My Resilient Scholars

by | Oct 13, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

As the program director in Jamaica, I spend a lot of time praying for the scholars in my program. As I’ve been praying, the word resilience has been echoing in my head for months. Looking at the definition, resilience means “the capacity to recover quickly from...

A Cry With Mary

by | Oct 6, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

This past spring, I went on a service trip to Guatemala with 11 other parishioners from the St. Mary Student Parish in Ann Arbor. I had no idea the impact this trip would have on me.  We started off traveling in our minibus to the Francisco Coll elementary school. We...

50 New Chances

by | Sep 29, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

Nalubega, a 19-year-old from Kawanda, Uganda, lost hope of pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor when her mother could no longer afford the cost of her school fees. Her mother, a waste picker at the Kiteezi dumpsite, had six other children to provide for too. But...

A Good Day in Their Lives

by | Sep 22, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

When you see children working in garbage dumps, it changes you.  You know there is nothing they did to deserve such a punishing life.  You can’t pretend you didn’t see it and just assume that everything is going to be OK, because it is fundamentally not. A person...

Laying the Foundation

by | Sep 15, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

I’ve been so happy to watch the construction underway on the new Family Life Center in the El Buen Samaritano (The Good Samaritan) neighborhood! When it’s finished, the scholars and children in this neighborhood, which backs up to the city garbage dump, will have...

Where was the Lord?

by | Sep 8, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

This past week, my son, Jacob, launched The Emmaus Podcast, to offer encouragement and advice to young men like himself who are committed to living righteous lives.  His show will feature interviews with friends and others he looks up to for the integrity of their...

Do Unto Others

by | Sep 1, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

Here in Ethiopia, we’ve been gathering our racers, creating our teams, and preparing for this fall’s IntSam Global 5K event.  This year’s event raises more money for scholarships, and I have experienced the difference that scholarships make for our...

Lost and Found

by | Aug 25, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

The most disturbing video about our mission wasn’t made by us.  In 2017, Food for the Poor created this video about Anthony, who was then an 11-year-old boy working in El Ocotillo, the garbage dump outside of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where we have been serving since...

Down But Not Out

by | Aug 4, 2023 | Uncategorized, Weekend Reflections

Last week, I continued with home visits to the potential scholars to see and experience their life after their daily work at the Dandora dumpsite. Families working in the dumpsite have become my friends, and they all welcomed me warmly. Sarah and her children are...