Participant Blogs

    I always thought the words  and then  were a prelude to something wonderful. Like seeing a ship come in or finding a note in your letterbox, when you weren't expecting one. That swift, surprising transition from nothing to everything.  And then .   Two little words that hold a world of promise.  And then  the light pierced through the dark sky, and the rain stopped falling.    And then  I met you.    Uganda, experiencing you was like being ten hears old again, scaling a tree with my eyes bright and skyward, wanting to get higher and higher...

"Be Still." Two words. Constant and always present. Having morning coffee, I hear it: "Be Still." Swimming in the clear blue ocean. Walking on snow white sand. Watching a Fiery red sunset. "Be Still." Fellowshipping with people who have become family. Listening to music, old and new. Feeling the presence of God. Be Still. Two very simple words, put together to speak chapters. Our time in Tanzania and especially Zanzibar has taught me a very important thing. And that is to practice the pause. When in doubt pause. When angry or irritated, pause. When tired or stressed, Pause. And when...

When I first laid my eyes on you and the rolling hills you sat upon. I thought what amazing luck I have that God had created such beautiful things and gave me the eyes to see them.    I am forever changed by your existence. You are a place filled with so many stories and I feel so privileged to share some of these stories with you. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again....

I've recently felt lead to dive into the theme of mercy and to discover what it looks like. For in the passage of the Good Samaritan, a man is shown that his neighbor is the person who he has mercy on. The one that he helps physically, financially and emotionally after being beet up by robbers. God requires mercy and not sacrifice. Further on we learn about a master who forgives his debtor an enormous amount of money, whereafter he states "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave even as I had mercy on you". It...

My mind is blown. My foundations shaken. Suffering is still a thing? It's still happening? Why do we not know about this? Why did I not know about this? Do people actually know what is going on? Do people actually realize that there are PEOPLE in these circumstances. Living breathing people. What do you do in a situation like this? What can you do? Deliver a heater and a stove? A few mattresses, pillows, gas? Just enough food to get by for maybe a month? Show LOVE. We've been in the Middle East for three weeks now. Visiting families and...