Farnsworth Forum

We send a very special Happy Birthday to Pastor Tony from our church in Reading, PA. We enjoyed spending time with him and his family during the summer. Here is a picture of Gonzalo Rivera, Pastor Tony, his wife Jessica, Binnelly and Ned after a prayer meeting in early August. Ned worked with Tony and Jessica almost 10 years following his years of service in Mexico. This month we celebrated 16 years of our friendship. They have been a second family to us, and we miss them very much. May God continue to bless your ministry in Reading at Iglesia Bautista Betania!

Para el cumpleaños de Marisol, recibimos un paquete de su familia en Ecuador. Gracias por el vestido para Amelia y la camiseta para Joel y también los regalos para nosotros los grandes. Dios les bendiga mucho. For Marisol's birthday, we received a package from her familia in Ecuador. Thanks for Amelia's dress, Joel's Tshirt and also for the gifts for us "big ones." God bless you lots!

Joel is attending AWANA at our church on Wednesday nights. His group, the Cubbies, held an awards ceremony this week where the Cubby Bears received their books and their vests. Joel is very excited to be in this class and works hard to memorize his Bible verses which we review at family mealtimes so the whole family is involved. We are thrilled that Joel has this opportunity to take part in AWANA. In this picture Mrs. Kathy gives Joel his Jumper Cubby book. Our Cubby Bear Joel feels so pleased with his new vest that he wanted to pose with it. Here all of the Bayview Baptist Cubby Bears pose for the parents in attendance at the ceremony. Every good party ends with food, and this was no exception!

Joel has "school" with his Mama every Monday through Friday, and sometimes Amelia like to "go to school" as well. Here they are painting in "art class." Joel and Amelia enjoy recess with campus friends Ganya Hosei and Micah Ngirachemoi. Amelia plays in the homemade "tent" in our living room before her afternoon rest time. Celebrating another day of school time with their Burger King crowns.

The Farnsworth family celebrated their first anniversary of their ministry in Guam with Pacific Islands Bible College on September 25, 2007. Here is a picture of our arrival at the airport with some staff and students. Although there have been mountains to climb and valleys to pass through, we thank God for bringing us here to help to train young men and women for ministry throughout the world. On Wednesday PIBC bid farewell to Steve and Anne Stinnette, who are leaving Guam for Steve to receive a corneal transplant in Philadelphia. After his surgery the Stinnettes will be helping in the Global Ministries Office at the Liebenzell USA headquarters in Schooley's Mountain, NJ. As PIBC Campus Director Steve served as Assistant Dean of Men Ned's direct supervisor. Anne faithfully took time every other week to have a Bible study for campus mothers that Marisol attended. Thanks, Anne and Steve, for the part you have played in our lives. You will be missed and God bless you. (Photos co...

I reported on the death of TV's "Mrs. Livingston" on August 28, 2007, saying that she had won a Tony Award. Since then I discovered that Miyoshi Umeki did not win the Tony that she was nominated for starring in the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Flower Drum Song." However, she did win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 1957's "Sayonara." Sorry for creating confusion!

This weekend we celebrated Marisol's birthday with chocolate cake and ice cream and a trip to Ypao Beach, where we ate sandwiches and stayed until the lights on Hotel Road came on. We had never stayed until nighttime before, and we enjoyed doing something new. Last night we rode the Trolley Bus for the first time since our return from PA. I thank the Lord for bringing Marisol into my life. She is a wonderful wife and mother to me, Joel and Amelia. Happy Birthday to you, and thanks for everything, Mari!

We use a water-purification system here at PIBC. As a family we make our weekly pilgrimage to the water area to fill up our three five-gallon bottles. Joel and Amelia love to "help" by accompanying us. Sometimes the students help us to deliver the water back to the apartment, such as Hansen in the picture above. In the other picture our Registrar, Ethel Laco, is giving Joel and Amelia and their friends a ride on a Sunday afternoon. These are spontaneous moments that we will miss once we move off-campus.

Photographer Joel Mark Farnsworth took this picture of Marisol with our neighbor Melissa ("Auntie Em") Heck. We will really miss being her neighbor; at the same time, we accept God's will for our lives. Read full details below. Hello there, the Farnsworth Forum is back in action. I apologize for my long silence. Getting my three classes ready for this semester took much of my time, and I must also confess that I have been somewhat discouraged about some things, and depression does not make for vibrant blog postings. We have been informed that we need to leave our present apartment and move off-campus to create necessary office space at Pacific Islands Bible College. I'm not exactly sure when this change will be made, but we are sad because this will affect our ability to build relationships with the students and will complicate my job as Assistant Dean of Men. No longer will I be able to open my door, walk a few steps and be with the young men that I am supposed to ...