service

The power of culture

Do you remember when you first learned in class that there was a period in Chinese history in which many Chinese women had their feet bound from the time they were babies? Multiple theories attempt to explain the origin of foot binding: from the desire to emulate the naturally tiny feet of a favored concubine of a prince, to a story of an empress who had club-like feet, which became viewed as a desirable... [Read more]

help

Qur’an burning: a message from the Barnabas Fund

As most of you know by now, there is a congregation in Florida whose pastor is planning a burning of the Qur’an this coming Saturday on the anniversary of September 11. There is no doubt that the pastor has the constitutional right to burn the Qur’an. But, as Saint Paul warns us: All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things... [Read more]

contact

Identity papers for children

When we were overseas, we were surprised to find out that there are some countries that require official national government identity papers for every person within their borders regardless of age. It does not matter whether one was born there and is a citizen, one’s birth certificate is not enough, nor any other “local” identification, one must have an additional national government... [Read more]

Missionaries and learning from other cultures

No, this is not one of those syrupy posts about learning from other cultures. But, it is a reminiscence of an encounter I had with an older Quechua man up in the Andes mountains. For those of you who are not aware, my wife and I were missionaries in the southern part of Perú in the Andes mountains. On our second term there, I ended up traveling into the Colca Canyon to a village called Choco every... [Read more]

tools

Tony Campolo, Glenn Beck, and heresy

Over the last couple of days Father Orthoduck and I have been discussing short-term missions, theology, and social justice.  Let me now return to short-term missions with a quote from the article by Tony Campolo that was cited earlier. In this quote, Tony Campolo provides the link between Glenn Beck’s disdain for government and private donations to organizations that serve the poor. And, if... [Read more]

Short-term missions, social support, and Tony Campolo

I am a supporter of short-term missions. However, my blog post of the day before yesterday did not make that clear. I have seen at least two people called to long-term missions because they served on a short-term mission team. My problem is not with short-term missions per se. My problem is with under-trained teams who come over and cause multiple problems to the missionaries in residence and who expect... [Read more]

Learning about whom we visit in short-term mission

In January of 2009, I posted a blog on what we can learn from the poor. I talked about Fr. Alejandro Mesco and what he had taught me about sharing the good things that the Lord gives us. Just today, I read an article in Mission Frontiers which is a magazine of the US Center for World Missions. It is found in the column titled Further Reflections and the particular article is called, Learning the Lay... [Read more]

site-map

On ch’uspa and belonging

How do you know when you belong? There are many answers, but I know exactly when I knew that I belonged in the town of Choco, and it had to do with a ch’uspa, a bag, similar to the one that you see pictured with this post. [For those of you who do not know what Choco is to me, look here. I also detailed something of the Choco mission in my posts in the first week of April 2009. So, what is a... [Read more]

Shoes of peace

Shoes of Peace Yes, that is my hand holding the separated heel on a hiking boot. It has been cold in Florida the last few days, so I thought that I would put the hiking boots on to keep my feet slightly warmer. But, when I went to put on my size 7½ hiking boots, I realized that the heel was separated from the main body of the boot and that the cushioning was crumbling. I know I have to dispose of... [Read more]

I think they are missing the point!

Did you ever get the feeling that someone was really, really missing the point? I mean did you ever read a newspaper story and wonder whether the persons involved really realized what they were saying? Well, the story below was found by Father Orthohippo. He found it on a blog. However, I present to you the original story from the newspaper called the Tucson Citizen. The story dates back to January... [Read more]