2020

While in Corpus Christi, Texas, last week (was that seriously just last week???), my sister-in-law introduced us to her friend Kristen. As we were all getting ready to go to the beach together, I shared briefly with Kristen that Randy and I had been working in Mexico at an orphanage for the past 18 months. She said it sounded a little like "Bokenkamp" where she had volunteered. Obviously intrigued, I asked her to tell me more. She said Bokenkamp was right there in Corpus Christi, and was providing shelter and meeting the needs of unaccompanied immigrant children from south and central america. She said she struggled there because she doesn't speak Spanish. Oh how I wish we hadn't learned about this the day before leaving Corpus Christi! How I would have loved to have gone and spent the day with a dozen beautiful little Spanish-speaking children like those who hold my heart in San Felipe. Time wasn't on our side on this leg of the journey, but now that I know ...

In 2008, just 6 months after having her first child, Katherine Wolf suffered from a nearly life-taking stroke due to a congenital defect she didn't know she had. The next 10 years have been a series of hurdles that Katherine and her husband Jay have had to overcome. But their faith has led them to say: "Maybe healing just looks different than we think it does." Katherine's facial features were permanently impacted and she has to use a wheelchair to get around. But what at the time was the worst hard time of their lives, they can now say has led to the role they were meant to play -- an inspiration to others with disabilities, both those which can be seen and those which cannot.  After speaking at a camp for people with disabilities, Katherine and Jay were inspired to start a camp of their own: Hope Heals Camp. Katherine writes: At first, I didn't want to be the "miracle girl in the wheelchair", but after years of ministering with all kinds of h...

Today would have been my grandmother's 84th birthday. She's been gone now just 2 days shy of a month and it's still hard for me to believe she isn't here. My grandfather died unexpectedly in 1996. A few months before his death, he told me that if anything ever happened to him that my grandmother would move to Ohio and we would have to take care of her. So when he died later that same year, I fully expected my grandmother to move in with us. She was 62 at the time and, to my 16-year-old self, was old and needed us to take care of her. My 65-year-old grandfather had just passed away, confirming that grandma, too, didn't have long to live. So when my grandma didn't move in with us, instead traveling the world, running off to Mexico and Spain and casinos and forming "Bible studies" (can you still call it a Bible study when there are margaritas involved?) I was confused. And mad. And guilty because is there anything worse than being mad at your gr...

Day 20! I'm half-way through this 40-40-40 Lenten adventure, and nearly $900 in. On this half-way mark, I'm excited to focus on an organization that is just getting off the ground close to "home" in Ohio. Why? Because at the end of these 40 days that is where Randy and I are headed! We'll be looking for opportunities to serve (to keep ourselves from missing our Baja kids!), and this one definitely feels like a worthy cause. Special thanks to Hannah (Bethany Seminary student and part-time pastor at Xenia Friends Church) for sharing the story of Bridges of Hope. SIMON KENTON: BRIDGES OF HOPE By Hannah Mullikin Lutz After several years of working to secure funding and to purchase a building, Simon Kenton Bridges of Hope was finally able to open its doors in December of 2017 to those experiencing homelessness in Xenia, Ohio. For the first time since 2015, single men and women, as well as those who might have been on the waiting list for the small, ...

Anyone who truly knows me knows how important this little girl is in my life. This summer we'll have spent 12 years together. My dad found her, locked in his barn, when she was only 6 weeks old. She was an ornery puppy, hard to potty train and chewing on anything she could get her little puppy teeth into. But she showed up at just the right time... the week of my first divorce. I put up a good front on the outside, but most days this little girl was the only reason I got out of bed. She kept me moving and going. Since then we've been on countless adventures together. Moving from Ohio to Indiana, then back to Ohio, next to California, and then down to Mexico. And we're about to embark on another epic road trip across the U.S. once again. What does Jovi have to do with my 40-40-40 challenge? Today's donation goes to Paws Assisting Veterans ( PAVE USA ), which trains service dogs for veterans who suffer from mental or physical disabilities as a result...

One of the things I love about this 40-40-40 project is learning about local organizations that my friends support. There are many well-known organizations that do great work around the globe, but the more well-known an organization is, the more likely they are to have large sources of funding. It's great when an organization can impact a ton of people, but it can at times overshadow those organizations that are grass roots, right here in our communities, doing just as good (or even better because they are able to focus their services) as those big names.  I learned about one of those organizations when I asked my friends Shane and Buffy Rider about Wounded Warrior Project. Shane and I went to high school together, and he later met his wife while serving in the military. Shane served in the army from 1998-2004, and Buffy from 1999-2007. They were stationed in Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Buffy was also stationed in Hawaii (where my aunt was stationed years ago!). Shane spent t...

