Puppet pals in a Mexican village

A boy named Oscar holds up “Dorcas” puppets he made at a Vacation Bible School in the mountain village of La Union, Mexico. A group of more than 200 students and families sponsored by the Edmond, Okla., church conducts spring break mission trips to the Mexican state of Taumaulipas each year. The trip participants, many of them students from Oklahoma Christian University, sleep in tents for a week. They deliver care packages to hundreds of residents, work on painting and construction projects and conduct Vacation Bible Schools in Aquiles and surrounding villages. read more

A Kansas minister traveled more than 11,000 miles recently to teach English — and talk about Jesus — in the heart of an ancient empire that once stretched from Asia to Europe.

William Crossman of the Church of Christ Prison Ministry in Leavenworth, Kan., taught at the College of English Language in Zuunmod, Mongolia.

The trip followed years of research, planning and prayer, said Crossman, whose ministry is sponsored by the Heartland church in Kansas City, Mo. read more