Skipping Thanksgiving?

I faltered this year. I suggested to my wife and kids that we celebrate Thanksgiving by eating out at a restaurant. Can you believe it? I actually had Renee talked into it, but those children…

Thanksgiving with Grandpa George, Kyrgyzstan 2006.

Thanksgiving has always been a big holiday for our family. Wherever in the world we have found ourselves over the past 20+ years, we have had friends and family with whom to celebrate this special Day of Thanks. With lots of planning for the occasion, the locating of just the right ingredients in foreign countries, and the grand times of feasts and fellowship with friends and family, each Thanksgiving holiday was highly anticipated, a labor of love, and left us with lasting memories.

However, this year we find ourselves in a new country and missing our friends and family. I mean, we are still trying to figure out where to buy life’s essentials, let alone the necessities for a festive celebration. So the Grinch (me) entered into our family and woefully suggested an alternative menu and a different locale.

Unacceptable! There were no mean words, but looks of wonder and astonishment. My children were aghast. “Father, how could we?” Although they are missing loved ones this year as well, they were ready to celebrate this special day with just our family. And so I find myself doing what I don’t want to do–shopping for a ham (which should be a bit easier since we are not in a Muslim country this year, but I am still having difficulty). I do have a secret though–since the kids haven’t mentioned sweet potatoes, I think I am off the hook on that one.

The main purpose of Thanksgiving does not change. In fact, perhaps the adjustment for us this year gets us even closer to the heart of the holiday. Yes, Thanksgiving is a time of gratefulness for family, friends, and loved ones. But when those things are stripped away from us, we see the need to continue to give thanks to a God who created us, saved us, and wants to be glorified in and through us. “Oh give thanks to the Lord…and make knows His deeds among the peoples!” Psalm 105:1. If you find yourself a little short on family or friends this Thanksgiving, join with us in reading though Ephesian chapter one–a list of all of the spiritual blessings that are available to us in Christ. And then, find ways to get involved in sharing those blessings with the nations.

• We are thankful for the priceless gift of salvation, and the many spiritual blessings in Christ.
• We are thankful for the privilege of serving the Lord overseas.
• We are thankful for the many who partner with us in making His deeds known among the nations.
• We are thankful for the legacy of those who have gone on before us.

By His Grace,

Jed Gourley

P.S. If you would like to read our latest newsletter, please click here to download it.

Goodreads Review of Distant Fields!

“Distant Fields by Jed Gourley proved to be one of those books, one of those stories that would confirm that God can use anyone regardless of background, if they would surrender completely to Him. I’ve always enjoyed reading missionary stories such as the Hudson twins to Asia, or of the Elliots and their fateful trip into Inca territory. I’ve enjoyed stories such as “God’s Smuggler” about Brother Andrew, “Tortured for Christ” about Wirmbrand, and like George, I too have read “Revolution in World Missions”. So to read George’s story and to discover myself a contemporary to half his children, was amazing. Then to discover that he had some of the same character-quirk hang-ups that I do, made the ability to relate even stronger.

The style of writing was very personal, like that of reading a memoire more than a biography of one’s life. Eventually I’d discover that the author was (spoiler alert) married to one of George’s kids. This made the telling of the story very personal, and it was impossible to miss the growing sense of “goodbye” that was looming as the author approached the latter pages of the book. Most professional editors would have had a conniption at Jed’s sentence fragments, or worse, at his use of the occasional single-word sentence, but he was writing this way on purpose. This book is a very personal work, and to remove some of the conversational structure of the writing would have been to render it’s heart anemic. The telling of this story was both personal and introductory.

As I sit here now writing out my thoughts, I too am left with a sense of what this world has lost. I look forward to meeting George in heaven one day and am grateful to hear that his family continues to reach out to people on the mission field and at home.”

By Marilynn Dawson
Author of “Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey”, “Mom’s Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate”, “Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author” and “Dressed for Eternity”.

Mp3 of George Markey’s Last Message!

Now available for download!

Many have inquired about obtaining a copy of the last message that George Markey gave at the mission’s conference. It was given a little more than a month before he passed away. Much of his message is a summary of his life, as well as lessons he learned as a pastor both in the U.S. and overseas. The mp3 audio recording can now be found here.

Kindle ebook of Distant Fields–Now Available!

Announcing the release of Distant Fields in Kindle format! Get your copy here or by searching for “Distant Fields” in the Kindle Store.

After you have read the book, we would appreciate your review on the Amazon page for Distant Fields. Thanks!

$2.00 Off Discount Code!

I just got a discount code from the printer. This is the code: U37QP9DY  It is for $2.00 off and is to be applied at check out. Again, here is the site: https://www.createspace.com/4853600

If anyone is interested in bulk orders for reselling at churches or book stores, let us know and we will look into getting discount codes for those. Just use the contact page to let us know.

Please note: The discount code only works with CreateSpace, not Amazon.
Discount ends July 4th, 2014

Distant Fields – Now for Sale!

Distant Fields is now for sale through the printing company, CreateSpace–a subsidiary company of Amazon. You can purchase the book by clicking here, or by copying the following address into your browser: (https://www.createspace.com/4853600).

Please share this information with anyone whom you think would be interested. All marketing of this resource is by word-of-mouth right now, so, any sharing, emailing, tweeting, or anything else that you can do will be helpful.

Distant Fields will “go live” on the main Amazon site in about 3-5 days. Once it does go live, we appreciate any helpful reviews (especially positive ones :-)). There is also a Kindle version coming soon, and perhaps other formats as needed.

We appreciate all of the prayers and assistance in making this book a reality. May God be glorified, and may the Gospel of Jesus Christ continue to go into the Distant Fields of the world.

A Cheerful Heart

Did you know that George was a cheerleader in high school?

Always wanting to have fun, although sometimes that would get him into trouble. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Prov. 17:22)

Sailor George

Although innocent looking, young George Markey was known to be mischievous.

Due to the lack of discipline and spiritual input in his own young life, in his later years, George would talk frequently about the verse: “Train up a child in the way in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6)