Where Wonder Meets Wander

I don't write about myself very often, but this time I just want to share a little bit. I want to tell you why I am here. I have been in Central America for five years now. I came on vacation and never went home. Something happened to me that is hard to explain. I walked streets I wasn't sure were safe. I went places I wasn't sure I would come back from. I got really far out of my comfort zone. And in the most unlikely places, I found life. Now I understand why Jesus ate with the prostitutes and drunkards. Why he went to the lost and the broken. They are actually cool people! You cannot imagine how amazing it was to hear their stories, to feel their pain and share their joy, to meet their families and get to know their names. I wish I could explain to you the beauty I see. I wish I could take the feeling that swells inside me and put it in your heart. I am without words, and so I try to convey in pictures the depth I see in their eyes the joy in the e...

I asked Jerry where he lives. His face brightened. "On the street" he beamed, "or on the beach" Lets go back a bit.... I have seen Jerry cleaning in the park. I have seen him sweeping and picking up trash. And I have seen him taking a little nap on a park bench. I thought he worked for the town. He doesn't. He just likes things to be clean. I met him in the street today. He was pushing a shopping cart filled with an old broom and dust pan, an old lamp, a fan, and a back pack. He was carrying a small package in his hand and I was surprised when he showed me what was inside. A new wheel for his shopping cart. It cost $3.50. He didn't ask for any money. But he did tell me how he was going to fix the lamp and fix the fan. And then there was the Bible in his pocket. When I asked him about it, his eyes lit up. Just like they did when I asked him where he lived. Odd thing. Did you know Jesus was homeless? He said, "Foxes have dens and bird...

What if we could feed families, promote endangered art, and then feed families again? I am trying to think of creative ways to promote culture and to help people feed themselves. Beggeing is a way of life here. The children beg on the street corners, the older men read your palm sing you a song when you didn't ask for it and then expect you to pay them for an unsolicited service (at least they are trying to give you something in return for your money) It is sad because you want to help and so you give. But then the same person asks you for money the next time they see you, and because you gave the first time, the expect you to give again. And you don't have the resources to just keep feeding them everyday. So what do you do? It is easy to get angry at them after a while because they just keep hounding you. the other day I had 4 dollars in my pocket and knew it would be days before I could get any more. But a begger stood before me, refusing to leave until I gave him a do...