Signs & Wonders Blog

I’ve never had much interest in hunting. The only time I’ve done so happened when I was 19. One day I went for a country drive with a friend who brought along his BB gun. Just for fun he shot at birds sitting on road signs and telephone lines. My friend encouraged me to take a few shots and I killed just one bird. Since then, the closest I’ve gone hunting was playing Duck Hunt, a video game featuring a dog that laughs every time a player fails to hit any ducks. This past week a huge controversy erupted over a Minnesota man’s recent bowhunting trip in Zimbabwe. A dentist named Walter Palmer killed a lion that was part of an Oxford University research project. This lion named Cecil had been lured from the grounds of a wildlife preserve by Palmer’s safari guides.  In response to accusations of poaching, Dr. Palmer issued a statement saying he thought he had hunted legally and offered an apology. Nevertheless, the dentist received death threats plus had hundreds of protester...

As a full-time missionary, my needs are often met through non-monetary means such as hospitality offers and people giving me things without asking for them. On rare occasions, I have sought assistance from (mostly Christian) organizations. In November 2011, a filling came out while staying with friends in Minneapolis. Soon I heard about a ministry in St. Paul called the Union Gospel Mission, which provided free dental care for people considered “low income.” My first checkup there revealed other cavities in my mouth. I had those filled as well. Since then I’ve returned to the Union Gospel Mission after two more fillings came out. The most recent happened just over a year ago. It was discovered the cavity in that tooth had grown to where another filling could not be put in permanently. The dentist advised me to either get a root canal (which I would have to pay for) or have the tooth extracted. Apart from the expense, I didn’t want a root canal after reading negative reports ...