I am at my desk, saying goodbye to Pastor Graig as he heads out tomorrow morning for Jordan. Alan Shiffer and I will be flying out Monday morning to arrive Tuesday afternoon in Beirut, Lebanon to rendezvous with Graig and the three others joining us. While I don't know...
Hello Friends! We are heading off to Lebanon at the invitation of World Vision to explore how World vision and our church can respond to the Syrian refugee crisis. This is a “vision team” trip to ask questions, meet people on the ground in refugee camps, meet others...
The Vision Team arrived safely back in Portland on Sunday, February 17. As we looked back on the trip, we considered our most memorable moments. Below are entries from each member of the team. I will never forget winding through each slum community and the contrast of the...
This morning, we visited yet another of the Khulna area slums. This one was near a port on the river where huge sacks of fertilizer and grain were unloaded from large boats onto men’s heads and then onto large stockpiles, prepared for transport. The railroad owns the land for...
Our devotional today came from John 15:15-17 “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” This is the wise guidance that World Vision uses for the Jiboner Jannya program: to create a sustainable result. In this third year of a...
Today we had a close-up look at the work of World Vision staff in the slums of Khulna. Our day started with a walk through the narrow, hard packed dirt path of the slums, bordered by an open sewage drain. The walls on either side of us alternated from wood slats to metal...
Jiboner Jannya This phrase, meaning “for a better life”, is the name of the initiative to Eliminate Child Labor that World Vision has undertaken here in Bangladesh in partnership with Lake Grove Presbyterian Church. The statistics are alarming. Out of an estimated...
The day began with Sunday worship with World Vision staff at their national office. Pastor Robin assured staff that we will remember them after we leave, that remembering means praying and giving thanks for their work. Their work is difficult, but one of Lake Grove Presbyterian...
Today, February 9, was our first full day in Bangladesh - which seems funny because we left on Wednesday, February 7 from San Francisco at 9:30 am and arrived at our hotel in Dhaka around midnight on February 8, having only witnessed one sunset. The stars were bright as...
January 27 was an exciting day for the Bangladesh team as we were commissioned, by no less than four encouraging services, to represent the Lake Grove Presbyterian Church (and Jesus Christ - a tall order!) with eagerness and determination. We were asked to serve the people we...
