Through May and June I read Mission to the Headhunters by Frank and Marie Drown and Through Gates of Splendor (affiliate link) by Elisabeth Elliot. Both tell of missionaries going to Ecuador. Mission to the Headhunters tells of the Drown's 37 years as missionaries among the Shuar and Atshuar tribes; Through Gates of Splendor tells of the martyrdom of five missionaries (Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Jim Elliot) trying to reach the Aucas. Through Gates of Splendor takes place during the time covered in Mission to the Headhunters and many of the characters are the same. In fact, Drowns worked with "Roj" and Nate , and Frank led the operation to recover the bodies at Palm Beach.

My main thought in pondering these books is about the cost of missions. Jim Elliot's famous quote "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" is demonstrated in these stories. Both books tell of missionaries who knew the risks of going to the jungle to reach violent tribes. While technology made some parts of life easier for these missionaries, their missions were not easy by any definition. Whether the cost was 37 years and difficulties raising a family in Ecuadorian jungles or five men dying and leaving behind families- the cost of taking the gospel was high.

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I've decided that I'm going to combine May's book Mission to the Headhunters with June's Through Gates of Splendor into one post later in June for the Missionary Biography Challenge. Honestly, I'm a little behind in my reading, so I hope this will give me a chance to catch up. The two books are related, so I think combining them will work well.

Have you been reading missionary biographies? I would love it if you would share your experience in the comments.

I apologize for the tardiness of this post. My April book for my Missionary Biography Challenge was Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor (Hudson Taylor's son and daughter-in-law). Hudson Taylor was an English missionary to China and the founder of China Inland Mission.

In this biography, one of the strongest recurring themes was God's provision. At times, Taylor almost seemed a bit foolish, perhaps to be testing God, in the manner in which he relied on God to meet his needs (the particular example that comes to mind is not asking his employer to be paid after said employer had requested that Taylor remind him when his salary was due). However God did meet his needs. It wasn't always easy or comfortable, but God provided. This provision was frequently at the last hour, but it was on time and never in the form of debt (of which Taylor disapproved).

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One of my little quirks is that I have a set of "rules" about mixing things with chocolate. I'm not sure "rules" is an accurate representation, but it is how my quirk has been named. The rules are just the outworking of my chocolate philosophy.

My chocolate philosophy can be boiled down to the following statement: when mixing chocolate and other ingredients, they should be better together than apart. This means that I frequently dislike certain common pairings.

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Since all our dishes are washed by hand, sometimes I need more drying room than my dish drainers (I have a small one that fits in the sink and a larger one that I set on the counter) provide. To solve this, I sometimes use cooling racks for extra drying space. The cooling racks allow for air flow underneath, so the dishes dry quickly and thoroughly.

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I find serving ice cream in a tea cup is helpful for portion control. A portion that looks tiny in a bowl can look reasonable in a cup. It also adds a touch of elegance that makes the ice cream experience even better.

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I recently read No: Why Kids — of All Ages — Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It by David Walsh, PhD. I heard Dr. Walsh on a radio talk show and the neighborhood branch of our library had his book, so I picked it up.

What I Liked

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April's book for the Missionary Biography Challenge is Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor.

My March biography for my Missionary Biography Challenge was St. Patrick of Ireland by Philip Freeman. I wasn't particularly impressed with this particular book, but the story of St. Patrick is still worthwhile.

Born into a well-off British family, Patrick was captured and became an Irish slave. Like Joseph's slavery though, God meant it for good. This slavery seems to be when Patrick's learning of Christianity became faith. It also had practical implications; he learned the language and culture of the Irish people to whom he was enslaved.

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How would you handle important events for friends and family with which you disagree with the concept or correctness of the ceremony? Does it make a difference if the event is important to a child or an adult? Perhaps you even find the event sinful. Specific examples or general rules are welcome.

Here are some potential situations:

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