I can smell the woodpile outside our house burning. The accumulation of dried brush, old leaves, and a tree felled a few months ago. The bonfire crackles in the smoky, damp evening, and suddenly, my stomach lurches, and I’m flung back across the ocean, across time, to Indiana cornfields. To pumpkins and to leaves soContinue reading “On being all there”
Tag Archives: missions
The first American missionary was black
I only learned about this a few weeks ago. For most people, you’re probably like, “I don’t even know what a missionary is, so what if the first one was black?” But when you’re a missionary kid like me who grew up in church hearing stories of missionaries all the time, the fact that thisContinue reading “The first American missionary was black”
“Not in my name”: How injustice inhibits evangelism
In Christian communities (churches, missionary groups etc) there often springs up this debate about whether we should be putting funds and resources towards social justice issues or towards evangelism. Here’s how the debate goes, for those of you who aren’t privy to Christian internal disputes.
The Underbelly of being Radical: Guest Posting over at A Life Overseas!
A Life Overseas is a fantastic blog if you’re interested in honest conversations about missions. They talk about everything from emotional health, to finances, to the pressures of ministry, to language learning, to parenting, to Third Culture kids, to figuring out how to cook. If I do say so myself, missionary kids have a pretty high BSContinue reading “The Underbelly of being Radical: Guest Posting over at A Life Overseas!”
See you at the wedding
The old missionaries say that in their day, the 3 week boat trip was part of the grieving and transition process– the first half of the trip was spent saying goodbye to one country, and the second half was looking forward to the new. We’ve had lots of goodbyes this past week, and we’re lookingContinue reading “See you at the wedding”
The State of Western Missions, talking donkeys and a video
I am now an avid fan of the Phil Vischer podcast (creator of Veggie Tales and What’s in the Bible). I’m a fan for many reasons, especially because he mentioned Taylor University by name in his most recent podcast. He also talked about his uncle who left (abandoned??!) his wife and kids for three yearsContinue reading “The State of Western Missions, talking donkeys and a video”
On Being Needy
I’ve been reading Kenneth Bailey’s “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes”. One of the things I’ve been struck with again and again is how humble Jesus is. Not just the whole incarnation God humbling himself to become a man thing. That was amazing. But even the kind of man that Jesus was is amazing. HeContinue reading “On Being Needy”
100 Paper hearts, answering emails, and other ordinary amazing things
So, I thought I should tell you what I do with my life, when all the awesome people I work with are in Sweetwaters teaching Life Skills and being, well, awesome. (Read about the Life Skills program over at the iThemba blog). Networking and Program support means I write a lot, I plan a lot,Continue reading “100 Paper hearts, answering emails, and other ordinary amazing things”
A World Where Short Term Trips Aren’t Needed
“But when we are honest, too much of the time our service projects cover up the reality that our way of life is what makes the service project necessary to begin with. In that way service projects don’t function to change the status quo, or even push against it, they actually function to maintain it. TheyContinue reading “A World Where Short Term Trips Aren’t Needed”
Stephanie Ebert 