Tag: missions

  • Helping Others or Ourselves?

    Helping Others or Ourselves?

    I have a good friend who is from the local community in South Africa near my home. He organizes a number of after school programs to create hope in the young people. He regularly tells me stores of how he receives cookie donations from older (insert the race which is economically better off) for his…

  • America, Meet the World

    America, Meet the World

    Hello America. Meet the Rest of the World. Note; This is not a political post but one of identification. The closer we get to the election in the United States, the more comments, eye rolling, and jokes I am hearing as an American living overseas. My journey as an American in missions has spanned over…

  • Better Together

    Better Together

    As a zealous, young missionary I seemed to make the same mistake over and over. Now as a veteran, I find the same never-ending truth must remain continually before me. People are not our projects. We never set out to do this intentionally. Our mistakes are made in ignorance. Our desire is to do good,…

  • The Other Side of Achievement

    The Other Side of Achievement

    When talking about grace, we often give negative connotations to words like effort, performance, and accomplishment. They become four letter, anti-grace cuss words. And if one is gaining their approval from God and others based on what they do, than a negative perception is the correct one. We cannot earn or be worthy of God…

  • Making Disciples Not Clones

    Making Disciples Not Clones

    “They are not ready…” These may be some of the most frequently uttered words when missionaries consider passing the baton of leadership. They can also be the most painful. One of the leaders I work with shares the story of being a young, oppressed worker in South Africa during the time of apartheid. A white…