Word Made Flesh is a contemplative community. One of the ways that we contemplate what God is doing in the world and in our lives is through the reflection articles that we write. We invite you to read, learn, and celebrate with us.
The Cry for Submission: Letter from the Editor by Emily Fales
The Creative Way We’re Cutting Food Costs
At our Community Center and Day Center, we serve over 60 meals a day to vulnerable children. As you can imagine, after salaries and utilities, food is our biggest expense. In order to decrease our expenditures on food – especially vegetables – we plan to combine two technologies that promote the healthy stewardship of creation. The first is…
We’re Putting Down New Roots
Early in the month of December as we decorated our artificial Christmas tree one fifth grader exclaimed with delight as she hung the last ornament, “How beautiful!” then added pensively, “We don’t have a Christmas tree at home.” As we plugged in the lights, a second grader came into the room and drew close to…
The latest from Urbana
Hi! So this is fun! I’m at my first Urbana ever. It’s massive. 16k people! Anyway, I came on a last minute invitation with a last minute organization I’ve loved since I met them in 2007. A crew of missionaries serving Jesus amongst the most vulnerable of the worlds poor- Word Made Flesh. If you’re…
“Human trafficking,” she said, “that’s my thing,”
“Human trafficking,” she said, “that’s my thing,” as if it were a dessert affinity or a favorite dog breed, the selected piggy bank for her charitable thoughts or pennies – this was her proclaimed issue of choice, her thing. The comment struck me: a little scary, impersonal, sterile. A bit uninformed? We hear more and…
MURAHO!
I sit here in a cafe in the land of a thousand hills wondering, yet again, if this is my real life. It’s surreal, beautiful, confusing, painful, joyful, and a little lonely all at the same time. I’m finding that mornings spent in prayer are a much more necessary part of my routine than a…
Greetings from Kigali!
I can hardly believe that I am actually here. The few weeks have been such a strange transition back to life in Kigali. A lot of things looks and feel exactly the same as when I was here in 2013, but my life this time around seems so much different. I’m getting used to living in…
Mina’s Whole Foods
Mina Thapa arrived in Thailand in 2008. Unable to find work in Nepal, she left in search of an opportunity to provide for her family. Mina had been promised a job in Bangkok but upon arrival, she learned that she had been swindled and found herself without proper identification, a visa, or a way to make money. Alone and in search of…
An Interview with Word Made Flesh Intern Cora Breakfield
Internships with Word Made Flesh are challenging, rewarding, and transformational. Participants are given the opportunity to gain firsthand experience in community formation, discipleship, and service. These internships are a time of tremendous spiritual growth. For many, this growth comes from challenges both expected and unexpected. Recently, we sat down with current WMF Intern Cora Breakfield to discuss…
The 17 Year Old Designer
When I first met M. she was a 12-years-old and in fifth grade. I thought to myself, “Oh boy, here is some trouble.” Spontaneous, active, restless, and flirtatious, I had a sense that this amazing little lady could be headed into a trap if she didn’t have a safe place to blossom. I thought I…
Terrifying, in a good way
I’m leaving Portland today. I have been talking about and planning for Rwanda for over a year now, so to finally be at the point of leaving is relieving, exciting, and—to be completely honest—slightly terrifying. Terrifying, though, in a good way. Terrifying because over the last year of just planning for Rwanda, God has changed me in more ways than…