Youssef was the first Muslim I ever met. He did not fit my expectations for how a Muslim might act. I met him on a short visit to his city in Morocco. As he gave me a tour of his hometown, Youssef described going to wild parties and joked about […]
3 Secret Confessions of a Missionary
Being a Christian worker on the foreign field is hard. We love it, but often times we have a hard time expressing some of the difficulties. Here are a few of our secret confessions: Coming Home is Overwhelming We are always excited to visit home and see friends and family, […]
Forgoing the Bigger
I’ve been eyeing a new TV for the past few months. I refuse to buy a TV on credit, so I’ve been saving. I’m just about ready to make the purchase, so I was in my local electronics store today comparing two TV’s I like. As I’m weighing my […]
Who Says You Can’t Do This?
My friend Esteban grew up in a rough part of town. As a teenager, he went the way most kids from his neighborhood went – and it was not pretty. He got involved in all sorts of things he shouldn’t have been doing and nearly ended up in prison more […]
When Missionaries Take First-Class Cruises
Several years into serving internationally my wife and I were exhausted and on the verge of burnout. I found a really cheap last-minute cruise online. We got a balcony on the ship for the same price as an inside cabin. Then, for some reason, first class seats were the cheapest […]
Missionaries Drive Me Crazy
When my wife and I lived on the foreign mission field we found ourselves running a café as part of the ministry. I’m not sure why, but that café was the talk of the missionary community. Everyone had an opinion about how it should be run, what should be done […]
What I Learned Closing a Ministry
Some of my dearest friends turned over their ministry in a country outside the United States to my leadership. They had spent ten years of blood, sweat and tears building that ministry. They had high hopes I’d keep it going. Nine months later we were closing the doors and driving […]
Are You Qualified to be an Overseas Worker?
I grew up in Guatemala. I’m fluent in Spanish. I have a solid understanding of Latin American culture and history. So when God called us to be workers in Peru I felt ready. Strange thing is, the ministry we were called to was primarily in English. My first few weeks […]