Editorials and Faith-Based Articles
Bridge Building by Mike Carman When we began our Jobs for Life courses at a local shelter a few years ago, one of the first questions we heard was, “Are you guys really coming back?” When we assured them that we were and asked why they posed that question, they replied, “Because other groups have […]
Volunteers’ Journey by U.J. Namkung (Volunteer of the Month) A TIME OF CRISIS It was the spring of 2006. We had just returned to Orange County for the birth of our daughter, Irene. After having served our first term as missionaries, we were supposed to go back after a one year furlough to start a […]
Social Distancing: It’s Nothing New Blog by Mike Carman Social distancing is the new and now-familiar term in our lexicon. But although the phrase may be recent, the concept is not. In Luke 17, we read about Jesus entering a village where he was met by ten men with skin diseases (leprosy). They called out […]
Safe, Heard, and Known by Daniel Ramos (THRIVE Program, Resident Mentor) *** NOTE: Names have been changed for privacy *** One day I got the opportunity to head home to the THRIVE House earlier than usual. As soon as I got home, I was hungry and decided to see who was inside the house to […]
A Poolside Encounter by Mike Carman 38 years. That’s a long time to be sick. And with the passing of each torturous year, the prospect of getting better became that much more unlikely. And so he laid there, barely able to move his wretched and racked body, dependent upon others to meet his meager daily […]
Homelessness: What exactly are we aware of? Blog by Mike Carman Someone shared an article with me last week that reported the unspeakable. A woman in Los Angeles had a bucket of hot diarrhea poured over her by a mentally unstable man who was homeless. The article spoke of her experience and the resulting trauma […]
Real-World Disciple Making by Mike Carman During my college/young adult years (a long time ago!), the concept of making disciples (today usually called mentoring) was popular in our Christian circles. Numerous books were written and multiple programs were designed to help Christians fulfill what we understood as Jesus’s great command to His followers, to “go […]
The Healing Power of Relationship Blog by Chris Baeza “We are better together in healthy relationships,” said Renae Dupuis, our Trauma Specialist and RESPITE Program Director. Our 2nd Annual RESPITE Conference concluded last Saturday and our attendees spent a whole day at Granada Heights Friends Church in La Mirada. Conference attendees listened to speakers and […]
WHO is your community? by Chris Baeza For me, the community has been the students at Biola University for the last four years. Interestingly enough, I got off-campus very little in order to participate in initiatives that help out my community. The word “community” means “a group of people living in the same place or […]
Coming into Jobs for Life I don’t think I had the clearest picture of what to expect. I knew it was a work force skills curriculum focused around biblical truth that met at a local shelter for two hours twice a week. I wasn’t too sure what my duties would entail as a champion but […]