This past week I have been studying rocks and soil with one of my online students from China. We learned about topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock. And spent some time talking about why topsoil is so important for plants to grow. Did you know that the uppermost layer of the topsoil is called ‘humus’ and it […]
Not Alone
2020 was a hard year for so many of us. I can’t imagine there are many people whose lives are truly untouched by the events of this last year and a half. I am certainly not one of them if they do exist. I spent the better part of 2020 and the early weeks of […]
Must-See Landmarks in Oaxaca, Mexico
One advantage to living in a top tourist destination is getting to see some of the coolest landmarks around. Oaxaca has a long history and much of it can still be seen today. From petrified waterfalls to a now empty convent Oaxaca has something for everyone- regardless of whether or not you consider yourself a […]
Why I’m Celebrating Holy Week This Year
Growing up in a Southern Baptist Church in America one doesn’t follow a lot of the orthodox traditions. Easter for me has always consisted of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Of course I learned about Palm Sunday too, but the week leading to Resurrection Sunday is just your average week for most American Baptists. In […]
Seeking Bethlehem
We walked through the small town and out to the bridge that sits resting just under the nearest mountain. The moon sat quietly above as though it had been hung just a short distance above the tallest peak. To the left of the mountain stood the town and its people as they went about their […]
Home
The more I live the more I learn what a funny thing home is. Some say it’s the place you were born, the place you now reside, or perhaps it’s the place your heart most longs to be. I think home is a little bit of all three, with each piece of home pulling at […]
What Linguistics Taught Me About Loving My Neighbor
It was a warm spring afternoon as I walked through campus on the way to my afternoon lecture: Linguistics 101. At the time I was on the fast track to becoming a marine biologist. But my love for language led me to enroll in the course just for fun. (Spoiler: I later changed my major […]
One Day at a Time
When I first began learning Spanish in 9th grade there was a song that my teacher played for us. It was the first Christian song I learned in Spanish. It wasn’t my usual style of music but the words stuck in my head. When I went off to college, I would find myself wandering around […]
Una Actitud no tan 2020 (Filipenses 2)
Todavía recuerdo el lugar donde nos reunimos. Había un solo cuarto grande divido en partes para hacer de ello 3-4 salones. Esta clase era mi favorita. Había yo estudiado la Biblia toda mi vida pero la forma en que mi maestro ‘Coach’ nos enseñaba era distinto. Cuando él hablaba de la Biblia fue bastante evidente […]
Joy in the Times of Corona
I´m referring to the virus, of course. I have an interesting seat at the metaphorical table where I have watched this pandemic unfold. For months now I have traveled to China through my computer screen and chatted with kids from all over the country about life in quarantine. Some of my favorite comments so far […]