Grace. We don’t always understand it, but we all need it. We Christ-followers often use the word more casually than it deserves. Grace comes from our Father. It enriches our lives. It makes the impossible possible, the unforgiveable forgiven. And its presence and power serve to remind us of His. Perhaps the parents of one of the students I met this summer on our Never the Same missions trip had some of these things in mind when they named their daughter. I know the Father sent her, and I know her presence reminded me of His. I may have met this young woman during our training in Florida, but my first real memories of her come from our first day on the mission field in Lima. The team I traveled with that day had an assignment in one of the poorest communities I’ve ever seen. Ramshackle houses—some of pressed board, some of tin—covered the hillsides. No home had electricity or running water. Dust blanketed the graveled streets, the houses, even the people. Before we left our bus, the team leader explained the plans for the day. As a way of serving the people, some team members would knock on doors and ask if anyone wanted their hair washed. Others would prayerwalk the community, seeking those who would share their needs and receive prayer. Still others would remain on the nearby soccer field and play with the children who inevitably appear at the first hint of a game. After lunch, the team would perform the Spellbound drama used to present the gospel. But other ministry came first. I know that one of the rules of missionary work is to engage the culture. As an introvert, I have to relearn this lesson often. Talking to strangers, especially when they don’t speak my language, is a challenge for me. So this past summer, the Lord sent me a teacher, whose name—by no coincidence—was Grace. Ever the observer, I waited with my writer’s notebook and watched different groups. Slowly, the Lord allowed me to speak a word here and pray a prayer there. My job was to tell the story of the trip, but I was more faithful with my note-taking than my people-engaging. And then God gave me the opportunity to watch Grace, who took just the opposite approach. Grace didn’t wait for people to respond to her. Instead, her enthusiasm and love drew people her way. On the soccer field, she raced, kicked, blocked, and laughed—a trail of children soon following behind. In conversations, I never saw her wait for a translator. She said what she could with her words. But her hugs, genuine smiles, and willingness to interact communicated far...

Today, I continue my series on the Never the Same teen missions trips. (This post was planned for last Friday, but I was traveling and without Internet. Snowy roads kept me from venturing out to find a connection.)  Since 2010, I’ve had the privilege of traveling as the writer on these trips and have served alongside NTS teams in Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. This summer, I’ll travel to Costa Rica with the group. Last week, I shared about two of the amazing adult leaders who regularly serve on the Never the Same trips. I can’t tell you about everyone, but here are a few more snapshots so you can see the kind and quality of Christ-followers God brings alongside Steve Goley (president of Big World Ventures) and author/speaker Susie Shellenberger, who together began sponsoring these trips 16 years ago. Elaine: Elaine comes on the trip as our professional counselor and spends many of her evenings meeting with teens who are struggling in one or more areas of their lives. But Elaine does much more than that. Fluent in Spanish, she often translates for her team and, although she has the freedom to stay back from daytime ministry because of her late-night work, she rarely does. Elaine’s love for teens, caring heart, and effective listening make her the perfect choice for this ministry. And I’m sure that’s why she returns every year. Ray: Ray is the person you’d never expect to see on a teen missions trip—unless you knew his heart. He’s single, forty-ish, and has his own landscaping business in the New Jersey/New York City area. But he also loves teens and loves to share the gospel. His business is built around sharing Christ with the least of these, and through the years he has employed many former drug addicts and street people. Ray’s teams typically do more evangelistic dramas than any of the others because of his passion for getting the Word out and the gospel in. Brenda: Brenda’s another wife and mother with a heart for teens and missions. Brenda’s caring shows in her eyes, her voice, and the many hours she spends counseling teens at “Tuck-Ins” (evening meetings where the women leaders check in with the students—men/male students have “Slap-Ins”). The students on her team develop a heart of compassion for each other and for the people they serve because they see that lived out in Brenda’s life. She loves much because she has suffered much, and everyone who knows her reaps the benefits. Rich: Rich is another man you might not expect to see on a trip until you looked inside and saw his heart for the Father and for students. He’s a strong,...

