“Ms. Martin, do you HAVE to leave us?” a young man raised his hand one day in class. He was a quiet student, one who tried not to be noticed, one who seldom raised his hand, one who I never thought would care that I was leaving.  I sucked in my breath and choked down […]

“Here I am, Lord.  Is it I, Lord?  I have heard you calling in the night.  I will go, Lord, if you lead me.  I will hold your people in my heart.” The time has come.  I wasn’t expecting the call to come now.  Actually, I was preparing for digging deeper roots here for at […]

As I reflect on this year of 2013, I can’t fathom how much has happened. My dream became a reality in February when we raised enough money to open and operate Hope for Life home in Swaziland.  My heart was overflowing when my family–Mom, Garret, and Laura– experienced my second home for themselves over the […]

Proof that God’s plan is far greater than our own. The parallels between Hosea’s Heart and Awakening Coffee are astounding, and the point at which we have crossed paths could be dictated by no one but God.  Partnering with Awakening Coffee seemed to come from far out of left field, but to God, it was […]

“Lord, I don’t need anymore reasons to go; I am completely ready.  Just say the word, and I’ll move to Swazi.  But if you want me here, I need you to give me a reason to stay.” Although I’d like to think that I was ready to live in Swazi at any moment the last […]

I found out my life wasn’t normal… When I realized that not every family has a sock basket, filled with all the unmatched socks from the laundry.  And that not every mother pays her children one cent for every pair of socks that they match.  And that not every child thinks that’s a brilliant way […]

“Forgetting what the word has told me Father of love, you can have me.” -Sidewalk Prophets I was so excited for college—for a new start, new friends, and new experiences; but let’s be real, the height of my excitement revolved around moving from a pool of high school boys to an ocean of new men.  […]

Because there’s no way I can simply summarize all that happened the last two weeks in Swazi, here are the snippets of when… God is Present in Moments like That *In the midst of a country that I love with a mission that I am called to, I was reminded by a high school girl […]

We all need pick-me-ups every now and then.  One of the greatest encouragements I received this trip was a short yet powerful message from Rachael: I was hungry,                  you fed me. I was naked,                  you clothed me. I was […]