When the Storms Come

by | Jun 23, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

I consider it a privilege to work for an organization whose mission is to help change lives.  Still, there are days I feel very sad when I see children, young people, and especially older adults working in the garbage dumps in my city of Tegucigalpa.  It makes me...

A Good Dad Needs You

by | Jun 16, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

I’m feeling pretty nostalgic this Father’s Day weekend.  It started last Saturday night, at the wedding of our board chair’s daughter, when Dan Weingartz was explaining to my wife and me how he wept like a baby every time he tried to pick a song for the father’s dance...

One Month In Kiteezi

by | Jun 9, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

My work at International Samaritan began just over a month ago.  Uganda, one of the poorest countries in the world, presents a challenging backdrop for our mission.  The average daily income barely reaches one dollar, and the lack of formal education and employment...

A Garbage Dump in Galilee?

by | Jun 2, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

If there were a garbage dump in Galilee 2,000 years ago, I’m confident that Jesus would have gone to it.  If you want to know what that would look like in today’s world, please watch the video below.  It captures Esther Muhia, the leader of our freshly-established...

Why’d They Do That?

by | May 26, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

Children growing up in the Riverton area, located near Jamaica’s capital of Kingston, have the double whammy of being poor and the stigma of living and working near a garbage dump. I grew up in Riverton, too. My own dad never had the opportunity to finish primary...

The Hero in My Story

by | May 19, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

One of the best of many gifts my parents gave me is my middle name, Francis, after my dad’s best friend, Francis Canfield, S.J.  Fr. Frank ran the table on the Sacraments with me. He baptized me, gave me First Communion, sponsored me at Confirmation (where I also took...

Encourage One Another

by | May 12, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

The reason many parents of our scholars are forced to work in the garbage dumps is that they were robbed of the opportunity to learn to read or write as children. They have their own children now, who are flourishing in school because of scholarships you help provide,...

Our God Given Missions

by | May 5, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

Leer este blog en español ይህንን ብሎግ በአማርኛ ያንብቡ Each of us has a vocation—a unique mission to live the life God intends for us. If we discern that vocation, He will equip us with everything we need to live it out. My six siblings and I have incredible parents who taught...

This is Personal

by | Apr 28, 2023 | Weekend Reflections

Leer este blog en español ይህንን ብሎግ በአማርኛ ያንብቡ We invest in service immersion trips with our partners because they make global issues personal. It’s one thing to read that one out of ten people in the world live on less than $2 per day. It’s another thing to have a...