Our friend, Emile, is a Congolese refugee. He was resettled in the United States three years ago, after spending more than a decade in Kiziba Refugee Camp in Rwanda.
Since being resettled, Emile's English has improved immensely. Nevertheless, he...
About a year ago, my husband and I attended a ceremony to remember the atrocities occurring in the Congo. While there, we learned what courage looks like.
We also experienced African hospitality. We were served a bounty of traditional African...
Every year around this time, I struggle with what to give our graduating seniors.
Early on in my career, I’d actually spend weeks agonizing over this. Indecisiveness would paralyze me until eventually, I’d give up and order a cheesy graduation...
My youth ministry recently held it's 8th Grade Orientation. Wanting to give 8th graders a taste of what our high school youth ministry is like, we included a discussion. My student leadership team chose the topic - identity - and I wrote the...
Last night, my train stopped shortly after it began moving due to a storm-related delay. Apparently, the power was out along the tracks, making it impossible for us to continue forward.
Immediately, commuters lashed out, complaining about the...
If you pick up my copy of Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society by Len Kageler, you'll notice that nearly every page in the last three chapters is dog-eared. It's that good.
In this book, youth ministry researcher, professor, and practitioner,...
Earlier this week, my youth ministry was asked to deliver a Welcome Pack to a newly arriving refugee family of three from Bhutan.
Even though I consider myself to be a refugee champion and even though we had the supplies on hand to do this...
In recent weeks, student leadership team interviews have taken over my life. These one-on-one meetings are follow-up conversations to the written application filled out by each applicant. They typically take about an hour each.
I know that's a LOT...
Ever since my congregation stopped kidnapping people, we've had to find new, better ways to transition our kids from one ministry to the next.
One of the best things we've done is institute an 8th grade orientation. Truthfully, we borrowed this...
Today, I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker‘s Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
This week's prompt: Grateful .
Last week, I spent 45 minutes on the phone discussing a...