I walk into the room, hardly making a noise, but she jolts out of a deep sleep at stares at me with enlarged, terrified white eyes. The first time it happened, I laughed because she looked so funny being scared awake like that. The second and third time, I gasped because her reaction scared me. […]

Setting up this ministry has been like setting up the game, Jenga. Piece upon piece is laid, all interconnected to form one tower. The newer pieces are easiest to take away, while the oldest are, in many ways ,most integral because they form the foundation. God gave me the first Jenga piece eight years ago. […]

“So, who takes care of you?” I was sitting in my parked car, waiting to pick up one of the girls from her counseling session when a friend walked over to talk to me. In my lap I had my MacBook (a gift from my La Crosse friends–a constant reminder of their love), and a […]

I just turned 30! Eeeeeek! To be honest, I was dreading it. Thirty…not flirty (no time nor bachelors) and sometimes sinking instead of thriving. But my girls put it into perspective for me. “Most people here are thrilled to live to 30!” After being humbled, they also then gave me the best birthday party ever and […]

I’ve been back in Swazi for a full month now. Already so much has happened! I can’t possibly summarize it in writing (nor in my head), so here are the highlights: 1)    It feels like home to me. 2)    When I returned, my mom graced me with her presence for 10 days. It was so […]

                          “Is anything worth more than your soul?” –Mark 8:37 “Are you afraid to die?” the words came out too quickly for me to stop them. From my peripherals, I could see every head in the room turn to me, and I could […]

  It’s crazy to measure where I was one year ago or even six months ago to where I am now.  In January of this year, I had a number of people ask me if I saw myself living in Swazi forever.  At the time, there was no way.  My answer was always, “Well, if […]

Independent? No. A math teacher? No.  CEO of a non-profit? Ha! No way.   But…suddenly, I’m a math teacher. But I hated math.  I graduated high school with a 3.96 GPA all because I couldn’t get a perfect A in math.  That GPA might seem deceiving though, because I certainly wasn’t the smartest kid.  Actually, my […]