Walking a Day in Their “Shoes”
As a kid do you remember complaining about having to do chores and having your parents or grandparents go into that long story about how when they were kids they had to walk five miles uphill one-way to school in the snow? While your parents or grandparents were just telling stories, the truth is that [...]
Nobody Loves a Leper
How do you describe rejection, despair and disfigurement–in one word? Leprosy. In Jesus’ day, it was the most dreaded disease imaginable. Same in our day. Leprosy, we’ve now seen firsthand, is alive and deadly in Bangladesh, the world’s most densely populated country. For anyone who missed the Sunday School stories, leprosy’s progressive symptoms include skin [...]
Created in His Own Image in Kenya
“God says: God created man in His own image, Genesis 1:27.” The teacher stood in front of about 80 children in a crowded room made of corrugated metal and had the students repeat the verse in unison. They did so obediently and attentively. It was large group at an Awana club in one of the [...]
Good Morning Chicago
Good morning, Chicago! Welcome WMBI Morning Show listeners. It’s been a fun time this morning with Jon Gauger, guest host of Friday’s Morning Show. He invited me to join him and talk about photography. Specifically, photography in a cross-cultural and ministry context. You see, we just spent ten days together traveling through South Asia reporting [...]
Abused, Sold, then Abandoned—(all by the age of 4)
Of the 19 boys in the room, Rohit was among the youngest, at just five years old. For our benefit, he bravely stood up and shared with us his story of life as the son of a prostitute. “My mother’s name is Shanti,” he began. “She wanted a daughter, not a son. But unfortunately, I [...]
A View from the Top of the World
The distressed gray slum seemed at first just another chapter in a long book on human misery. We took a short walk down muddy paths so narrow, we had to walk single file. Turning a corner, we heard the voices. Young voices. MANY voices. And all of them singing. The building containing all those voices [...]
“Can you you give me Jesus’ mobile number?”
Eight year old Chancal smiles freely. Laughs easily. Is a charming child to engage in conversation. There is nothing on her face that even hints at the agony of her few years. Nothing to suggest she could be the poster child for children at risk. Chancal lives in Nagpur, India—the geographic center of the country—at [...]
Be the Hands of Jesus to a Child at Risk
I think that in almost every child of God there is a desire to reach out to the hurting, lost, broken, and suffering people in this world. That is why I think one of the most exciting things going on in Awana International is the Children-at-Risk Initiative. I actually got tears in my eyes when [...]
The Best Camera
“Can you recommend a good camera for me to take on my next missions trip?” As the Awana International photographer, I’m often asked this question, or some variation of it. And I try to dodge them all. I wish I could tell everyone what that camera would be, but because of the almost daily [...]
Ten Keys to a Successful Family
Worship together as a family -bible study, prayer, and singing. Share at least one meal daily together as a family Take family vacations together each year – be together as a family, whether you go somewhere or not Spend time one-on-one with each family member Keep family traditions such as half birthdays, date night with [...]
The Trust Factor
Shooting photos is one thing. Telling stories of people’s lives is quite another, especially in ministry. I want to be accurate; I need to be concise, yet most people, when I interview them for twenty minutes or more, and yet the video will only be five minutes in length, know that not everything they say [...]
The Story Within the Story
I recently spoke to a group of pastors in a beautiful, old church in the St Ann Parish of Jamaica. Before the meetings began, I was walking around the church building admiring the old architecture and noticed the plaques on the wall. Each of the plaques gave testimony to beloved leaders, the dates of their [...]
A Reward From Him
More on parenting the Bible way. Last time we talked about “welcoming” your child, knowing that in doing so you are also welcoming Jesus. Let’s look at some more Bible wisdom. Psalm 127:3 says: Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Of course, daughters are also a heritage! But do [...]
Network Solutions
So, you think your Internet connection is slow today? This photo was shot on the balcony, just outside an Internet café in South Asia. -John Awana International
I Have a Name
Today ends our big internship project! Excited, but sad too. Just as a quick recap: all throughout the last 7 ½ weeks, we have been developing an initiative that involves all of the employees at Awana. It has been an incredible opportunity! We have taken an idea we are all passionate about (reaching kids who [...]
You’re Going to Love This Ministry!
“Tom, you are going to love this ministry!” These words spoken by my supervisor and mentor during my first week working at Awana echo in my mind today. This August I will celebrate 10 years serving with Awana, and I do love this ministry! During my first year working at Awana, I volunteered to serve [...]
An Angel in the Terminal
A few weeks ago, I was making a short weekend trip to Ft Lauderdale for an important Sunday service and Monday meeting in Boca Raton. I was particularly excited about this trip as the discussion outcomes would represent a new global leadership-development partnership. My original 2:00pm flight was canceled and I was re-booked on a [...]
Because They Matter to God
So it’s me again. Let’s pick up where I left off last time. If you remember, I ended with this: “God has allowed me to work in an area of ministry passion, the role of the parents in the spiritual nurture of their children at home. That’s what I’ll be blogging about in the future.” [...]
Capturing the Moment
There are many approaches to how one looks at photography. Art, news, story and many others. I tend to be a story person and a particular challenge for me is to be able to “capture the moment.” That takes experience, but the way to get experience, is to simply keep shooting. That’s why, apart from [...]
Parent’s Role in Spiritual Nuture of Children
When I first came to Awana all my experience was in the international realm, and little of it was in children’s ministry. I came from a large family with an even larger extended family, so I knew about children – but not children’s ministry per se. But international was my forte. I had lived in [...]
The Power of Seeing and Hearing
Eye On Awana is the new Awana International blog site. We hope to make it more than just a blog. We want to share with you some of our passion for reaching out to kids around the world in a cross-cultural context using the Awana ministry. For most of us here in the Awana office [...]
Enoch, a Child of War
“A Child of War.” Being in Awana has helped me to forget my past. Alt title: “God Things” Name: Enoch Malangu Muchima, 25 ys old. Place: Meheba Refugee Settlement, NW Zambia, Africa Awana Leader: Yes, trained 1 yr ago in the first SP training at Meheba Date: Interviewed April 27, 2011 Use restrictions: See copyright, [...]
