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This is the third and final installment (for now) on how we host short-term mission trips, based on ten years of experience! We just took our summer team to the airport last night, so I'm pretty tired. Hope there aren't too many typos in this post - but if there is - please forgive me!  ***** We just said good bye to a team of friends who left Burundi last night. Their send off included one last party with friends,…

[caption id="attachment_1433" align="aligncenter" width="600"] photo credit: Tina Francis[/caption] When I was young I remember embarking on my first short-term mission trip – to Hawaii. I don’t recall much of what we did while on the island, but I remember when we clustered under the buckling metal patio cover for morning devotions. The team leader opened up his Bible and taught us about the seeds of the gospel we were meant to cast with generosity across the globe; a kind and…

I spend my summers in Burundi. I am married to a Burundian social entrepreneur and in me he’s found his chief storyteller. Together we are community development practitioners in multiple communities as well as parents to our two children. Our lives stretch between Burundi and America; our conversations wide with words about agriculture, education, banking and health. It’s a rich life woven with many textured threads. Part of our annual rhythm includes the high season, that time when visitors come…

When I drop her off at school in the crisp morning, she turns to wave good-bye. She leaves me to my women’s work. I drive to the coffee shop. I pull out my journal and write, fountain pen on hyper-speed and still trailing my racing thoughts. I try to write my way to a better neighborhood, maybe an alley in the New City. I tell stories from Burundi where the Batwa move from cracked ground to fertile soil soaked with…

Words pierce like a weapon. The comments crisscross via phone slashing her. In the middle of a seminary campus walks a woman with quick stride and a crushed heart. When we talk she’s stunned (or embarrassed) the words still ring in her ears days later. “You are allowed to have days like this one.” I say. I mean it; you are allowed to have hard days when your insides ache. I thought of the need to lament disconnection whenever it…

Caris Adel and I met on-line. She led the chorus asking me to start a book club awhile back and has been an ardent reader and participant ever since. She's an avid reader and thinks hard about the ideas she encounters. Caris wrestles, writes and welcomes community on-line and in real life. (Yes, we've shared a real meal around a real table!) I admire her relentless pursuit of truth, neighborliness and Gospel goodness.  *** “Prosperity breeds amnesia.” You don’t need enough…

Seth Haines and I met through the Deeper Story family, where he is both contributor and Deeper Church editor. Seth's hallmark is honesty and raw truth-telling. He is an everyday poet, a gracious conversation partner about the things that matter. Friendship with Seth & Amber -- a great blessing of 2014! *** “YHWH governs as an alternative to Pharaoh, there the restfulness of YHWH effectively counters the restless anxiety of Pharaoh.”* In the Spring of 2012, I found myself consumed by…

Matt Orth is an encourager par excellence. We both write. We both know what it is to wrestle with a sentence, refusing to let go without the blessing of a well-said word. Matt reaches out to make sure I'm writing, to see how the work is progressing, to encourage me to lean in and write. Solidarity matters. I've come to appreciate Matt's winsome humor, thoughtful engagement and spirit of collaboration. It's such a pleasure to welcome him to the Transit Lounge…

This is our Week with Walter in the Transit Lounge. From the various places in our lives we've been reading a book penned by Walter Brueggemann together. From our varied locales we've crissed and crossed, sharing thoughts on Twitter and now more extended thoughts on our blogs. This lounge is host to yurt-living rebels, Wesleyan pastors, poet-advocates, diligent mothers and fellow writers. This is a space to share as we are on the move, living in transit. This morning Steven…

Esther Emery is a story-teller, a provocative rebel, a radical of the best sort echoing the prophets of old. The prophet that comes to mind is Miriam. Like her, Esther is beating a drum, composing fresh songs and leading the way forward into new territory. She can galvanize a community with her words. I'm so honored to have her lead off our Week with Walter as we offer our personal responses to  Sabbath as Resistance by Walter Brueggemann. *** I didn’t…