“Welcome to the IM family” was a common greeting I heard when I was out at International Ministries offices in Valley Forge, PA in June for my Endorsement Orientation.

I believe in short term mission trips because they can change churches and individuals. One of the most graphic stories that I was involved with began in 1976 as we were visiting our home church, First Baptist Church of Covina, CA. The Minister of Music, Dave Lehman, had developed a youth/young adult choir called the “Son Shiny Day”.

I hope that each one of you had a blessed day in company of loved ones. I stayed home working on my new book on Discouragement. Do you have any experience about this subject?

September: In June, we shared that we were going to have a few “reverse mission” experiences during our US/PR assignment; one of them in California and another in Montana. It …

We are in the midst of cross-cultural training and language acquisition study. You can think of it as Missionary Boot Camp. A typical day starts with early morning exercise, coffee, prayer, more coffee, and bible study.

Spring, the season of renewal and new life, has nearly sprung south of the equator — the pohutukawa, camellias, and bougainvillea are starting to bloom, painting a canvas of color on every street.