Time for another guest blog! This one comes from my friend Nathan Sheets, who interned for me while I was the Communications Editor at Friends United Meeting in Richmond, Indiana. Now Nathan is working in Hollywood as the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of an organization that is working to end isolation and homelessness in Hollywood. What?! How incredible is that?! He shares with us just a taste of what The Center at Blessed Sacrament is all about: THE CENTER “The Center is a place that not only helps you. It’s been a place where I’ve discovered how to help myself.” Long before any of the current staff knew the place existed, "Social Services at Blessed Sacrament" and the staff/volunteers therein were devoted to facilitating a chaotic shower and (occasional) meal program, where people shuffled in as fast as the showers they were allowed. John F. was around in those days. “It wasn’t pretty,” he laughed as he talked, recalling how his life has transformed from tho...

I didn't participate in Lent yesterday. I was too sad. Randy and I are preparing to leave Baja. One of the catalysts for that decision was to spend more time with my grandmother. But we never got that chance. She died yesterday. And I was completely devastated by the news. I didn't have the energy to donate or write about a cause yesterday. I didn't want to hear all the Christian platitudes ("Be glad she was a Christian and is with Jesus now."). I just wanted to be sad. To cry and walk the beach and take a nap and cry some more. I woke up this morning hoping it had all been a terrible dream. You would think that you would always click with all of your family members. You share DNA. You share an upbringing. You have both nature and nurture going for you. But at times you can feel like an outsider within your own home. But I never felt that way with my grandmother. We were kindred spirits. She was an artist and a world traveler, a card player and an a...

One of the blessings of living in San Felipe for the past 15 months has been the incredible friends we've made. Friends we can celebrate and lament with, go 4-wheeling with, out to dinner with, relax at their house with, call upon when we are in need of bagels or toilet paper or baby wipes. One of those couples are Don and Katie. While at their house one afternoon, Randy and Don were outside working on cars while Katie and I were talking and organizing things inside. When our conversation settled on family, Katie shared with me: Our grandson was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. The only thing I know about schizophrenia is that when people go off their meds they end up killing people in schools and movie theaters. I don't want to think that about my grandson. It was perhaps the most honest thing anyone has ever said to me. Especially in light of the school shooting* in Parkland, Florida, this week, in which 17 were killed by a young man with a history of mental i...

Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Ash Wednesday! Happy first day of Lent! Today is DAY 1 of my 40-40-40 challenge. Of all the ministries in the entire world, there was ONE that I was 100% sure that I wanted to focus on for the first day of Lent. Shawn and Katrina McConaughey Shawn and Katrina McConaughey were recently called to serve in the Africa Ministries Office of Friends United Meeting , and are raising funds to get them to Kisumu, Kenya. If your religious affiliation isn't Quaker, you probably don't know about Friends United Meeting or the Africa Ministries Office, but trust me when I tell you that they do amazing work through schools, hospitals, evangelism, theological training, conflict resolution and more.  Shawn and Katrina share this about their call to serve: After 30 years of ministry among Friends in the Pacific Northwest, we are pulling up roots and joining in on what God is doing among Friends in East Africa! Friends United Meeting (FUM...

2017. My word of the year was "compartir." To share. All year I've pretty much felt like I was failing at this. No better at sharing than my 3-year-olds. (Someone seriously needs to put the kibosh on the phrase "terrible twos." Twos are like peaches and cream compared to threes!) Sure, I had bursts of inspiration. And I have gotten better at sharing some things. But I'm still not great. At least not in the way I have been defining "to share." When I look back at the year, the one thing I see the most is how much time I've spent on my knees in prayer. Prayer for family. For my marriage. My kids. Prayer for God's will in my life. Which makes me wonder... What if, in directing me to share this year, God wasn't talking about candy or toys, bags of beans or cute t-shirts, money with those in need or even prayer requests with my friends? What if God wanted me to share... with HIM? In which case spending so ...

