Tia volunteers with Desiring God’s International Outreach department as she prepares to serve overseas full time.

Our translators have been hard at work again. Thanks to their efforts, we’ve been able to post several new sermons and articles on our site since the beginning of 2008.

Check out newly translated resources in these languages:

• German (Quest for Joy booklet)
• Romanian (5 new sermons)
• Russian (3 new sermons)
• Spanish (22 new sermons)
• Thai (Quest for Joy booklet)
• Finnish (Quest for Joy booklet)

We add translated resources regularly, so check back to find the newest materials.

Find out how you can help with the translation of Desiring God resources.

There are things we can do to help our kids love the nations and the cause of Christ, even though a heart and calling for the Great Commission is ultimately something only God can grant. Here are a few ideas from Ryan and Anna, who are currently preparing to serve in Asia with their two young daughters.

1. Pray for missionaries as a family. We keep a stack of prayer cards on the dinner table and rotate through them during mealtime prayers.

2. Read missionary biographies to your children. The stories of Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Gladys Aylward, and other missionary pioneers are captivating ways to orient a child’s heart on the most important things in life.

3. Draw the whole family into supporting missionaries financially. Teach your kids from a young age that being a good steward of their money involves channeling resources toward the the cause of Christ in missions. Older kids can donate some of their lawn mowing and babysitting money. Younger children can earn money doing chores around the house which can be set aside for missionaries.

4. Find your child a missionary kid pen pal. Many children of missionaries around the world would be delighted to get mail from a child their age in their parent’s culture. Your child (and the whole family) will learn valuable insights about living abroad through the eyes of a child. Additionally, when the missionaries visit your church, your child will already have a relationship with the MK and will be able to include them more easily.

5. Entertain missionaries in your home. Inviting missionaries over will be as much of a blessing to your family as to the missionaries. Host them for dinner or for a whole furlough. Build or buy your house with this in mind.

6. Take risks as a family. There are ways to live life which help children grasp the reality that discomfort and suffering are normal and rewarding parts of the Christian experience. Volunteer at a rescue mission; house a single mother; move to the inner-city.

7. Affirm and nurture qualities in your children which could serve them on the mission field. As your children grow in knowledge and skill, encourage them to think about how they could use their gifts in missions work. Then, if God says, “go,” release them to go!

8. Teach your children to be world Christians. Don't expose them to only the American perspective on news and realities around the world. Go out of your way to make them more aware than the average American Christian about geography, world history, and the plights and perspectives of people across the globe.

9. Read missionary prayer letters to your children. Ask them questions about the content and look up facts about the missionaries’ location on the Internet.

10. Use missions fact books and resources such as Operation World, the Global Prayer Digest, the Joshua Project, and Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). Kids of Courage is the youth-oriented arm of VOM and offers activity books, spotlights on the persecuted world, and more.

Most of all, pray every day that your kids will develop hearts that mirror God’s compassion for the nations and love for his glory in them!

Making plans for summer? If you’re interested in being completely stretched, battling discouragement, experiencing new kinds of joy, and significantly widening your perspective of God’s heart for the nations, check out some of these short-term opportunities.

• Pioneers
• Frontiers
• Christar
• AIM

These links represent only a few of the many opportunities available. For a longer directory of missions agencies, see Urbana’s list.

Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are children who grow up in a culture other than their parents’. Their “home” culture is the first culture; their “host” culture, the second. And they live in the middle, the “third” culture. TCKs include children of missionaries or other international workers. They face unique struggles in their lives of transition. It’s our privilege as the body of Christ to provide care for them as they join with their parents in God’s call on their lives to be overseas.

Here are 15 ideas from the TCK Advocate at Frontiers on how to love TCKs:

1. Begin a relationship with one—or with a whole family of TCKs. Commit to keeping in touch with them. Many people are in TCK’s lives for only a short time. The long-term people are few and greatly appreciated. Be one of those long-term people.
2. Seek them out when they are “home” visiting your country. Make it a priority to spend time with them when they come back.
3. Learn their names. This may seem small, but many people only know their parents’ names; it is significant to them when people remember their names as well.
4. Listen to them. Ask meaningful questions about their lives.
5. Introduce your kids to them. Encourage them to exchange pictures with each other and send cards and emails to each other when they are apart.
6. Go visit them in their country!
7. Invite a college-age TCK whose parents are overseas to live with you.
8. Invite TCKs who are in your area without their parents to come over for holidays and school breaks. They may need an adopted family. Communicate with their parents and encourage them in their relationship with their parents.
9. Learn about what it’s like to grow up as a TCK. Visit websites like TC Kid or MisLinks.
10. Pray for the TCKs when you pray for their parents. Pray Scripture for the children. Read some suggestions on how to pray for them.
11. Encourage families as they make decisions for educating their children overseas. Many families choose to use local schools so their child can be a part of the culture. Be encouraging and pray that their children will shine for Jesus in their schools. Some find that boarding school is the best option for their children. Other families desire to homeschool their children. Consider sharing your resources with them or visiting a homeschooling fair on their behalf.
12. Consider giving them your frequent flyer miles to help with transportation to and from their two countries.
13. Send quality paperback books to TCKs overseas. Books can be like best friends and will be re-read and shared with others.
14. Don’t be surprised if TCKs do not seem to appreciate your culture like you do. TCKs often feel overwhelmed by all the excesses in American culture. For example, they may feel surprised by the size of grocery stores, how often people eat out, the high cost of entertainment and how often people “splurge,” the lack of modest clothing even in the church, the sensuality in TV shows and movies, and how much people eat in one sitting.
15. Get advice right from the source—ask TCKs what makes them feel loved and supported.

