Heroes of Faith who Have Shaped Us
When I interviewed for this position last year, I was intrigued by the fifth bullet point in the job description: Articulate the spiritual values and policies to execute the mission of International Samaritan and develop an internal culture that supports those values....
Who are the Saints in Your Life?
A year ago this morning, I walked in for my first day on the job at International Samaritan. When I mention this fact to friends, old-school Catholics are quick to tell me, “Ahh, All Saints Day, that’s a good day to start your new job.” For those of you who are not...
Your Role in Winning the Nobel Prize
This past Friday morning, I was with Dan Weingartz, one of our board members at International Samaritan, on a tour of a medical clinic we helped to renovate in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city. Just as we were finishing our tour, Selam Terefe, our inspirational...
A Reflection on Life and Love
"Lift your head, Isabelita.” “You can do it!” “Come on, Titi! We need you to lift your head…” I stood in awe, watching my wife, her sister and their aunt encouraging the matriarch of their family to lift her head off the pillow of her bed in an intensive care unit to...
What’s the Worst Job You’ve Ever Had?
I’ve written before about the best job I ever had, but the worst job is a whole different story. The worst job I’ve ever had has been the work of finding a job. Twice in my life, I’ve lost a job. Both times came as a complete surprise, not only to me but also to my...
I am the Champion
If you haven’t done so already, take two minutes to check out the performance of the Detroit Youth Choir on America’s Got Talent last week. Just click on the picture below for almost instant joy:I don’t know any of the young people in this choir, but I’ve spent most...
The Sound of Silence in Nicaragua
I recently returned from a week visiting with our scholars and partners in Nicaragua and what stunned me more than anything else about Nicaragua was the silence. Since the death of more than 300 protestors in the streets last year, it feels like half the nation has...
Where are the Bright Spots in your Life?
My heart aches for the times we live in. The atrocities committed in Dayton and El Paso this past weekend don’t seem like isolated events. They seem like the inevitable result of living in a world consumed with glorifying oneself on social media, with demonizing...
What Coco Gauff and our Scholars Have in Common
Last week, a 15-year-old girl named Coco became the youngest person ever to win three matches at Wimbledon, including an awe-inspiring comeback after being down 6-3 and 5-2 in the second match. The thrill of that victory, and the beautiful bond so evident between her...
Straight Out, Flat Out, and Honest.
One of my strengths is that I never see a glass as half full; I see it as mostly full almost all the time. My natural optimism helps me in my work, but I've learned that it can also hurt me. Sometimes the glass can actually be half empty—or even completely empty...
What’s Most Important in Your Community?
On Mother’s Day in Guatemala, 70 women from a village bordering a dumpsite on the outskirts of Guatemala City gathered to work with our team on the answer to that question. Figuring out a list of needs was the easy part. They need: A school A recreation center Access...
Where do you see God in Life?
What I love about our work at International Samaritan is how often I see and feel the presence of God in what we do. Recently, I had the unique privilege of sitting in on the conversations that our scholarship students in Guatemala were having with a woman who has...