It never fails. Every year, I plan to blog from the mission field. And every year, I’m too busy serving, writing, and living the missions trip to keep up with  my good intentions. For the past four summers, I’ve had the blessing of traveling on the Never the Same summer missions trip as the writer for Sisterhood (formerly SUSIE) Magazine. For the past sixteen years, Sisterhood’s founding editor Susie Shellenberger and Steve Goley of Big World Ventures have partnered to take thousands of teens overseas. My charge each year (I’ve had the privilege of traveling  to Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru with them) has been to write the article about the trip along with other, smaller features as space allows. This past year, I did the cover story on Holly Starr, the worship artist who traveled with us, along with another story, “Postcards from Peru” (click the links to read each one).  Another reason I haven’t blogged during the trip is because I don’t want to give away material from my story before it goes to print a few months later. So, here in the middle of winter, I thought I’d share a few blogs and pictures (courtesy of trip photographer Emily Bailey and her team) from my experience on the field. Some of these stories appear in miniature form in the articles, and some haven’t appeared in print at all. Enjoy! FT. LAUDERDALE 2013: Leadership One of the first things that impressed me about the Never the Same trips was the adult leadership. Susie Shellenberger has a heart for God and for teens, and Steve Goley has the same plus many years of experience in planning and leading trips. Together, they provide a fantastic missions/youth camp/revival experience for the students. But Susie and Steve know they couldn’t do it alone. And because of their adult leaders, they don’t have to. Every year, dozens of adults travel on the missions trip alongside the students. The teams train in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the adult and college-aged leaders meet a few days before the younger teens arrive. Some adults come to accompany their children. And others may have done that initially but now return every year. Many of these are head leaders, who lead one of the teams of 30-40 teens and students that go out to serve every day. These people love Jesus, teens, and missions—and it shows. One of the things that has most impressed me is the way each team reflects its leader’s heart. Throughout the trip, what matters to the leader becomes what matters to the students. And God uses each of these men and women to build His character into the lives of these young...

For me, 2013 ended with no wild celebration. But it didn’t end with a cry or whimper, either. 2013 finished with a cough as I found myself in the throes of bronchitis. Now, more than a week into 2014, I’m still coughing, but healing. I don’t get sick often, but this illness and accompanying prescriptions makes me more grateful than ever for good health. So what am I up to in 2014? Every once in a while, I use a blog post to share my calendar. So here’s where you can find me (and what you can find me doing) for the first few months of the new year. I covet your prayers and, of course, would love to have you join me at any of these events: January 16-19: Shelby Kennedy Foundation, Wilmington, Ohio  January 28: Stephen Ministers, Asbury United Methodist Church, Maitland, Florida; teaching on prayer January 24-25: Finish Well Conference, Sanford, Florida; Teaching on “Preparing for the SATs” and “Cultivating a Heart for the World.”  February 26-March 2: Florida Christian Writers Conference, Leesburg, FL; Representing Sisterhood magazine, serving as conference chaplain, and teaching on “How 2 Write 4 Teens.” March 5:  Wednesday Night Live, Asbury United Methodist Church, Maitland, Florida: teaching on “Stewardship of Words: Prayer” Right now, July  seems far away, but I also want to share that July 5-20, I’ll again travel with Susie Shellenberger and Never the Same Missions as the Sisterhood magazine writer for the Never the Same missions trip. This year, we’re headed to beautiful Costa Rica! I’ve had the privilege of going with this group to Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru, and I look forward to seeing the great things God does with us in Costa Rica. If you’re a teen (guy or girl) or the parent/grandparent/friend of a teen, consider yourself invited! Click here for all the details. We do our training in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and then travel to Costa Rica for about ten days. It’s a powerful, wonderful, life-changing time. For more information, check out my articles about two previous trips: “Journal Times Two: More Than Enough” (Ecuador 2012); and “Postcards from Peru” (Peru 2013). This year’s trip will have the same basic format but in a different country with deep needs and wonderful ministry possibilities. These missions trips mark some of my personal and professional highlights for the past few years, and I’d LOVE to have you join me. What’s God doing in you in 2014? Let me know via my “contact” link or in the comments below. And don’t forget to share how I can pray for you,...