One of my Muslim friends was offended recently. Two Jehovah’s Witnesses had visited his family a few times and had spent hours telling his family about their religious group and their views.

In return, my friend’s family offered to give the women information about Islam. The two women agreed to come back and learn more. My friend and his family put a great deal of time and effort into collecting useful information for them.

However, after some time, only one woman came back. And even though she showed up, she showed little interest in discussing Islam. Not surprisingly, my friend had zero interest in her religion either.

Granted, I wouldn’t be excited about him becoming a Jehovah’s Witness, so I’m not too disappointed he was turned off to them. But I want to make sure I don’t come across the same way.

Proverbs 18:19 says, “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city.”

Should we tiptoe around with sealed lips to avoid offense? Definitely not. But the cross should be the only stumbling block, not our refusal to listen well. By showing respect through our willingness to listen to Muslims’ thoughts, we may also earn their respect. If we listen to their message, they are far more likely to listen to ours.

I bet you’d be surprised just how willing a Muslim friend or co-worker would be to have a conversation with you about your faith in God when you ask him about his.

Were you unable to send a Christmas present or care package to some missionaries you love this season? It’s okay. You can still bless a missionary this Christmas.

[Update: It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway—even though Christmas is past, these ideas can still encourage our friends overseas. Let's keep serving them all year long!]

Here are 13 post-office-free ideas to get you started, most of which you could do right now from your desk:

• Pray specific Scripture for them and their ministry, and then email it to them.
• Call or email their parents—Christmas might be just as lonely for the ones at home as the ones away.
• Purchase phone minutes for an international calling card through an online service like OneSuite and email them the account number.
• Donate frequent flier miles to them.
• Purchase an iTunes gift card for them. Have it sent to you and email them the account number.
• Commit to pray for them on a specific day of the week for a year.
• Write a song or poem or story for them. Email them the text and a recording of you reading or singing it.
• Get friends and family together to create a holiday video greeting for them using Google Video or YouTube. Include lots of people you know they miss.
• Make a year-end gift through their missions board or agency.
• Western Union—the fastest way to send money.
• Call their local florist (not everyone is in the jungle these days) and have flowers delivered, or their local Pizza Hut and have pizza delivered—with corn and shrimp as toppings!
• Donate to a charity that means a lot to them.
• Make a monthly commitment to support them financially.

If you have your own ideas, respond to this post and let us know what they are. Maybe next year we can offer 50 suggestions, or 100.

(Remember to use discernment in written or video communication if your missionaries work in security-sensitive locations.)

Seven years ago Augustine Bookroom launched in South Africa with a vision to put sound evangelical and reformed literature into the hands of as many people as possible. Since then, the Pretoria-based bookseller has distributed God-centered materials in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and other African countries. Augustine Bookroom provides a cost-effective way for individuals, seminaries, counseling institutions, and other groups in Africa to purchase Christian resources including many from Desiring God.

Do you live outside the United States and encounter difficulty in getting our resources shipped to you?  View our list of international booksellers to see whether one of these distributors might be a more convenient ordering option for you.

Prosperity gospel teaching in Africa continues to concern many lovers of God-exalting, biblical theology. Pastor Vincent lived in Africa for several years, teaching and preaching the Scriptures. He often felt “alone in the camp” in the midst of the rising popularity of prosperity gospel preachers. However, deeply convicted by Edwards, Bunyan, and others, Pastor Vincent continued to persevere in teaching the whole counsel of the Gospel.

Recently, he returned to visit South Africa and nearby countries with copies of Desiring God and For Your Joy to distribute to pastors and lay people. He longs for the people of these areas to combat the glittery deception of prosperity gospel with solid and beautiful Truth.

Do you know anyone working in or traveling to prosperity gospel-influenced areas of Africa? Consider supplying them with copies of For Your Joy or other books to distribute there. May the joy found in Jesus Christ be shown to be far greater than any material wealth acquired on earth!

How did several copies of Sed de Dios (Desiring God in Spanish) wend their way into the remote mountains of Peru this fall? Jeff, ministering in Peru, had planned a pastor’s retreat for September. When he heard about Desiring God’s $5 book sale in June, he ordered several copies for the event. A short-term group brought the books from Florida to Peru for him.

Jeff presented each of the 17 pastors with a copy of Desiring God and they studied the book during the retreat. Some of the pastors came from villages high in the mountains and will bring the truths absorbed from the conference back to the people there. One pastor commented that he was “ruined” by the book, meaning that he didn’t have an excuse anymore not to be joyful in God.