This article was originally published in the World Orphans Fall Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. —Psalms 72:12-14 Single moms searching for jobs, adolescent sons and daughters not in school, and abusive or absent fathers are all pieces of broken, desperate families. When these fractured families are trapped living in gang-ridden neighborhoods ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Fall Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine One of the most tragic statistics you will read about orphaned children is not the estimated number of them in the world—143 million (although that number is mind-blowing). An even more tragic statistic is the number of children living in an orphanage that have at least one living parent. Some estimate that number to be over 80%. 80%! How can that be? Why is that so? Why do we have so many orphanages? Questions like these immediately come to mind. The reasons are complex and vary by cou ..read more

As Americans, many of us are accustomed to going on short-term trips because of our freedom. Globally speaking, those of us born in the US have a degree of freedom and safety not found in a lot of other places. A passport gives us the freedom to leave and re-enter our home country without fear of being detained or denied re-entry. Most of us are free to work and speak as we choose, and we have the space to prepare for and pursue short-term mission trips. To be in a position to have the time, energy, and finances to willingly choose to travel to another country—with the goal of learning and se ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine In 2003, my friend, Jake—a commander of a US Marine Special Forces platoon in the Iraq War—stood on a road in Iraq and watched a distant car speeding towards his post. It screeched to a halt a few hundred yards away, and a man jumped out of the vehicle, running towards Jake and the other soldiers with hands raised. Jake suspected he might be a suicide bomber, so he grabbed a few guys and ran forward, attempting to stop the man. As the group ran towards the man, a large, black, military ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine For the last five years, I have had the privilege of working in vulnerable areas of my native country. Each of the families I have served has impacted my life. Their stories have unveiled to me the realities that many families face. When I think back over these years, one family stands out from the others. The Castillos are a family of four children parented by a single mother. I was first introduced to the family via the eldest children, twins Amalia and Judith. We met during a diffi ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine “I can’t imagine” is a phrase commonly expressed by team members on our short-term mission trips. “I can’t imagine putting my child in an orphanage. I can’t imagine refusing to care for my nieces and nephews if they needed me.” Can you imagine? Yet, all around the world, mothers and fathers make these choices. They place their children in orphanages or residential care homes. They make the heart-wrenching choice to miss raising their own children. And when other children in their fam ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine Imagine living in a constant state of stress because there is never enough. Unexpected expenses are always emergencies. Your sickness or injury means you can’t work; therefore, your family won’t eat. If another family member is sick or injured, you may have to choose between medical care or rent. Choices are few, your options are limited, and every day is consumed with attempting to survive. You have little time and even less energy to consider the future or imagine alternatives. You s ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine As the rain fell on our dreary gathering, Ahmed’s* son was gently placed in the bottom of the grave, separated from the wet clay soil by a thin piece of loose plastic. The digger began moving the dirt back into the grave, and within a few minutes, it was done. Ahmed hails from the notorious city of Fallujah in southern Iraq, a region marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq war. The amount of weaponry used in Fallujah to quell resistance and wipe out Al-Qaeda and ISIS dwarf ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Spring Insight Magazine 2019. View Full Magazine Americans are typically familiar with freedom being built into the fabric of our country. We are free to go where we want, eat what we want, live where we want, say what we want, believe what we want, and worship where and how we want. The concept of freedom is an identifying marker of life in the US. However, when we look at Scripture, we see that our human condition is that of slaves—slaves to sin, the law, death, and dark, spiritual forces. We sin because we are sinful; however, by ..read more

This article was originally published in the World Orphans Fall Insight Magazine 2018. View Full Magazine When we consider meals, we often think about the way they bring families together. As food is laid out, everyone gathers around the table, conversation flows, and families bond. But traditionally, eating together has not been encouraged in India. Men and children were fed first. Women could only sit down to eat once the men and children were finished. In millions of impoverished homes, this practice had an unintended consequence—malnutrition among women, as at times there was no food le ..read more