What worries you? Or maybe a better question, What keeps you up at night? It was January of this year that I was laying in bed and my mind would not turn off. We had opened our 2019 Mexico trip registrations two months earlier and our sign-ups were not where I thought they should be. … Continue reading Thorns →

Over the course of the last few months, there has been some “high profile” Christians who have stated that they are walking away from Christianity. Their list of reasons are different, but yet have similar reasons why. Josh Harris said, “By all measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christians.” The … Continue reading “God Said it, I Believe it, and…Wait, it’s Not Settled.” →

Eleven years ago we began to dream about what could be. We began to ask “what if” questions.  -“What if we were to facilitate service trips to Mexico as our full-time job?”  -“What if we made a safe place for students to feel loved and accepted for who they are?”  -“What would happen if students … Continue reading A Big Dream, A Big Risk, and 10 Years Later →

Proximity means,” nearness in space, time, or relationship.” I was there when a student I was mentoring received a phone call about his grandfather’s passing. I could hear the pain in his voice as he talked on the phone with his parents. I could see the tears rolling down his face. I could feel the … Continue reading Proximity “You will always have the poor among you.” (Part 2)
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The last few weeks we have visited and served people who live on the old Tijuana dump. Houses made out of scraps of wood. Fences built out of the garbage that has been thrown away, a broken table, an old box spring, and other thrown away items. Seeing how people live like this can feel … Continue reading Did Jesus Justify Poverty? “You will always have the poor among you.” (Part 1) →

Honestly, going to the zoo is not one of my favorite activities. But the one time I did enjoy it was for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. My daughter’s favorite animal is the elephant and the only place we could see a real live elephant was the Oakland Zoo. So we packed into our car with … Continue reading What do Short-Term Missions have to do with a zoo? →

I love questions. I love asking questions. Many times a question can lead to another question. It is essential that we ask good hard questions about many things in the world, especially as it relates to short-term missions or any service work we are doing. Before we go, we need to ask good questions. When … Continue reading The most important question you can ask. →

If you are like me, you want to have a successful short-term mission trip where you honor and dignify everyone involved, especially those you are serving.  We want to be useful to those we are serving while being aware of the possible negative impact we are having on the community. It is our hope that … Continue reading Are We Using the Poor for the Benefit of Our Short-Term Mission Trips? →

There are many people who are considered to be on the “front lines” of ministry that work with people who are in desperate need: helping refugees, feeding and clothing the homeless, providing for immigrants, caring for orphans, freeing slaves. These are amazing people who are giving and sacrificing their lives to live in very hard … Continue reading No Skill Required →

They traveled thousands of miles.  They left home and family. They risked their lives. Why?  Hope. Hope for a better life. Hope for a life without fear of violence. Hope for safety for their children.  Hope. The hope that many of these migrants have in a better life, a safer life, drove them to risk … Continue reading Hope and the Migrant Caravan →