missionaryMAC

​It's always a blessing to gather with fellow missionaries. It's extra-special when they all have the same job as you.  Last week marked my 6th Volunteer Coordinators conference with colleagues around the world who also help facilitate the sending of short-term volunteers. The 2025 iteration was on my home turf, an intentional choice so as to zero on on this thing we do so well called Mission Education . I can't even articulate how or when it came about, but it's proven successful to the point that regional leadership is advocating that at least half our volunteer teams moving forward experience it in all its glory (if you ask me, ALL teams are Mission Education teams). While I'm not the "owner" of the conference by any stretch, Dana & I found ourselves doing quite a bit of the heavy lifting, for obvious reasons.  Everyone - seven people in all, representing four continents - arrived by Monday evening. We braved a deluge  to go get brick-oven pizza, bu...

​I've been to Belize six times this year - perhaps more than I've been to any given country in any given year. Had things gone according to plan - my plan, anyhow - my last visit would have been late August . Alas,  they did not , so there I found myself there in mid-November building a playground at Little Lambs Lutheran Preschool with my favorite (read: only) all-male team: Trinity Downtown from Houston, TX.  Like me, two of the team members arrived early to do some on-ground prep work. Somehow all of THAT is going to turn into a playground. BBQ dinner on team arrival day.  We were privileged to receive God's gifts alongside the congregation at Iglesia Luterana El Buen Pastor, next door to the preschool. After a scrumptious sandwich spread courtesy of missionary wife Markie (in absentia!), the project began with a "mustering" by team leader Thomas (left) and a prayer.  The Rev. Benjamín Flores invited the men of the community to work alongside the volunteers and...

Spelling was my THING in elementary and middle school. I'm pretty sure I went at least one full academic year without missing a word on a spelling test (and without studying). The only year I didn't make the schoolwide spelling bee was 2nd grade, and I'll never forget how to spell stampede because of it. 'Canonize' and 'ascertain' are also imprinted in my brain.  Accordingly, when Josh mentioned that the public school he visits 2x a week (coincidentally, the one that rents classroom space from my church) was having a spelling bee, I cleared my schedule so I could go. My presence was fortuitous; the bee was postponed from Friday to yesterday because of Hurricane Melissa, which meant two of the "judges" could no longer come. From spectator to official? Sign me up.  Yes, there were DECORATIONS , including flowers.  Each of the three judges had a scoresheet like this where we first listed the spellers' names and grades. As they each took their turn...

Last week's team of go-getters from St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Lee's Summit, MO, probably could  have painted the entirety of Las Américas red if I'd asked them to; instead, their marching orders had them stick to Iglesia Luterana Amigos de Cristo, inside and out. While there was also a seafoam green, a bright white, and a deep rust color, we went through "Colonial White" in 5-gallon increments and affectionately dubbed it "Lutheran Beige." Receiving God's gifts from seminarian Kairo alongside the congregation before getting their hands dirty.  The congregation provided hot dogs, and more importantly, Christian fellowship, following the service.  Our cultural outing was a Sunday afternoon chocolate-making experience in the Colonial Zone. I've done it once before but was excited to have dark  chocolate as an option this time. Sisters in Christ from the US (left) and DR (right).  St. Matthew had generously funded a bathroom renovation that was ...