Everyday Heroes: layaway

News worth sharing:
Anonymous donors pay strangers' layaway accounts

NOTE: The Everyday Heroes series is intended to draw attention to kindness. It's purpose is to share stories of normal people engaging in acts of kindness. Why? Because I believe kindness is what changes the world.

Encore: Tina and her girls

In the coming weeks, I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from the past six years on this blog. Yes, I have had this blog for nearly SIX years! I have revisited some of these posts lately. It is interesting to me how much life has changed. For those who are new around here, it will give you a glimpse of the journey. I am calling this series "Encore." If you'd like, you can vote on your favorites.

Best of 2008

Here is one of the nominees from July 2008. My family is a bit, well...um...unconventional. For our family reunion, we have a talent show. It's a good thing the family is full of talent! The lead singer is my mom. The back-up dancers are my aunties, including myself. This wasn't just a one-time event. This was a snip-it from my childhood. It has been passed on to the next generation - notice the girls on the side-lines following along.


I wanted to share with you a taste of the Gonzales Family Talent Show. My mom is Tina, my aunts and I are the back-up dancers. Too fun!

Encore: living in a tent?

In the coming weeks, I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from the past six years on this blog. Yes, I have had this blog for nearly SIX years! I have revisited some of these posts lately. It is interesting to me how much life has changed. For those who are new around here, it will give you a glimpse of the journey. I am calling this series "Encore." If you'd like, you can vote on your favorites.

Best of 2008

Here is one of the nominees from June 2008. The life of adventure wasn't as glamorous as it appears. I was looking for successful strategies to make it work.



I feel like a nomad. Since moving to North Carolina I have been a woman without a home. I travel constantly from place to place, country to country and continent to continent. Returning to North Carolina just feels like another trip, another place I'm visiting. I'm here so infrequently that it isn't home, it isn't familiar, and I have not transitioned. I read a scripture in Hebrews recently that actually brought me some comfort.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abraham left home without knowing his destination, he made his home in a foreign land and lived in tents (as did his decendents). Why would he do this? Why would he leave the comforts of home? He did it to follow a promise God had given him, he kept looking toward that goal and not at his present discomforts - like living in a tent. If Abraham could do it, I could do it, right? Well, I'm trying...but I can certainly tell you it isn't comfortable or easy. I'm doing it because I believe God has called me to this work in this place. I'm doing it out of faith. This isn't the first time I've followed God into the unknown, this isn't the first time obedience to God's call has cost me something...reading Abraham's story brings me comfort because I know that my experience has been survived by others, in fact others have had it tougher. And, in case your wondering, every time I've done what God asked of me it worked out to be a time of incredible personal growth or meaningful ministry. I called this the year of faith steps and it certainly has been.

So, I ask you, has there been a time when you had to leave the familiar for the unknown? What was the result?

Encore: You know you live in a small town when...

In the coming weeks, I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from the past six years on this blog. Yes, I have had this blog for nearly SIX years! I have revisited some of these posts lately. It is interesting to me how much life has changed. For those who are new around here, it will give you a glimpse of the journey. I am calling this series "Encore." If you'd like, you can vote on your favorites.

Best of 2008

Here is one of the nominees from April 2008. When I wasn't globe trotting, Kenyon and I resided in the smallest town we had ever lived in - Boone, NC. This location still holds that record. There are some perks to small town life, this is one I discovered.


The process to dispute a traffic violation citation (ticket) involves a face-to-face sit down with the District Attorney (DA). They told me to go talk to the DA. I thought they were joking or that at most I would speak with a DA representative...no way would the actual DA have time to speak to me about a ticket. But...they had told me truth.

I guess I should find it comforting that the DA of our town isn't inundated with murder cases or other more pressing matters and has time to speak with citizens about speeding tickets. I've just never lived in such a place. I think I'm experiencing culture shock - big city to small town life transition shock.

Encore: Whirlwind Tour

In the coming weeks, I will be re-posting some of my favorite posts from the past six years on this blog. Yes, I have had this blog for nearly SIX years! I have revisited some of these posts lately. It is interesting to me how much life has changed. For those who are new around here, it will give you a glimpse of the journey. I am calling this series "Encore." If you'd like, you can vote on your favorites.

Best of 2008

Here is one of the nominees from February 2008. This is one of my all time favorite adventures. The photo is from a rural part of Indonesia. That destination left me feeling like I had lived a National Geographic experience. Notice the number of days on the road and stops along the way. I lived in a state of sleep deprivation for over two-years. It must have been the adrenaline rush that kept me going!


I just returned from a whirlwind tour of Asia (beginning in Africa). In 21 days, I visited Uganda, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and India. Whew! The longest I stayed in any one hotel was two nights. I took 31 airplanes and was in countless time-zones. Though the trip was absolutely exhausting, it was also completely unforgettable. I can't possibly share all of the stories from the trip, but I just had to share this picture.

This man greeted us at one of our stops. He lives in a remote village in the interior of Indonesia in the area of Papua (different than Papua New Guinea). There are two options to reach the village; Option One: trek through dense jungle along steep mountain ranges for days, or Option Two: take a helicopter. We chose to ride in a heli (my first helicopter ride). I've only seen men like this on National Geographic specials, never in real life - until now. He's got all the accessories - dreadlocks, face paint, the pig tusk through a giant hole in his nose, beaded necklaces, his spear, and yes, the most important accessory of all, the penis gord. It was described to me as "accentuating his manhood." I imagine it can't be comfortable. The killed a pig in our honor, gutted it and opened it up for cooking in the hot rock oven. What an experience! I can hardly believe I lived it!

I visited this area because these rural people, who were previously so isolated, are dying in mass from AIDS. It is estimated that they will loose an entire generation to this disease. We aim to do something about that and will begin work in these villages this year. I will likely return in October for a scheduled training event. Simply unbelievable