Growing in Missions.

So today at StreetLife I was chatting with one of our regulars.  He’s a sweet older gentleman, who has the heart of many of the volunteers at StreetLife.  When he arrived he was thrilled when one of the hot meal volunteers showed up and gave him a name tag of his own.  He always sits by the book table, has trouble standing and walking for too long so he welcomes the chair.  It’s always there for him because he is expected every week, and we look forward to seeing him.  He has kind of taken pride in helping out at that location.  You see he shows up every week not to be served, but to help serve.  We show to help serve but in reality are being served by him and his compassion and love for people.  He may not have much to offer as far as physical items, but he certainly has so much love and respect and conversation to share.  In fact he spent his last dollar getting to the parking lot today, because its so important to him that he is part of th...

Today is “National Pay it Forward Day”.  What does that mean.  Well, in simple terms we do something nice for someone for the day, and then they pass it on, and do something nice for someone else, and so on.  They say kindness has a ripple effect and I think that this is the concept behind Pay it Forward day.  But, why just one day?  Shouldn’t this be a thing we do everyday? Imagine the kind of world we would live in if every single person on the planet did something kind to someone EVERYDAY.   Wow, that would be pretty awesome.  I truly believe that healing comes with kindness, forgiveness, understanding and patience.  If someone hurts us, forgive, if someone is having a bad day, be kind.  Try to understand that someone might be struggling with something you dont’ know about and have patience.  This is one thing I have always tried to instill in my kids everyday.  When they get a teacher that is just mean or crabby, realize ...

So, for a short time now, I have been enjoying getting to know a local ministry in the city of Milwaukee.  I came to know this mission completely by accident.  Or, was it an accident?  Somehow I think not, and the reasons for it are part of a bigger plan.  The group is called StreetLife and they work with the under-served in the city of Milwaukee. StreetLife is a community  full of people who have a passion for restoring hope and dignity in a world where sometimes it seems like its gone. As I have mentioned previously, whatever you choose to do has to strike a chord with you.  It’s not wrong if it doesn’t, but sometimes I think we don’t know how we are going to feel about something until we have given it a try and sometimes I think we don’t want to take that first step.  I didn’t discover my passion for missions until I took a leap of faith 4 years ago and joined a group from church on a mission trip to Honduras.  Most of the time I think life i...

I first experienced blogging a few years ago when I travelled to Honduras on a mission trip - my first international mission trip and since then have blogged each time I have gone.  I decided to start this blog because writing about missions is more than just writing about a trip.  We are meant to live in mission every day of our lives, and all that we do, be a reflection of the gift that Jesus Christ gave us. Since that first trip to Honduras, my life has become “engulfed” in missions and I have felt a strong pull and calling to become more involved and to encourage others to do the same.  Missions is not a calling for everyone, you have to feel it in your heart and it has to be something that draws you in and changes you. It has changed me and yes, it has brought me closer to God and strengthened my faith. So, I hope to write often of my journey in missions here in the states, in the church I am part of and any other areas of my life where my missions journey takes ...