At the beginning of February 2019, I was in Haiti with a team of other short-term missionaries. I wasn’t surprised at the lack of first world comforts, but what was unanticipated was the ease at which one could play the lottery. When food, education, and medical care are sparse, the buying of a lottery ticket…
Tag: Missions
A Home for the Uprooted
Home is sewn into the seams of my suitcase – Caught up in the fragments of childhood memories Where I can’t place the country or state, let alone the date; But I remember who was there Home is in the beauty of silver-tipped mountains And sweeping red canyons; Where snow sneaks in for…
When Conviction Leads to the Less Traveled Path
Do you ever find your convictions leading you upstream, taking you outside the norm, even in the context of Christian community? I often find myself wanting validation from others around me about my convictions. While encouragement and community with like-minded people are invaluable, it is not what is of most importance. Being around so many…
The Contagious Conviction of Love
Like a moth enraptured by the light, I stood just on the edges of a circle of people hovering to listen. It seemed as though the sounds and words were woven together into a third dimension, as the musicians allowed their joy and assurance to bubble out through their music-making. Their skills good, but their…
The Missionary’s New Song: A Legacy Worth Leaving
Snuggled in my bed, surrounded by the soft comfort of an old down blanket, I stared at my phone watching the playback of a month old live-stream from Inglewood Baptist Church. My Great Uncle Don Jones and his friend (another retired missionary), in a beautiful crescendo, gloriously sang the words: “No more death when we…
Christmas Moments Amongst the Mundane
Last year, when Christmas tunes began to ring out from the radio, our mostly quiet family of three became a raucous party of seven. My husband and I have one teenage daughter and, while we weren’t on the list for emergency foster care, four siblings (ranging in ages from 7-15) were delivered to our home…
Hope on Distant Shores
Author: Rachel Olson Just over a year ago, a lifelong dream came true. I was accepted to join Mercy Ships, an organization that brings free surgical care to some of the poorest countries of Africa. I quit my job, packed my bags, and moved to Madagascar, where I have spent the past eight and a…
Anchored Voices 