One morning, while serving as a missionary in Honduras, I was walking to town to catch the first bus to the capital city. The darkness of the lonely streets was pierced only occasionally by a few sparse streetlights. People in this part of Honduras are generally early risers, but this morning I felt l like I won the contest...that is, until I heard the roosters. As their shrill crowing shattered the early morning silence, the question suddenly hit me: How do these creatures know that morning is coming? There was no sign of dawn. The skies were still as dark as midnight. Not even the stars were visible. Don't they ever fear making fools of themselves? What if morning didn't come?

They know because morning never fails! Every night ends in a morning! God created these animals to know even at 4:30 a.m. that soon the light will break forth into day. If a rooster can confidently crow in the dark, knowing that morning will come, how much more can I, a child of God, declare the praises of God even when I am surrounded by darkness? God leads us through darkness as well as through light, and I should not allow the darkness to dim my faith that the light WILL break through!

But sometimes we get stuck in perpetual night. We get so overwhelmed by darkness that we lose hope; we forget to look for the dawn. Dawn of Faith was born in one of my darkest valleys. The name itself is symbolic for two reasons. First, because Dawn is my middle name and Faith is my sister’s middle name. Secondly, Dawn of Faith describes my goal and vision for this website and the projects connected with it.

More and more, as I look around me, I see those nearest and dearest to me struggling with disappointed hopes, terminal illnesses, marital conflict, broken homes, and fractured relationships. It begs the question: is there something more to life, something beyond our suffering? Where is God in our midnights? Faith is not born on mountaintops and sunny spring days. Faith is born in the darkness when we wrestle with death and come face to face with our worst enemy. And that is the vision for Dawn of Faith, to shine some light and courage into the midnights of others, to share our struggles, our failures, and victories, and most of all, to keep our eyes on hope and never let go. As this project develops, there will be more opportunities for you to be involved, to share your story and your hope.

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning--Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption." - Psalm 130:5-7 NKJV