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Hope Builders Newsletter

A Community of Startups Doing Good I first heard Jeff Shinabarger speak at Catalyst Conference in 2013. Jeff is a social entrepreneur and author. His projects and books have been featured on national forums and media outlets. He has spoken at conferences like TedX and Q Ideas.  Because of his work in the social entrepreneurship space, Jeff found that people were always telling him about their ideas or introducing him to someone with an idea that was ready to launch. He started referring to this group of problem solvers as “Plywood People,” as plywood - often used to cover broken windows or potholes - always found itself solving a problem. He formalized this community of start-ups doing good in 2010 with the launch of Plywood People, a non-profit organization. Jeff’s vision is to make Plywood and Atlanta centers for social innovation. Since 2010, Plywood People has walked alongside hundreds of people and projects doing good: offering content, curriculum, … [Read more...] about Hope Builders Newsletter

Meet Our Interns: Part 3

Third Lens Ministries would like to introduce our interns. These interns work in all aspects of Third Lens, broken down into three divisions: operations, construction and design, and marketing. These divisions are split into teams. The operations division is made up of the outreach and management teams. The construction and design division has the design team, project team and research team. Our marketing division includes the impact and creative teams. Below are some of our interns. Others are introduced in other posts. Operations Division: Management Team Brianna Wilkerson Accounting Intern Hello! I am Brianna Wilkerson, and I am a senior accounting major with an art minor at Georgia State University. I am currently serving as an accounting intern for Third Lens Ministries. My greatest motivator is finding my purpose in life. Once I graduate, I plan to return to Georgia State to get my Master of Accounting and eventually become a Certified Public Accountant. My … [Read more...] about Meet Our Interns: Part 3

Meet Our Interns: Part 2

Third Lens Ministries would like to introduce our interns. These interns work in all aspects of Third Lens, broken down into three divisions: operations, construction and design, and marketing. These divisions are split into teams. The operations division is made up of the outreach and management teams. The construction and design division has the design team, project team and research team. Our marketing division includes the impact and creative teams. Below are some of our interns. Others are introduced in other posts. Construction and Design Division: Project Team Braxton Horne-Lee Project Management Intern Braxton Horne-Lee is a junior at Alabama A&M University majoring in construction management. He hopes to gain knowledge of project management through this internship and is thrilled to be a part of the team. Davis Hambrick Project Management Intern Hi guys, my name is Davis Hambrick, and I am very excited to be serving with Third Lens … [Read more...] about Meet Our Interns: Part 2

Meet Our Interns: Part 1

Third Lens Ministries would like to introduce our interns. These interns work in all aspects of Third Lens, broken down into three divisions: operations, construction and design, and marketing. These divisions are split into teams. The operations division is made up of the outreach and management teams. The construction and design division has the design team, project team and research team. Our marketing division includes the impact and creative teams. Below are some of our interns, with more to be introduced in upcoming posts. Operations Division: Outreach Team Armena Brown Grant Writing Intern Armena is a senior at Kennesaw State University majoring in International Affairs. She has a passion for cultures and languages D’wayne Guice Grant Writing Intern D’Wayne Guice is a police officer and Air Force veteran leveraging multiple years of proven experience in avionics, technical equipment repair and maintenance. D’Wayne has an obtuse educational … [Read more...] about Meet Our Interns: Part 1

An American In Cuba: The Gift of Hospitality

Easter has officially come and gone, and what I very different Easter we had this year. No fancy clothes, no rushing to church to get a good seat and no singing in the front pew, “Christ the Lord has risen today, Hallelujah!” As much as I enjoy all of this, the solace and calm of this Easter was just as special, maybe even more.  Following Ester, I have been pondering the stories of Jesus appearing to his disciples after his resurrection. It may be because I myself am eager to see Jesus these days of COVID life or maybe it’s a way to keep Easter going despite the day actually being gone. I am a miracle believer and perhaps Jesus may be appearing to us today, just not exactly has he did then.  My favorite of all these stories comes from John chapter 21; here, Jesus is seen standing on the bank at Lake Galilee. He advises his disciples on their fishing skills, then he sits with them and serves them bread and fish. There are few details of this story, which leaves … [Read more...] about An American In Cuba: The Gift of Hospitality

An American in Cuba: Faith and Ferry Rides

Our trip originally flew us into Havana directly from Atlanta, GA. Immigration as well as customs was simple and hassle free. It was the same way leaving Havana, returning home to the US.  In order to reach Pastor Enrique on The Island of Youth, we had to take another full day of travel. Kindly, Brian O’Neil had this all pre-arranged for us and in his words, “you’ll take a bus, and then a ferry to meet Pastor Enrique!” I’m a believer in all things bright and beautiful. I imagined a quick little tour bus picking us up, followed by a quaint ferry ride across a bay, as if we were headed to Statin Island.  This is not what happened. What did happen was this: a three hour wait at a bus station, a 2 hour bus ride to the water’s edge, a 2 hour wait at the docks, a three hour “ferry” ride (actually a ship) and then we met jolly Pastor Enrique. Our day trip was nothing like I expected, it was better. It was complex, it was random, it was questionable, there were … [Read more...] about An American in Cuba: Faith and Ferry Rides

An American in Cuba: Javier’s Coffee

One of the first things I learned about Cuba is that there is normal time, and then there is “Cuba Time”. These folks get in no hurry nor do they always stick to a precise plan. On the flip side of this idea, is that they are all cool about this. No fussing or mumbling. No eye rolling or loosing their marbles. They just go with it. An ‘All is well and all will be well’ mindset. I loved this from the beginning. Everyone just gets along. It’s the neatest thing.  When our airplane landed in Havana, it took about 20 minutes to get some steps located to bring up to our door so we could exit the plane. When asked of the issue, the pilot announced, “They weren’t quite ready for us to be here.” I died laughing inside. How could they not know?? No one was upset though, or uptight about it. Not one, single Cuban. When we finally made our exit, a small bus took us into immigration. Once again, no immediate need to get through. “Let’s just all chill a hot minute and we’ll … [Read more...] about An American in Cuba: Javier’s Coffee