I’d been eight months in the country. It was my first of many experiences: First time living away from family. First time overseas. First time living on my own. First time in a job where I was responsible for the work being done. First time living with the consequences of my actions when no one … More Lessons Learned
The year I graduated from college, I left home to spend two years in the Ivory Coast. Being a French major, I worked in a publication house for French-speaking West Africa. Now, thirty-some years later, I look back at my journals and see how I’ve changed or haven’t changed. I wrote about thinking how hard … More The Outsider
I had a memory pop up on Facebook this week, reminding me that it was nine years ago that I headed to the library to volunteer. A short four months later, I was running the joint! I wasn’t really going for that purpose. We had just returned a year earlier from the mission field. Twenty … More Volunteer
You have to love Southern Baptists — we have a plan for everything. I’m just grateful God still uses us despite our desires to put everything in order! However, I’m really not bashing them, because I’m grateful for a denomination that desires to teach the Bible and witness to a lost and dying world. My … More Who’s Your One?
I finished my work in the house, so headed out to the shop to see if there was any way I could help my son with what will definitely be the hardest part of letting go of the place that’s been home for the last ten years. He wasn’t cleaning, but working on just one … More Scraps
There are some moments in life you never forget. They become embedded pictures in your mind, even when the details grow fuzzy. My first visit to an African marketplace did it for me. The year was 1986. Only a few months in the capital city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a friend took me to the … More First Impressions
We expect trouble. We can’t avoid it. Jesus even told us, “in this world, you will have tribulation.” That’s the nature of living in a fallen world, the nature of sinful man. The problem is when it comes from the sinner saved by grace. We’re supposed to be new creations in Christ, so why do we … More Internal Bleeding
As an introvert, I have friends and then I have friends, and I’m always amazed at how the Lord provides those friends to pour into my life at just the right time. This is what I’ve experienced in the past weeks, and I’m grateful to his provision. I have decided that being involved in overseas ministry is a … More You Need a Friend
I can’t decide if I should call this post, “The Maiden Voyage,” or “The Voyage of the Maiden.” Either one works, as I recall my first overseas flight. I was a mere 22-year-old maiden. The year was 1986, long before cell-phones or the internet or even fax machines. The Dark Ages, for most of you … More The Maiden Voyage
These hot, lazy days of summer make it so easy to just do nothing. It’s like the month of Ramadan for my Muslim friends. You’re not eating, the energy level decreases and sleep comes easy. Sluggish is a good word for this kind of feeling. Being raised by parents who grew up in the days … More Provoked
