How should the church respond to racism?
This past weekend in Charlottesville alt-right and white nationalists groups gathered together to protest the removal of a Confederate statue, in response counter-protesters gathered. There were chants by the alt-right like “Jews will not replace us,” and “blood and soil” and counter-chants of “No Nazis, no KKK, no fascist USA.” Allegations of mace being sprayed from […]
I just quit my dream job. Here’s why.
Yesterday was my last official day at a job that I had desired for years, a job that took passions of mine: writing and missions, and fused them together. But to explain how I arrived here, having just quit my dream job, I have to give a little back story. Buckle up because it’s a […]
If This Nation is Ever to Unite, We Must Acknowledge One Another’s Pain.
I have an older sister, she’s great and we are really good friends, but it wasn’t always that way. We’re less than a year than a part, so growing up we fought A LOT, and we weren’t above physical altercations. One time, when we were both teenagers, we were driving to our dad’s house on […]
A Typhoon Destroyed Her Family’s Farm, Now She Has Few Other Options
I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. Cigarette smoke clogged the air, and the dim lights barely concealed the filth of the bar. Some pop song pounded in the background, making it hard to have a clear thought. I’ve been to the bars on walking street before, several times in fact. You […]
I Sat Next to A Man Who Purchases Sex. This is What I Learned.
“Do you know where to go next?” I was staring at an arrival board in Tokyo when she approached me. Fresh off a twelve hour flight with greasy hair and fuzzy teeth I stared at the transfer board. It looked like the next flight to Manila was departing from terminal two. And I knew before […]
When Hope is Dead.
Have you ever desired something in life? I am not talking about cookie dough cravings — I am talking about that deep guttural longing and hope, that thing you pray about before you go to bed and when you wake up. I’m talking about that thing you know God has promised you, that thing you […]
An Open Letter to Mr. Trump
Dear Mr. Trump, Yesterday a man, Brandon Stanton, whom I admire posted a letter to you. He reminded me that taking a stand against you and your ideologies of racism, sexism, and violence is not a political one, but a moral one. In so doing, he reminded me of the power of my own voice. It’s […]
The World Is Scary as Hell. Live Anyway.
We live in a world where people are murdered, at schools, in concerts, in Paris, and in war. Shootings have become a part of our headlines, cancer and other diseases continue to claim lives, and chances are we have lost someone that we love. I have seen my fair share of evil in this world, […]
Why me and a broken finger go together like PB & J.
About five weeks ago I was playing flag football, when I was trying to pull off someone’s flag my finger got wrapped up in their shirt and twisted my finger. It came out hurting pretty badly and looking like this. Of course, was initial reaction was like “cool” this will make a good story. And then, […]
Dear Church, the World Isn’t Getting Worse.
It’s easy to think that the world is getting worse. Especially in the light of the recent events: shootings in Oregon, the earthquakes in Nepal, our current presidential candidates (joking, kind of). The media feasts on the stories of war, disasters, and deranged killers. What the media fails to cover, often times, are the good […]