By Seth Barnes, Jr. and Traci Van Sumeren Continued from Unlikely Gift: Raising a baby in Africa The world is a place of incredible pain and redemption. If what C.S. Lewis says about pain being “God’s megaphone,” how do we make sense of tragedies that pierce our ear drums? Yesterday, we heard the story of … Continue reading Funeral for an orphan: Death brings life
By Julian Newman I had the most amazing and awkward experience almost four weeks ago. I was on my way to coach my basketball team but needed to take care of some quick details at our church office. So I jumped in the car and started down the street. Making a right turn onto the … Continue reading Not Jesus: Bad church marketing
By Katherine Spearing Illegal immigration has been an important issue in the United States. It still is. I have my own sentiments about this issue and those sentiments were greatly influenced by an encounter I had with some unique people. I attended a language school in Guatemala for three months in the beginning of 2007. … Continue reading One Sad Truth of Immigration
By Jeff Goins, Editor The train rocked back and forth. I drifted in and out of sleep, almost in sync with the titillations of the locomotive. How long did it take to get to Lisbon from Madrid, any way? We’d be there by morning, I told myself as I closed my eyes and tried to … Continue reading The Adventure of Not Knowing: Stepping into discomfort
By Josh Casper Her name means Imagination. She is God’s. She is beautiful. She has known such great pain and I have no way to relate. We find her broken on the concrete, which resembles her state of mind. Her ankle, broken open. Exposing bone, broken flesh, broken body. A site I have seen too … Continue reading Imagination: A woman in Kolkata, India
By Chad Mast As I pulled off down the street thinking about my future, raising support and a multitude of other things, I felt led to go towards my old high school. I pulled through the traffic and turned on a street towards my old school when a homeless woman caught my attention in the … Continue reading Weeping with the Lord: Finding God’s heart in unlikely places
By Casey Barefield The Wisdom of a Nicaraguan Day Truth is best created in vulnerability and safety; Love is best applied liberally and graciously; Servant-hood is best displayed in a cheerful face and a joyous heart; A Savior is best exemplified by a Death and a Resurrection. The Gravity Above Out of a kaleidoscope of … Continue reading Two Poems from Latin America
By Karen Swank I got out my walking shoes yesterday…the ones I wore for pretty much every step of the year we spent prayer walking Mercer County. They’ve been in semi-retirement since I broke a lace, waiting under my bed for the next assignment. I stopped on the way home from church to get new … Continue reading Holy Moments on the Road of Life
By Kari Miller The life of a widow is an exercise in patience, persistence and deep disappointment, especially in Uganda. First comes the grieving. The deep, deep sadness in losing the one you love, the one you committed your life to, the one you had your children with. The memory of that exceedingly happy day … Continue reading Life of a Widow
By Stephanie Fisk It is estimated that nearly 27 million individuals are enslaved around the globe today. Unfortunately, slavery has not disappeared, but is a thriving 30 billion dollar industry. Vulnerable individuals, otherwise known as “the disposable people”, are often tricked into becoming sex slaves, domestic or bonded servants, or child soldiers. Many are trafficked … Continue reading Biking Against Human Trafficking