Author: Adventures

Just an Orphan Myself

      Left abandoned and alone in this BIG world, only looking for someone to consistently love them every day and not leave like everyone else. The feeling of just being wanted rings through their minds like a Grandfather clock every hour, constantly reminding them they no one wants them. This is only the beginning of what I can imagine these children feel that I see every Friday at the orphanage.       Setting this precious boy back in his crib and leaving him there, screaming and crying I couldn’t help but feel like I was everyone else in his life. He...

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Nothing Moved Me More than Feeding a Stranger

Dayna Bickham recently participated in our Wrecked Vision Trip to Guatemala. Dayna is a wife of nearly 19 years and a mom of two teen girls. She is a blogger and the author of The Purpose of Chosen. She also contributes to other sites around the web and loves to serve on mission trips around the world. "This adventure with God is like the best ride at a carnival: equal parts fun and and equal parts scary, but irresistible either way." – Dayna He seems angry. His tongue spills out over his chin because he has no teeth left. He sits in the middle of the shaded...

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To live is Christ, to die is gain

I'm learning the definition of living a life dead to this world. It stems from singing songs with old people, playing futbol with kids from the dump, playing with baby orphans, and sharing the gospel with random strangers. My life will be a life of God's faithfulness and so will yours. You need only give your heart, mind, soul, and strength to God; it's already His, so you are giving Him His just reward. I will share a quick story: Tonight on March 14th, God showed me so many things. I was created to be justified, sanctified, loved, saved, and to experience His presence full...

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Two Copper Coins

     It was a Sunday evening and I was giving a sermon. I knew God wanted me to speak something specific, He wanted to speak through me. The only problem was that I didn't know what He wanted to say. Throughout the day I had been conversing with God, He would give me bits and pieces, but none of it really made sense in my head. All I knew is that they were God's words.      God wanted to make sure I felt His presence all day in order to prepare me for this. It started at seven in the  morning when I had my own worship session, it was at that time...

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Not OK: How God Wants to Use You to End Human Trafficking

In cooperation with End It Movement, we’re spending Tuesdays for the next month shining a light on slavery and human trafficking. Slavery is not OK, and our missionaries around the world have had raw, firsthand experiences fighting it.    Our first story comes from Jessica Johnson, a Passport Thailand participant. Jessica and her team spent two months walking the streets of Thailand’s red light district and befriending the girls caught in sex tourism to offer them a way out. They took part in the spiritual battle raging in the human trafficking industry, and this is...

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Walking with Purpose

Would it be a shock for you to hear that this trip keeps changing me?:) But on second thought, it is not the trip itself. But God is using his children and new experiences as tools to mold me into His image.   To be chiseled into His image has at times been very painful. I have to confront old fears, hurt, and past experiences. But God is faithful and He has proved that He is either holding me by my right arm or He is carrying me. The Lord is burning away my self so that His joy, freedom, and fruit can take root and grow.   Recently I have been challenged to live intentionally by...

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Finding Purpose in the In-Between

Done with school and wondering what to do next? Hanna Skahn was in the same place. Drawn to adventure, she chose to go on a Passport trip, Adventures’ program for 18-22 year olds. Now, she’s in Guatemala having what she calls “the greatest adventure” of all. Even though freshman year seemed like yesterday, Hanna found herself holding a high school diploma, wondering what was next. Amidst the acceptance letters and decisions to be made, Hanna came across the Passport trip to Guatemala.   “I must admit, I was drawn selfishly in...

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Why Human Trafficking is Not OK and How You Can Help End It

  Slavery is wrong.  You know it, and we know it. So we're teaming up with END IT to shine a light on modern slavery.   Every Tuesday for the next five weeks, we'll be highlighting stories of trafficking, injustice, and freedom. We'll share stories from Passport participants and other Adventures missionaries about their experiences with human trafficking around the world – stories of heartbreak, stories that shock you, stories of how slavery is just not OK.    And stories of hope.  ...

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Cliche But True

      Well people prepare yourself for the most cliché and typical missionary post of your life. I’m about to tell you how blessed I truly am after being here, even after such a short time. I know what you’re thinking “oh great another missionary telling me how I need to eat all my food because there are starving child in Africa”, but that’s NOT what I want to say at all.       So here we go, I was sitting at the dump today talking to this family while they ate lunch. (When I say talking I mean barely picking up any of their...

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Missions in America: Philadelphia

Missions. When you hear that word, it's natural to think of exotic locations and faraway lands. To see hungry African children who may have never heard the name Jesus. To imagine the smell of garbage on the streets in India. But the mission field starts here in America. Elizabeth and Frank Varaso serve in Kensington — one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Mission teams helped convert the empty lot beside their home into a safe place for neighbors to gather, build relationships, and grow in their faith.         ...

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Guillermo and Pedro

It all started with God telling me to "be ready to recieve." He also went on to tell me "be ready to recieve bad news, but venture forth with good news." So, that left me with a shaky assurance that God was going to do something. The good thing is that I was assured that that bad news was not that my family wasn't in trouble or something worse.  So, my team and I went to the Santo Tomas market to pray for the bars, and the marred gentlemen who reside there. We walked to a very shady and dark bar that said something in Spanish. The men in the club across from...

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Can a College Mission Trip Change Your Life?

Gloriel Taylor and her Passport team spent last fall semester in Thailand, serving with a local ministry and ministering to the girls enslaved in prostitution on Bangla Road. She knew she would change lives but the life that changed most was hers.   Others who have been around the block will tell you, "You're going to be the one who gets impacted. You're going to be the one who changes." Looking back, I never expected this much change.   Before I came on this trip I NEVER prayed out loud unless I had to, not even in a small group of people, even if...

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