The Irreparable Loss of the One-Room School
Featured | Writings

The Irreparable Loss of the One-Room School

They are ubiquitous throughout small-town USA. Today they mostly serve as houses, sheds or chicken coops, but once they were a fixture, an integral part of every community. You can still usually tell them apart from other houses, sheds, or chicken coops by their rather unique structure. I am referring, of course, to the one-room…

Language Tools for Short-Term Missions, Part 2: Spotify
Writings

Language Tools for Short-Term Missions, Part 2: Spotify

This is the second installment of a three-part (so far) series on digital tools available for people interested in short-term missions opportunities. In the first post we covered everyone’s favorite language app, Duolingo. Now we will move to another app that has proven very helpful to me: Spotify. Spotify? Really? Yes, and here’s why. With…

Vintage Vinyl and Rediscovered Pleasures
Writings

Vintage Vinyl and Rediscovered Pleasures

Several years ago I “rescued” some of my parents’ old music LPs from certain death. Since then I have often wanted to listen to them, with one main issue standing in the way: I had no phonograph player. I kept my eyes open, but the cost of a new one here in Brazil was always…

They Know. They’ve Always Known.
Writings

They Know. They’ve Always Known.

Two news items caught my interest over the last week. At the face of it, they are not related. But as we progress in this short article, the connection will become very clear. The first involves the heartbreaking case of a young mother who was pursued by the police for allegedly shoplifting. In the course…