The Cry for Simplicity — Vol. 25 No. 4
Articles In This Issue
From the Editor – Winter 2023
Letter from the Editor – Emily Fales Prior to this year, my vision of service was exclusive to the day to day around my college campus and tight knit community. From volunteering on the weekends, to dropping my schedule for a friend in need, to late night calls from younger sisters states away needing…
His love, His comfort, and His fruit by Krystal Born
I was reading my devotional of the day from Henri Nouwen’s book You are the Beloved when I read this sentence; “We are called to give our lives to others, so you and I can bear fruit.” It encouraged me to go deeper and to reflect on giving one’s life to others in service and…
Sitting in the Discomfort of Service by Kristen Stiefel
“Sometimes I wish serving others was easier.” I told this to my husband over dinner last week. The previous evening we had the opportunity to host our friend Gus* in our home for dinner. He hadn’t been over in a while, and it gave us quality time to catch up while he ran a few…
The Upside Down Nature of Service by Ariel Alexander
Service is one of those buzzwords that permeates Christian culture. A lot of talk about service centers around the idea of “servant-leadership:” defined as emulating Jesus’s leadership style. Service can indeed qualify Jesus’ type of leadership, but we do his example a disservice when we limit service to the sphere of leadership and don’t consider…
Who is this God they worship? by Krystal Born
Krystal Born wrote this narrative in response to individuals in vulnerable situation who she has listened to and learned from during her service with Word Made Flesh Moldova. She started by scribbling down her own questions, which quickly fell into a narrative illustrating the point of view of someone living on the streets. It is…
The Least of These by Jennifer Seo Ney
Eleven years ago, when I was an intern from Canada with Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone (WMF SL), one of the books that influenced me to move to the edge of the Kroo Bay slum area in Sierra Leone was Ron Sider’s book, Rich Christians in the Age of Hunger. In his book, he shares…
STOP Service by Cami Goble
“STOP throwing things!” I yell angrily, slapping my five-year-old son’s hand. He had chucked his glasses. AGAIN. Daniel Tiger’s song plays in my head, a moment too late, “Take a deep breath and count to four. One…two…three…four.” Then, swirling eddies of regret, shame, and self-loathing flood in. Perhaps you are like me? I am a…
From the Editor — Winter 2020
Even as I undertake the complicated process of putting an issue of The Cry together, reflecting on this year and all its complexities, I am struck with my need to remember the simplicity of Christ and His peace. A God-Man clothed in humility and authenticity, a carpenter, whose ministry juxtaposed that of the Pharisees. There…
Annual Report 2019
Thank you for being friends and allies. Every donation and purchase, each sacrificial volunteer, a story shared or a prayer offered, all contribute to an army of believers who care enough for others to change the reality we share. Thank you for being a part of it. We’re excited to share the results of our…
Rooted in Christ…and Growing Together!
Painting by Ana Rase, Former WMF Romania staff Upon my 10-year anniversary of service with Word Made Flesh I was blessed by a time of celebration and many gifts, including the unique painting pictured here. The leaves of the tree are thumbprints of children and adults from WMF Romania. They represent the uniqueness of each…
“Tu Tambien Tienes Una Madre”
“Recuerda que tú también tienes una madre-“ (Remember that you also have a mother), the man said, just loud enough to be heard but soft enough to not further aggravate. On that dimly lit street, and for reasons that I don’t fully understand, this phrase defused the rage in the other man, who slumped his…
Meet our Staff
Anca was born in 1975 in Pechea, a county of Galati, Romania to an Orthodox family. She has 3 brothers and 2 sisters. In her last year of high school, she started to understand how there were many kids, youth and families affected by poverty, diseases and other difficulties around the community she was in.…
Meet Our Staff
Hi, there! I’m Leah. Loved ones call me Athu. I’m a storyteller + writer + journalist + creative + empathizing romantic + pessimistic realist + ISFP + Enneagram type 2 + much more. I live in the Seattle area where I work as a community newspaper reporter. Having spent half my life in India, I…
Learn More: On Humility
As we reflect on this lifestyle celebration, we invite you to explore some of our staff top picks from media and resources that deal with humility. (Click on the images to learn more) READ SADHU SUNDAR SINGH said, “I am not worthy of following in the steps of my Lord, but, like Him, I want…
The Mind of Humility
At the beginning of this year, I prayed that God would teach me about faith, hope and love. I was so excited to embark on a journey to discover more about these three important virtues of our faith. Last week, however, someone asked me “What is the greatest lesson you have learned this year?” I…
The Least of These
I grew up with my aunty, my father’s sister. My parents gave me to my aunt to raise me with my older sister because I was my mother’s first surviving male child. To protect my life, my parents decided it was best to give me to my aunt, who did not have a child. This…
Humility vs. Humiliation
Where I live, humility is often measured by the size of one’s paycheck. In this context, the word humble is not reserved for the meek and holy – rather it is used to describe people of poor and lowly stature. In my culture, wealthy people are esteemed while “humble” people with less money are seen…
From Oxford Don to Field Preacher
The gospel narrative depicts God becoming flesh. Living a fully human life, Jesus of Nazareth was born to a laboring mother in the throes of birthing pains. He experienced the fears of childhood, the angst of late childhood and the temptations of mature adulthood — all (and this is where the similarities finally end) without…
The Gift of Slippers
Oh how she loved it! It was just an ordinary pair of slippers. The kind with a flat base and Y-shaped plastic molded straps and a printed cartoon on the sole. She held it close to her and kept saying how lovely it looked. The sparkle in her eyes and the smile dancing on her…
Leaping to Obey | He Brings Us Through
This is a two part piece written by Benjamin and Mary Grimm, our missionaries on the ground in Papua New Guinea. Leaping to Obey The first time God requested anything of me, I was seven years old. He asked for my whole life. In that moment, I had a sort of vision of what that…