From the first time I walked through the door at The River, I had a feeling of hope. I didn’t know what to expect, but forming relationships and watching lives change right before my eyes was not what I…
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Labor
I have always loved helping people. As a young black teacher, I want to be a role model to the youth in my community, my church, and my classroom. So many children go through life without a father or…
I felt called to serve the Lord when I was in high school, and that’s when I went on my first mission trip. Then during physician assistant school, I started going on mission trips with the Christian Medical and…
My wife and I opened an ice cream shop three years ago, and it’s been an amazing experience for our family. Not just the ice cream, although that’s good! It’s our 12 employees. All but one are young adults…
I founded Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women in 2004, eight years after the loss of my twin daughters Faith and Grace and about six years after the loss of my son, Thomas. Faith and Grace were born still in…
Most people look forward to the day they retire. I suppose I was no different. At first, I wanted a typical sit-around-and-lounge retirement, but the fantasy of that wore off quickly. It didn’t take long before I was bored…
I remember a time when family not only meant that which you were born into, but also the people around us who we “do life” with. God is the greatest advocate for community, and I do not believe it…
I have always loved missions. I attribute a lot of that love to my mother. From a young age, she encouraged my brothers and me to go on short-term mission trips. I was in 6th grade when I took…
It was 1998 when my wife and I went on our first medical mission trip to Venezuela. I had been a surgeon and in practice with my brother for 17 years. As we worked in a make-shift clinic on…
Who am I riding in the car with? He’s cursing, doing drugs and has a gun. He pulled up to visit a friend, leaving me in the passenger seat, puzzled. The music was blasting, it lacked compassion, promoted drugs,…
When I was in 6th grade, I failed my school state test, and self-doubt started invading my thoughts. As a 22-year-old, I felt overwhelmed, having to quickly transform into my mother’s care giver, all while trying to survive being…
We are called to something much greater than ourselves: to love God and to love others. I never thought my calling would be found intertwined in the hearts and lives of marginalized women in the sex industry. Jesus Said…
God truly uses our gifts no matter how insignificant a gift it may seem. For years, my sisters and I have worked together to decorate and put on events. We have done everything from wedding receptions to birthday parties…
If you would have told me ten years ago this is what my life would be, I would never have believed you. As a mother of five with two special needs children, I have experienced the joys and heart…
As a Walmart employee for 26 years, I have been following the calling of the Lord to serve people whom He puts in my path. He has led me to minister a word from the Lord or pray for…
Have you ever had a desire to help an organization but didn’t know what you could do? That was my situation when I became aware of the Angels Charge Ministry, a faith-based non-profit helping women coming out of prisons…
A year ago, I was extremely depressed. I was without a job and feeling totally worthless. It seemed I had lost everything that I loved. I was thinking seriously about suicide. But as I was driving home one day,…
To experience healing is to experience the loving kindness of Christ. As a recent graduate student of Marriage and Family Therapy, I’ve been able to witness how the healing of one person can, in turn, be a healing for…
I was playing Contract Bridge after I had retired in early 2005, and one of the players was an AARP volunteer who helped people submit their federal tax returns for free at the local senior center. I had always done my…
There are an overwhelming number of women who have had their children, lives, and freedom taken from them due to drug addictions. Many have professed a Christian faith but still face suicidal thoughts and a deficit of hope. After…
I served in the disaster relief ministry, one of the most intense and demanding times of my life, both spiritually and physically. This helped stretch me in ways I didn’t even realize. But now, I am focusing my efforts to help…
I have worked in the cancer field my whole career. I’ve seen the struggles patients go through and how it permeates every facet of their lives. I know how difficult it is to get the right nutrition during different…
I was 46 years old and with my only child entering high school, I was praying about what I should do with the second half of my life. As a teacher and educator, I volunteered at my daughter’s school,…
As a chiropractor, I take my patients’ health very seriously. I work hard to look at the entire person and his or her health, not just a few symptoms. I am very passionate about this and I believe that…
When you spend a few hours helping build a wheelchair ramp for someone who is homebound, you play a part in changing someone’s life. That’s what struck me when I was part of a Kiwanis club that built a…
I was born in Brazil and moved to North Carolina with my family when I was 11. During high school, I was an agnostic or maybe an atheist. But, after wrestling with my thoughts about God, I came to…
I am a missionary kid. I grew up in Panama where I joined my parents in ministry throughout the country. I saw God do some pretty amazing things. When I was a child, I was called to missions. Honestly,…
In September of 2011, the son of one of my marketing clients was struck by a car. He was a very active eight-year-old and had broken both of his legs. I went searching for a gift for him and…
My life is pretty busy. Between work and family, there just isn’t a lot of time left for ministry. For a long time, I felt really guilty about that. Twice a year, my church parades people from various ministries…
Food is the way God led me to serve. About 18 years ago, my husband first volunteered as a driver for a local food pantry in our home state, Alaska. Unlike most soup kitchens or food pantries, this food…