone else, so I offer them here.

May I first congratulate Charles and Joan on their wedding day.  May your lives together be long and happy ones.

I would like to take this opportunity to express a few thoughts on what constitutes a happy and successful marriage.  I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or marriage counselor.  I am just a retired school teacher with almost 51 years of a productive and happy married life behind him.  These thoughts are meant to be a guideline only.  They worked for my wife Ellen and me, and we have lived by them.

First, make sure your spouse is your best friend.  Be there for your partner.  There will be times when you come home after a grueling day, when it seems that the world is against you, when the harder you try, the behinder you get and you feel a need to unburder yourself.  That is the time your spouse needs to sit and listen, not give advice or offer suggestions to what you could have done nor cast blame on anyone, but just sit and listen.  Perhaps and encouraging, kind word now and then would be in order.  The key, Charlie and Joan, is to let your spouse know you are there for them.

Second and most important, never go to sleep angry at each other.  Anger never solves problems.  It feeds upon itself.  I remember our pastor asked an elderly couple with 63 years of happy married life behind them what they attributed their successful marriage to.  Their answer in unison was this:  "We have never gone to sleep angry at each other."  I know from experience that at bedtime, when all is in darkness, if one hand will reach out it will find the spouses hand ccoming to meet it.  The past intense discussion, yes even an argument, will be cast aside with love for one another and the Lord's help.  All problems can be solved.

Third, verbal angry words hurt and cannot be withdrawn.  We hear a lot about physical abuse these days, but I believe verbal abuse is more hurtful and long lasting.  Verbal abuse, and angry words, those words that are spoken without thought, can wound deeply.  The idea that an apology makes it all right again is nonsense.  Once spoken, the words are there.  Find a method that works for both of you when anger arises.  Perhaps an embrace, a cooling-off period, or a prayer.  Above all, when angry emotions take over, find a way to control them.

There are many experiences that the two of you will have.  There are many decisions to make.  My prayer is that the two of you soon learn to be one.  Think of the other first.  Don't fail to show love and affection for each other.  I know there are those who wondered why my wife and I, both in our 70's, still held hands, hugged a great deal and never said goodbye without a kiss.  But we know why.  We loved each other for 51 years.

So Charlie and Joan, enjoy your lives together.  Be the other's best friend, and always be there for each other.  God bless you.

 I did not remember his exact words, so it was good to reread them.  I did, however, remember the gist of what he said.  He was a real blessing to us, and I am so thankful to have known him.

Guatemalan Strawberries and Cream Cake

Since food is such a large part of the experience of traveling abroad, I have decided to include some of our experiments of duplicating food we encounter on our trips.  There are two things we have tried since our return to the U.S.  This is one of them.

There were, I believe, two main differences between our cakes and the cakes we experienced in Guatemala were the frosting and the moistness.  The Guatemalans frost their cakes with whipped cream instead of powdered sugar frosting, and they add a sweet milk or a syrup after baking to moisten the cake even further.

First I followed the directions on a butter-flavor cake mix. I like the look of three-layer cakes, so I used 8-inch pans and divided the batter into the three pans.

While the cake was baking, I washed the strawberries and chose the prettiest one for decorating the top of the cake.  Then I cut up strawberries about two cups of strawberries for the filling.

I also made a simple syrup for moistening the cake.

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter (for added butter flavor)

Heat on medium heat until sugar completely melts.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

I also made the whipped cream frosting:

2 cups of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat together until stiff peaks form.

By the time the cake had cooled, the syrup had also cooled. I used a pastry brush to spread the syrup on, but it was not necessary.  I could have easily dribbled the syrup directly on to the cake.  The pastry brush method took too long.  If the syrup rolls off instead of soaking in, poke through the outer crust with a fork so that the syrup enters the cake.

 Frost the first layer with whipped cream.  Add strawberries.  Since the layer will be cover, there is no particular order to the placement of these strawberries.  Cover with more whipped cream.  Continue to stack the cake with the next layer of whipped cream, strawberries and more cream.

Since this was my first attempt at this cake, I decided to keep it simple and not try to decorate the cake with more than just the strawberries.  However, a cake decorating kit could add a lot of beauty to this simple cake.

After trying this cake this time, there are a few things I would change.  (1) I would increase the amount of whipped cream and strawberries between the layers.  By the time it sat overnight, much of the whipped cream had soaked into the cake.  (2) I might even increase the amount of syrup, though for the American palate, I think it was moist enough. (3) While the three layers looks nice, the next time I think I will bake it in two 9-inch pans and split the layers in two.  This will aid in the syrup soaking into the cake and will give more layers of strawberries and cream.  (4)  Finally, I think I will make it with chocolate cake next time.  Chocolate with strawberries and cream sounds delicious.

Warning:  If you need to transport this cake to another location, you may need toothpicks to secure it.  The whipped cream is so slippery that when we tried to take it to my parents' home, the top layers completely slid off the bottom layer.

Now for you to see my competition.  It will be a long time before my cakes look anything like these, but that gives me something for which to strive.