In April of 2006, I joined a group of college students from Los Angeles on a journey to Mexico. This annual trip has become something of a tradition for me — a time to join old friends and meet new ones on a unique experience. At the end of last year’s trip, we became aware of a couple of young girls who were in danger. They were both handicapped and their mother had decided to either kill them or abandon them. I just returned from another trip to Mexico. Perhaps the most powerful time for me on the 2007 trip was meeting these two handicapped girls who were very much alive. (Read on …)

I have been admiring the Planet Earth series on the Discovery Channel recently. It is fascinating to recognize the vast diversity of life that exists on our planet. The most desolate parts of our planet still have life: frozen Siberian tundra to harsh Australian desert. And there is the ocean which is largely unknown. The rain forest holds the most shimmer in my eye. Rain forests exist by hugging the Equator all around the globe and while they only cover a small percentage of the Earth, they house more than 50% of the world’s species of plants and animals. How does one gain success in such a small, complex, and crowded area?

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If I were to willingly kill a man, we would all (probably; hopefully) agree that I had done wrong. This wrong would be against US laws and I would, at the very least, be given some time in prison to satisfy my guilt. This wrong would also be against God’s law. What must I do to satisfy my guilt? The answer to this question greatly varies among those who call themselves believers and followers of Jesus.

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One of my favorite locations on my recent journey to the Middle East was the region of Galilee. This area is a beautiful, hilly countryside highlighted by the Sea of Galilee (also known as the Sea of Tiberius). Many of the stories we read about in the Gospels took place around this large body of water. Incidentally, the Sea of Galilee is one of the few places I visited where there is no doubt with regards to authenticity: the Sea I was on, was the same one Jesus walked on.

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