Merry Christmas to All!

Feliz Navidad y Dios les bendiga en 2011. Please forgive the Spanish greeting; we (except Marisol) need to practice for our return to Ecuador next summer.

Thank you for all your prayers. 2010 has proved to be more challenging than we thought. First, we left Guam and Pacific Islands University in June, which presented our family with a HUGE transition. Then Ned's Dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September and underwent surgery. We invite your prayers for his upcoming treatments which start on December 27. Finally, two dear friends died within a couple months.

Through all of this we have found God to be as faithful as ever. We have participated in a number of missions conferences and meetings; God has blessed us through these opportunities to refresh existing friendships and establish many new ones. We really thank God for that.

Joel and Amelia are thriving in our local church's Awana program on Wednesday nights, and Ned and Marisol attend prayer meeting at the same time. The children enjoy swimming lessons at the YMCA and continue to grow and learn (the parents, too!) in home school.

2011 will bring more challenges and changes for us. Ned will undergo ordination at Iglesia Bautista Betania in Reading, PA on Saturday, March 12 (please pray!), and moving to Ecuador promises another BIG transition. But our God is BIGGER!

We thank you for your friendship and partnership. God uses you to help us along each step of our lives. May you reflect on Him and His love for you during this Christmas season. His love came down in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God bless you at Christmas and always. We love you.

Ned, Marisol, Joel and Amelia Farnsworth

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goodbye Guam, Alii Palau!

Image
Here is a recap of the final days of our friends Hiob and Leah and their children Micah and Jireh in Guam. They have returned to Palau where Hiob will serve as senior pastor of the Koror Evangelical Church. We all started together at PIBC back in fall 2006 and we have worked together, laughed together, cried together, prayed together, and grown together. Although it is hard to say goodbye, we know that they will be a blessing to the Church in Palau, and we find comfort in the words of the Michael W. Smith song "Friends": friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them. Amen! We had a BBQ in their honor on campus at the beginning of June before the Thai mission team left. Delight posed with Micah and Hiob during a break from barbecuing. He is a fantastic barbecuer. Notice he's even holding the tongs, to a barbecuer what a hammer is to a carpenter. As always, everyone enjoyed the food, the centerpiece of any Micronesian celebration. Before our friends left,
Read more

GOOD THINGS HAPPENING 3

Image
 A little background to this story.  I have been a fan of The Waltons from the beginning of the series.  In 2017 I attended the 45th anniversary celebration of the show in Schuyler, Virginia, the small hamlet where the series' creator Earl Hamner, Jr., was born and raised.  Perhaps I can share a bit more about that in a future post. During that weekend in March 2017 I met Reen Christie Bula (a/k/a Tammi Bula), who played John-Boy's love interest Marcia Woolery in the early seasons. Here is a shot of Reen and me, As well as a shot of all the cast member in attendance at the reunion with the exception of Michael Learned who went to bed early due to a play appearance the following day. During the weekend Reen, her husband Gordon and I shared time together, and she shared with me her testimony, how she came to the Lord through the witness of friends (she was working as an RN at the time) and how she saw the sign of Pi in the sky one day which prompted her to check out John 3:14-16
Read more

Guilty Pleasure!

Last Friday night the female staff of Pacific Islands Bible College had a Ladies Night to talk about marriage, dating, and relationships with the female students. I stayed home and put Joel to bed. Then I watched the final two episodes of the third season of "Homicide." (We do not have any TV reception here, so the only TV we get is by VHS or DVD). My mom used to ask me why I watched "Homicide" because in her mind it was a depressing show. To me it always dealt with serious issues in a meaningful way (racism against immigrants, the consequences of adultery, male/female work conflicts, etc.), plus the writing was rivoting and the performances were stellar. That was really the last TV show I had a true passion for. I enjoyed having the time to do that, to have some down time to escape from students arriving late to class,; grading papers, tests and quizzes; and dealing with discipline issues as Assistant Dean of Men. Here I present to you a list of my favorite TV dram
Read more