This year my youth ministry is offering two summer mission trips: A domestic trip to a nearby town (that we offer every other year) and an international trip to Haiti.
Some of our families do both trips but others choose only one. We know this. In...
One of the things I'm most excited about this year in ministry are my leaders. We met last week for training and I walked away thinking, “There's one word to describe that meeting: Holy.”
One reason why I'm particularly excited about this group of...
What I'm Reading:
Fiction:
If there's one thing summer is NOT for me, it's relaxing. Summer is the season of mission trips... Which means life is chaotic and full. Nevertheless, I read 9 fiction books during the last two months.
...
During our first day in San Diego with The Global Immersion Project, we met with a young woman named Nohemi. Although she didn't know it until she was older, Nohemi came to the US undocumented as a young child. She worked hard in school to earn...
Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
This week's prompt: Build.
Days before leaving for our Peacemaking Trip, I was struggling with...
A week ago, I held a logistics meeting for our combined junior high and high school mission trip. This is an interesting trip because it's filled with a mix of students, some of whom are going on their first ever mission trip; Others who are...
Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
This week's prompt: Rest.
I woke up with a migraine yesterday, the worst I've had in a long...
I am in countdown mode. I leave for our intergenerational Peacemaking trip on Sunday, a mere three days from now. This will be the first time I've been away from my nearly 13-month old daughter for longer than a few hours since she was born. In...
Part of the “magic” of mission trips and events like the 30 Hour Famine is that they take place outside of the normal context of students’ lives. Often, they take place in a different location, away from teens’ family and friends. In so doing,...
At a recent conference, I attended a workshop where, among other things, the presenter made the case for using gender-neutral pronouns to teach children and youth about God.
This is a debate that rages in a lot of circles. People fear that if we...