The past few days have been filled with highs and lows. Highs because we’ve had friends in town visiting, and our first holiday party of the year (which of course involved a taco truck!); lows because we had 3 kids scheduled to go home who just kept waiting and waiting for their dad to show up. He said he would be there Friday. All day they waited. Would he come before school? After school? No doubt he would be there by 7 p.m. And then Saturday came. Would he come in the morning? Or wait until “visiting hours” from 3-5. The fish must really be biting if he still wasn’t there by 8.  And then the call came. Late Sunday morning. He said he would come at 5 p.m. Every 15 minutes the kids asked me how much longer. Even throughout the folks visiting, gift giving, taco eating, they waited in anticipation for the real gift – going home for Christmas.  But then another call came in. From the authorities. Who said the girls couldn’t go. The home wasn’t safe for them. Maybe i...

"Mama, no quiero ir. No quiero ir, mama. Mama, no!"  ( Mama, I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go, Mama. Mama, no!) Luis looked up at me with his big, brown eyes, pleading to stay home from kindergarten. After several failed attempts, I finally scooped him up and said, "Yo puedo ir con usted."  (I’ll go with you.) He sat calmly on my lap for the entire drive, six other kindergarteners in the back. But as soon as we pulled up to the school he cried again, "Mama, no quiero ir!" "Voy a regresar en dos horas," I said to Luis. And to the others, "Quien quiere ayudar Luis?" ( I’ll be back for you in two hours... Who wants to help Luis?) All six kids surrounded Luis, taking his hands. He continued to cry as he walked to class, looking back at me over his shoulder, mouthing "Mama, no! No quiero ir!" My mama’s heart went out to him, though I knew he had nothing to be afraid of, and I knew he would...

This summer 11 kids have left Sonshine Hacienda. Three new kids joined us. And another one came and left again within a matter of 24 hours. It has been emotionally exhausting. Randy was particularly close to 3-year-old Pamela who left. And I to 12-year-old Brayan. Pamela started and ended each day running into Randy’s arms, batting her eyes for an extra helping of food, throwing her head back when she laughed. She left a huge hole in our family. Brayan and I would talk about whatever was on his mind each evening as we cleaned the dining room. Sometimes that was him wondering what high school would be like in a few years, or whether or not his brother and aunt would come to visit him this weekend, or if he could be involved in sports or other activities outside the casa. He would tell me about the other children’s homes where he had lived, ones that also had American missionaries, ones that allowed video games (we do not), ones that also had trampolines like ours. ...

Yesterday, Randy and I should have been in California celebrating our grandson's 3rd birthday. But 3 years ago we received that unthinkable phone call. Randy's daughter had gone to the hospital to deliver, a week past her due date, only to discover that C.J. no longer had a heartbeat. Somewhere in Baja, on that very same day, a woman went into labor. She would give birth to a healthy baby boy. C.E. would soon be taken to the children's home where his older sister lived, and later a younger sister would join them. Yesterday, a mama goat and her adopted baby came to live with us. I told C.E. that I had a regalo (present) for his birthday. "Is it Mama A?" he asked, inquiring after his biological mother. With so many kids leaving us over the past week, all the other kids are wondering when it will be their turn. "No, it's not Mama A," I said. "It's Mama Chiva (goat)." "Mama Chee-va," he said, because 3-year-olds repea...

Easter ("Pascua") in San Felipe is very different than Easter in Santiago. For two years in a row ( 2014 and 2015 ) I was in Spain for Easter. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the country for an opportunity to be a part of a two-thousand year-old tradition. They read the local papers for schedules of "Semana Santa" (Holy Week) events. They lined the streets to watch nightly processions go by, from Mary weeping to Jesus carrying his cross. They fasted and waited for the doors of Cathedrals to be opened so they could sit at the altar, touch the feet of the Saints, and receive a blessing. They packed the pews, eager to hear the familiar words of Scripture: He is not here. He is risen! Likewise, hundreds of thousands of people flock to San Felipe every year for Easter. Except they don't call it Easter. They call it Spring Break. They line the beaches to watch nightly processions of 4-wheelers racing across the dunes. They wait in line at the 7-el...

When I was growing up, I spent every summer and winter and break that I could with my grandparents in Iowa. Sometimes that meant flying alone, or tagging along with church families who were driving in the same direction. Sometimes it meant family road trips or flights that inevitably got cancelled due to ice storms. There didn't have to be any agenda, other than spending time with my grandparents. This week I got to be on the other side of that. Two of Randy and my granddaughters came to spend their Spring Break with us. They flew into San Diego and then we drove them down to Baja. The past 5 months have been challenging for Randy and me, to say the least. So it was incredible this week to be among family, and to see this calling through their eyes.