My hands are shaking in a jerky vibration. My legs are unsteady as they threaten to give way. There are one hundred people in front of me. It is a group from a church which has just begun to support our ministry. My husband just introduced me. Now they are waiting to hear a part […]
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May of 2013, A Life Overseas co-founder Laura Parker wrote an article celebrating the site’s six-month anniversary and its first 100 posts. At that time, our Facebook community numbered about 800 folks. As of this writing, regular and guest writers have published 742 articles, with a community on Facebook exceeding 11,000 people! Thank you for […]
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When you visit a country where the people don’t speak your language, there are several important phrases you should know how to say: things such as “Hello” and “Goodbye,” “How much is this?” “Where’s the bathroom?” and “Can I have ice with my water?” But when you move to that country, the stakes become higher. The […]
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For months now I’ve had writer’s block at A Life Overseas. I’ve been busy, yes, but mostly I’ve had writer’s block. So you haven’t seen me around here much. I have so many things to say in general (and I do so, on my personal blog), but when I sit at the computer and ask […]
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By Kris Gnuse I went from zero to sixty in the time it took to realize that the internet was down. Again. From nurturing wife planning a trip to the grocery store, to snipping, snapping grumpiness. The previous 10 days had been busy with blessings. A long brunch at a cozy café shared with other […]
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“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” (Jim Rohn) Soak in that for a minute. Think it through. Is it true? For you personally? For everyone? For me it is one of those brilliantly profound and profoundly frustrating statements. It makes sense. A lot of sense. So much […]
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Dear expat friends who have my back and hold my heart, When I say my husband and I are arguing about packing suitcases and that my back hurts, you know what I mean. You’ve also slammed doors and said things you regret because peanut butter weighs a lot and tennis rackets don’t quite fit. Thanks […]
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Years ago, standing in our parent’s basement one of my sisters wondered what it would be like to deal with all of our dad’s paperwork. While not a hoarder in other areas, every piece of paper the man had touched through his life, he kept. In that moment, the Lord gave me this insight: All […]
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This year, we needed a lot of extra money – $38,000.00 extra to be precise. Even though we’ve been at this whole support raising thing for more than a decade, that big number left me feeling a bit wobbly. I had two major doubts: Yeah God has provided in really cool ways in the past, […]
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By Anthony Sytsma Should churches send out “ordinary Christians” as missionaries? That is the question that came to my mind when I read an intriguing tweet from Chuck Swindoll: “Missions aren’t just for superstars. A missionary is just like you. Ordinary folks through whom God does the extraordinary.” On the one hand, I agree with this […]
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“So” said the kindly woman at the Baptist church. “You must want to be a missionary too when you grow up! Do you think God will call you too?” I recoiled. I hoped she wouldn’t see the visible distress on my face. She was so kind. She was so excited about my potential. How could […]
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Hey friends, I usually write a self-care post in January, but I just wanted to run through a quick self-care check-up with you this month, and give a few ideas if you find yourself needing a little pick-me-up. I like to use the Biopsychosocial model as a guide to make sure that we’re covering all […]
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