How God Connected Displaced Teenagers, a Missionary Kid and a Stick of Gum

Suzanne Pearson • Feb 11, 2022

Imagine the scene: three hundred children and teens fleeing for their lives. They live in a region continually ravished by a war that began decades before they were born. Some sojourn as orphans, others sent away by desperate parents hoping for a better life for them – a life protected from the resident evil and horrendous dangers of their homeland.

God in His mercy leads this vulnerable band of young wanderers, teenagers leading and caring for the youngest among them, into the jungles of a neighboring nation. He gives them sanctuary and a new start in a place with mountains and dense vegetation to protect them, a water source to sustain them, and the will to find a future and a hope.

A Plan and A Purpose

This is the story that TEAM Global Worker Laura Jordan* and her family encountered while on assignment in Southeast Asia . Laura and her family had only been in country for a few months when they learned of the remarkable place that she refers to as a “Children’s Hostel,” where roughly 300 displaced children took shelter and began making a life there, with only a few adults helping to care for them. Trained as a nurse , Laura was eager and excited to visit the children and see how she and her family could minister to them.

When that opportunity came, Laura says she was, “as excited as a little girl on Christmas morning. My mind was racing…What if they don’t want us there? What if it’s more than I can handle? Will they know I come in love and not with a Western agenda?” The Lord quickly answered her with the peace only He can give, assuring her that He has a plan and a purpose in her journey.

So bright and early that morning, Laura and her 6-year-old son Jonah made the several-hour drive through winding, mountainous terrain to the hostel. The compound includes several structures, including dormitories, an eating hall, and a clinic. But what struck Laura the most was meeting the teenagers. “The kindness in their eyes was unexpected,” Laura says. “I could just feel the warmth and hospitality.”

Children eating lunch at the hostel.

The children at the hostel are building a new life after escaping war and devastation.


“Teacher, Will You Come Back?”

As Laura continued to interact with the children , she was even more impacted by their incredible courage. “These children want to learn how to care for their new community,” she notes. “They don’t have the expectation that we will come in and make everything better. These children want a future, and they are fighting for it!” Laura began training some of the older girls to care for the sick and to use the medical supplies that she brought.

A teenage girl named Lin has taken on much of the responsibility for the children’s medical care, despite no formal training. At the close of their visit, Lin asked Laura, “Teacher, will you come back? I want to learn to help my people. Today, Teacher, I have learned so much.” Laura reassured her that, yes, they would be back. “We will seek the wisdom and will of our Father and come back to serve.”

Worker doing well checks at the children's hostel

Laura uses her skills as a nurse not only to treat the children directly but also to train the older teens in basic medical care.


Planting Gum and Planting Seeds

It wasn’t just Laura that the Lord chose to weave into this story. He had work to do in and through young Jonah as well. Although Laura had reservations about bringing Jonah along, he wanted to come, as he said, because “the Son loves these kids and He wants to be their friend.” Jonah got carsick on the trip and was also feeling quite nervous when they first arrived. But as he prayed with his mom for God to help him be “brave and friendly,” the walls began to come down.

Jonah followed Laura as she went about her nursing duties, stopping her at one point to ask if he could pray for the sick children he saw all around them. Laura shares, “There, in a small hostel filled with 300+ kiddos, the Father was opening sweet Jonah’s eyes to why we were there. He was answering my petition to ‘let [my children] see why You’ve called us here.’”

Laura shares another story of how Jonah processed what he was experiencing. After he and his mom visited the children’s dorms, Jonah pulled out a piece of chewing gum and began digging a small hole to plant it in the ground. Curious, Laura asked what he was doing. Jonah explained that he wanted to make sure all the kids could have gum, and he thought if he planted a piece, it would grow, and they’d have plenty to go around! Jonah’s “gum tree” might not come to fruition, but there seems no doubt that Jonah and his mom, led by the Holy Spirit, are planting seeds that will equip the Children’s Hostel to grow and thrive physically and spiritually.

Young boy planting gum.

Jonah’s heart is as big as his smile, and he prays every night for his new friends.


Praying for Ten Faithful Leaders

Laura says that her “hope and prayer is that ten leaders will rise up from this hostel to take on the responsibility of learning and caring for their new community.” These ten leaders need to be “willing to follow the Son and teach others to do so as well.” She continues, “We are seeking Him daily for ways to teach that empower the children in sustainable ways and that bring glory to the Father.”


*Names have been changed for security reasons.

To learn more about how you can support the children’s hostel visit give.team.org/hostel.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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