I confess that I was somewhat of an oddity as a child. There are some who might argue that I’ve retained this quality into my adulthood. When I was about eight years old, my family was part of Brethren church plant in Grand Rapids. Actually, my father is the one who initiated the plant and…
Book Review: “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
I have never read a book as raw and as real as Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. While it is only 152 pages in length, it took me over a month to complete the book from cover to cover. I had to put the book down several times to process the intensity of the author’s words and his brutal honesty concerning the world he experiences as a Black man living in the United States.
Smoke-Stained Sky
Walking the streets of Bethlehem during the protest was not a fearful event for me. I perhaps never felt safer, even at the sound of tear gas shot into the air and watching the smoke in the distance.
Set This World on Fire
We remember the racial injustice of the past and the progress we’ve made into the present. Now, do we take a break until Black History Month or until next January? Despite the prevailing myth of a present “post-racial” society, the winds of change and activism have sprung up once again.
Homenaje
I knew something was wrong. My sister’s voice was dry on the other end of my hello. “Abuela… is dead.” I… paused to take in those words. My abuela, who had been at home in bed for months, had recently taken a turn for the worse. Death was something we knew that was coming, but not the something I prepared to receive. And to hear she was gone… Who knew one sentence, with so few words, could destroy so much?
Called to Rejection
They called me “100% gringo.” If I had been white enough to blush, my anger and frustration would have instantly been revealed. However, my skin wasn’t white. They didn’t see my anger, frustration and shame. Back in the United States, calling a Latino a gringo was either a bad joke or an insult good enough…
Emerging Leader Finds His Footing at CCDA
It’s our story, and someone needs to take it back. Someone needs to redeem our story. One person commented, “You just made my childhood make sense to me.” I cried at those words and it affirmed my decision to take back our story.
Get Lost
Roberto and I have been developing a friendship. Since I have arrived in León, Nicaragua, we’ve been working together doing urban ministry trainings in different locations throughout the city. Our mode of travel is Roberto’s motorbike. He drives and I hop on the back of that two wheeler and we make it work. Nicaragua is…
A Greater Whole
What does it mean to be a part of the church? To many that is probably a familiar question. But, I wonder, how often do we reflect on what it means to be a part of the global church? We read in the book of Romans God’s admonishment through the Apostle Paul, “For by the…
God’s Country
It’s hot everyday. And everyday it’s humid so that you don’t want to move or even turn your head. You sweat enough just by sitting still. The doors and windows stay open, allowing whatever breeze may fall to pass through the home. You try and find a place between the shadows and the chance to…
International, Latin-American, God
I feel… international. I’m not sure if that qualifies as an emotion, but its what I’m feeling right now. I’ve crossed by bus through two customs/immigration check points in the past ten hours, traveling form Nicaragua to Costa Rica. My wallet now has three different currencies in its folds; dollars, córdobas, and colones. Bright pinks,…