Some West Palm Beach team members at the Miami airport “You must have lots of stories from your trip.” “I can’t wait to hear your stories.” “When are you going to tell us about your trip?” After a summer of missions, I do have stories. Most of the Ecuador ones belong to SUSIE Magazine. God did great things in Quito, and I have a full notebook—and heart—to prove it. My Panama trip, July 30-August 7, 2011, rose from my relationship with Dr. Walker Moore and student mission-sending organization, Awe Star Ministries. This year, they invited me to minister alongside them in the beautiful country of Panama. Since God and I often talked about my desire to serve there, I received the invitation as His answer. ************************************************************* “Engage the culture!” Dr. Moore emphasizes this truth in Awe Star’s missionary training. In order to prepare the way for the gospel, a missionary must get involved with the people by any means possible. As his writing partner, I knew the teaching. But I didn’t know God would provide early-morning, in-my-face instruction. I’d left home at 3:30 am, so as soon as I landed in Miami, I headed for the restroom. My goal: to brush my hair and teeth, switch glasses to contacts, and otherwise make myself presentable before I met the team. As soon as I entered the restroom, though, the whispers began. “Wait! She has the same shirt we do—but it’s a different color!” “I wonder where she’s going!” and finally (not whispered), “Are you on an Awe Star trip?” So much for making myself presentable. I paused only long enough to inform my questioners that I was on an Awe Star trip—theirs, in fact. Outwardly, I smiled. Inwardly, I scolded myself. Why hadn’t I spoken first? What about “engaging the culture”? How could I do on the mission field what I wouldn’t do in the airport? God has ways of making His point. And this time, I got it. A few minutes later, I left the restroom prepared to engage the thirty-plus member team. When I reached the gate, I introduced myself to the adult leaders. Then I circulated among the students, asking questions here, speaking a word there. I received some stares. But I also received smiles, questions, and the beginnings of the relationships I’d asked God to build. As I looked around the group, I recognized all the levels of excitement, anticipation, and fear I’d experienced on my first mission trip. And I realized anew that one of my constant prayers for this trip would be the one I’ve prayed for several years, “Lord, let me decrease as You increase in my life. Hide me behind Your cross so...

I’m newly returned from my SUSIE Magazine/Never the Same trip to Ecuador and overflowing with stories about the great things God did there. I need to save most of those for the magazine so you won’t read many here!Blogging and mission trips don’t seem to go together well for me. Internet tends to be sporadic and my days, long and full. Of course, I had good intentions of pre-posting (didn’t happen), posting during training (didn’t happen), and posting during the trip (you guessed it–didn’t happen). But before we return to our regular programming, I wanted to share a word received from a dear friend from seminary who now serves as a career missionary in Honduras. She had tried to post this as a comment on my “Prayer for Summer Missionaries” and was unsuccessful so I received her permission to include it here.I don’t understand everything about the spiritual dynamic of mission trips. I do know that God talks about the importance of planting and watering as well as sowing and reaping. When I teach about prayerwalking, I remind people that sometimes our work is as much or more about preparing the soil than harvesting. Each aspect of a trip is important and, although we want to see people come to know Christ, we need to be aware that the timing belongs to the Lord. He is the One who draws people to Himself. And if our work moves them one step closer to true relationship with Him, it has value whether or not we get to see them cross the line.Please read my friend Beverly’s remarks and add your own comments. Are short-term teams valuable? Do they hurt or help the work of career missionaries? Do they make an impact in the kingdom? Feel free to join the discussion!As long-term missionaries, we’ve learned to value short-term teams. They are sometimes a breath of fresh air, sometimes a headache, have much to offer or are barely prepared, but at the end of the day there is a powerful spiritual dynamic in their presence.We are faith missionaries, so some have asked, “Wouldn’t it be more useful to just send you the cost of the airfare and other trip costs?” While we never turn down God’s provision :), the answer is “no”. The truth is that when they, in obedience to God’s call, place their feet in our nation, they bring the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom, after all, is where we do exactly what the King says, including putting our passport to work. Their obedience creates a dynamic in the heavenlies over our nation that results in the salvation of persons whom we haven’t been able to reach (even when the visiting...