I took my California colleagues to visit World Vision's Tijuana project last week. It's always great to visit the people and the program. Last year I made 6 trips, and I returned home each time thinking that day was the best visit ever. But this time my heart stirred with less comfortable feelings.I came away … Continue reading Together in the Crucible

Simple GiftsLast night, Janet and I watched a fairly silly "documentary" entitled "What Would Jesus Buy?", with a self-styled preacher and his choir traveling to various luxury and "big box" stores around America during the Christmas shopping season, challenging people to "spend less and give more." Despite the dicey "B-grade" quality of the movie, the … Continue reading Simple Gifts

The threads of last week were very interwoven for me. Election Day found me hosting a group of 10 visitors to Tijuana, where once again we visited the poorest squatter slums, met wonderful people and saw their pride in their businesses and outreach efforts. While meeting the microbusiness operators is always inspiring, what moved me … Continue reading The Great Inspiration

Yesterday, Janet told me she has an insistent call that won't leave her alone lately: to start a worship dance program or ministry. She was a dancer until her health took her away from it two decades ago. So this was very encouraging to hear.I also jokingly told her I was glad it was a … Continue reading Dreaming Dreams, Praying Prayers

October 1st marks the start of World Vision’s fiscal year, and around the globe, every office dedicates the entire day to prayer and thanksgiving. The WVUS and WVI offices on the West Coast are the last legs in a marathon that starts 16 hours earlier in Australia and moves around the world through almost 100 … Continue reading A Global Day of Prayer

Mining Olympic GoldThe latest World Vision magazine came last week, with a vulnerable child on the cover, over the title "Comfort in CRISIS". I cringe a little each time I look at it, and truthfully, I haven't yet been able to bring myself to read it yet.In contrast, the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics … Continue reading Mining Olympic Gold

Today I read a short devotional excerpt by Henri Nouwen that jumped out: "Love your neighbor as yourself" the Gospel says (Matthew 22:38). But who is my neighbor? We often respond to that question by saying: "My neighbors are all the people I am living with on this earth, especially the sick, the hungry, the … Continue reading Who Is My Neighbor?

What is Eaten in One Week around the WorldFriends, Here's a different sort of entry without comment... the photos and captions say a mouthful. See this link from a seminarian's blog (whom I don't know at all nor endorse) who has these powerful photos and captions posted... http://approachingnorth.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-eaten-in-one-week-around-world_25.htmlI hope you'll take a moment to study … Continue reading What is Eaten in One Week around the World

I had an all-round lovely day today—took 10 entrepreneur donors to visit Tijuana projects. Everybody was very encouraged by the visit.I hadn't visited the Pedrigal community in a year but carried vivid memories of hovels built on the trash-heaped hillside, as did some of the returning visitors. But when we went there, we were amazed … Continue reading Beauty & the Beach