Stories & Updates

Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Grateful for the Word That Finds Me

What if opening our Bibles was less about completing a reading plan and more about discovering the God who speaks? Through Job's questions and Peter's encounter with Jesus, I'm discovering a deeper gratitude for the Word of God—not simply for what it teaches me, but for the extraordinary God it reveals.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

What Have I Buried?

.Matthew 25 brought an uncomfortable question: What have I done with what God entrusted to me? As I considered what fear might have kept buried, a simple invitation from my grandson reminded me that faithful stewardship begins with being with God—not performing for Him.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Tend the Soil

When conviction turns into condemnation, how do we return to God? A reflection on Luke 13, repentance, abiding, and allowing God to tend the soil.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Remember That You Are Loved

After repentance came a reminder of God's love. A reflection on Song of Songs, receiving His delight, and remembering that correction is not rejection, but love.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Return to the Fountain

What happens when doing for God begins to replace being with God? A journey through Jeremiah, cracked cisterns, repentance, and returning to the Fountain.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

You Never Know What God is Doing

Two baptisms, one unexpected encounter, and a powerful reminder that God is working in hearts we cannot see. An encouragement to keep praying and serving.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

The Legacy of Ordinary Yeses

What if legacy is built through thousands of ordinary acts of obedience? A story of daily faithfulness, generational discipleship, and the God who turns simple yeses into an eternal legacy.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

The Wisdom to Ask Another Question

Sometimes the first answer isn't the whole answer. A simple request for paint became an invitation to look closer, ask better questions, and discover what loving well might require.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Already On The Way

Sometimes God gives the instruction before He reveals the provision. A story of faith, obedience, and learning to take the next step before you can see the whole way.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Tuition, Pottery & Afrikaans

Missionaries in South Africa rely entirely on the generosity of God’s people for every aspect of life, including school tuition. Discover how one unexpected gift of $6,000 became a reminder that generosity is ministry too.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

A Place to Gather

A small church in Khayelitsha, South Africa, needed just $180 to keep their meeting place for another year. This is a story of faith, obedience, and God’s provision through the Body of Christ.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Four Seats At The Table

A simple invitation. Four seats at a table. One family forever changed. Discover how God used an ordinary Alpha gathering in South Africa to transform lives through hospitality, community, and the gospel.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

When Missionary Care is the Ministry

Sometimes the most important ministry isn't another project—it's caring for the missionaries who faithfully serve others. Discover why missionary care is not a distraction from ministry, but ministry itself.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Built for More

A young man living with cerebral palsy entered a South African trade skills ministry unsure of what he could accomplish. What followed became a powerful testimony of dignity, perseverance, discipleship, and the transformational power of the Gospel.


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Austi Cole Austi Cole

A Global Umbrella

A daughter shares how a NICU stay and global prayers transformed her understanding of missions, faith, and community in this heartfelt Summer of Celebration story from Umbwella's Stand.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Twenty Years, Three Years, and the Battle in Between

A missionary anniversary story about marriage, spiritual warfare, obedience, and redemption. Elias and Tanisha’s twenty years of marriage and three years in South Africa reveal the battle that came before the calling and the faithfulness of God through it all.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Friends in Faraway Places

Friendship is one of God’s sweetest provisions, especially for missionaries serving far from home. A reflection on how God provides community, connection, and family through unexpected friendships across the globe.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Tuesday Night Picnics in Kandern

A simple weekly picnic in Kandern, Germany became a powerful reminder that ministry often happens through ordinary hospitality, intentional presence, and creating space for weary people to connect and be refreshed.


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Jacki Farley Jacki Farley

Held While Holding

A weary missionary serving in South Africa discovers that while holding abandoned babies at Hannah’s Place of Safety, God is gently holding and restoring her too. A story of quiet ministry, healing, and the faithfulness of God in ordinary places.


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