I remember the day it all started: this sense that borders were mine for the crossing and children everywhere deserved permanency. It was supposed to be just a week, something to experience. I had no idea on this summer afternoon in 1996 that everything would shift to the point that I would never again live… Read more
It’s been 30 years since I took my first international trip. Back then, my parents walked me to the gate, and people still dressed up for the privilege of air travel. Much has changed, and over my 20+ years as a missionary and traveling speaker, I have gathered the following travel tips I pray will… Read more
I am more convicted than ever, if we don’t share what real love is, the world they live in never will.
1 I am going to say “Yes” to people. In the end of Jesus’ ministry, we know more about the people He interacted with than the tasks He accomplished. 2 I am going to say “Sorry” more often. With each year I am painfully more aware feeling right leaves me feeling empty. Feeling compassionate and contrite… Read more
A Nigerian son, reading to his grandmother the Christmas story in English, having been taught to read in the village education center. A Nigerian girl who this year will study high school and dream of a future as a nurse. An Indian boy, who now sleeps through the night, feeling safe at the ministry campus. … Read more
Todd stood on a stage recently and shared how “God has always had more than one mission in mind…” His point: while we thought we were giving to and serving the vulnerable child, He’s meanwhile been busy renewing and restoring us. I once believed loving the orphan was all about them, but it turns out in… Read more
We were on a prayer walk, visiting families in their homes who receive services at the Tres Reyes Community Center. At each stop, we’d be introduced to the members of the family and hear what they wanted us to lift in prayer. It was usually for provision, health needs, or broken relationships. The mother would… Read more
It may be hard to envision right now but, not too long in the future, this property will be bustling with staff and mission guests. It will be welcoming caregivers from other organizations and from local children’s homes coming for trauma training. Haiti is hard to describe. It’s beautiful, impoverished, complex. It’s full of proud… Read more
I’ve had a steep growth curve over the last twenty years of ministry. I had to learn a new language and culture, and gain skills in communication and leadership. But nothing compares to what I have learned while becoming fluent in hard stories. I didn’t have much experience in wading through the messy kind, those… Read more
As we crested over the hill to the Rancho de los Niño’s property in Mazatlán, Mexico, I could see the rooftops of the new homes Back2Back was constructing for the sixteen children with disabilities living there. My eyes couldn’t help but fill with tears as we pulled in. It had been months since I had… Read more