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Behind Thailand’s Red Lights

As I walked down the dusty streets my mind raced. I wove my way through vendors hawking paintings of elephants, colorful bracelets, silk scarves, and carved soap. A sungtow rumbled past us, seeking someone to chauffeur to unknown destinations. We turned down an alley filled with loud shouting and the deafening thump of dance music. The colors faded from the soft glow of streetlights to bright neon strobe lights and discos. And vendors were no longer selling bracelets and soap. They were selling women.

I Was A Stranger And You Invited Me In

My gaze traveled across the weathered faces of the villagers. For a moment, my eyes connected with Pastor Nathan’s. All week, he had taken us from village to village across his home country of Papua New Guinea. He’d helped us spread this message of forgiveness. I wondered if he was weary of hearing it by now. “If you have someone …

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Fatherhood

What does it mean to be a Father? I hoped to God it meant more than to Father a bright eyed family only to leave a Father-sized hole in the broken heart of a boy. A boy who just wanted to be like his dad Had suddenly added a long list of bad characteristics to an already compromised character. Are …

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What happens when you forgive

My gaze traveled across the weathered faces of the villagers. For a moment, my eyes connected with Pastor Nathan’s. All week, he had taken us from village to village across his home country of Papua New Guinea. He’d helped us spread this message of forgiveness. I wondered if he was weary of hearing it by now. “If you have someone …

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Hope Among the Lepers

The guide paused at a home with a white door. “Hello,” he called in the native dialect. “We’re here to pray for people. Can we pray for you?” he asked. An elderly man inside the house invited us to sit with him. He smiled as we knelt next to him on the dirt floor. Our prayers felt small in the …

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So Far From Home… but God Is With Us

We explored and attempted to become familiar and comfortable, but all the while the enemy was attacking us where we already bled; anxiety, worry, apathy, insecurity, anger, hopelessness. For two straight days, my hands quaked. The ever present internal strife seemed unbearable. And yet, in the midst of our anxiety, we found God’s presence. He gave us a verse from …

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Mandela Day: Make A Difference In The Lives Of Others

Tomorrow, the world celebrates Mandela Day. Nelson Mandela, a man who was imprisoned for 27 years for opposing the injustice of the Apartheid government in South Africa, emerged an ambassador of hope, reconciliation and utterly committed to giving his life for others: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we …

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God’s MultiGenerational Vision — The Monarch Butterfly

The annual migration of the Monarch butterfly across North America has been called “one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world”. Monarchs start their migration northward, from Mexico each March. They lay their eggs, die, and the next generation of Monarchs continue the journey. Their annual migration covers over 7,000 kilometers. One butterfly’s life-cycle is about seven weeks. …

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5 Ways God Turned My Life Upside Down in DTS

I’ve had some really tough things happen in my life and I always believed that God caused them. When I was a teenager, I had a miscarriage. It rocked my world. I was so angry at God for putting me through something so painful. I lived with that anger for several years until one of our DTS speakers said, “God …

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Overcoming Discouragement

“Look, it’s a rainbow!” Marie said. I didn’t believe her at first — it hadn’t been raining. But I looked in the direction she pointed and saw she was right. A shimmery rainbow arched over the small French town of St Hippolyte-du Fort. It was like God had painted that rainbow just to encourage our team with the promise that …