About Brian
I am a follower of Jesus, blessed with a wife, two children, and a call to serve God wherever He leads. For 12 years, we were missionaries, with me serving as a missionary journalist sharing stories of His work in South Africa and around the world. When we moved back to the USA, Tracy and the kids returned to normal work, and I continued serving remotely in missions. I am now returning to working outside missions, but ministry will always be part of our family's lives in Christ.
People are sometimes surprised to learn that I was cripplingly shy as a kid. A barnacle on mom’s leg, nearly. There were many reasons, like getting lost at a festival when I was really young and many hours reading alone or hiking with the dogs as I got older.
That isolation started to chip away in high school theater and college, but it really weakened once I got hired as a reporter. My JOB was to approach strangers and talk to them, and my paycheck depended upon it. Strong motivation and a good opener really helped overcome the shyness.
Inside, though, I still have some of the introvert left. No one sees it because I’m generally gregarious and loud, but it’s there nonetheless. Continue reading →
Categories: Sights and Sounds, Stories, News, & Features
| Tags: EPAideas, Evangelical Press Association, exploring, extrovert, God's love, homeless ministries, introvert, journalism, Lancaster, Missionary, Pennsylvania, photography, rising again |
Many years ago, the newspaper I wrote for sent me to a seminar on community journalism held by Jock Lauterer, a photojournalist and professor with a Southern drawl and a down-home perspective on things.
Among his many lessons was of a time he was taking pictures of a party and an old man told him, “Son, put down the camera and dance!”
Balance is important.
Continue reading →
Categories: Sights and Sounds, Stories, News, & Features
| Tags: balance, Brant Hansen, Bryan Loritts, convention, EPADenver, EPAideas, Evangelical Press Association, focus, God, learning |
“Brian, you really need to stop talking.”
John was right, of course, as had been all the others before him. The cold-that-had-become-bronchitis had shredded my voice and left me only a raspy whisper, and staying silent was good advice.
I wasn’t going to take it, though. Continue reading →
Categories: Stories, News, & Features
| Tags: Africa, Cape Town, conventions, Ecclesiastes, EPAideas, Evangelical Press Association, forced silence, God, journalism, laryngitis, loving our neighbor, missionary work, relationship, stories waiting |
Somehow, I like liverwurst.
I’m not sure how it happened. I only know that I was very young and that somehow Mom got me to try it. Continue reading →
Categories: Stories, News, & Features
| Tags: broccoli, closed minds, God, Jeremiah 29, kids & food, liverwurst, parenting, playing with your food, resisting truth, trusting God |
The Heffron Family 