A Homage to a Dear Friend, Development Professional and Spiritual Leader, Ed Ruddell by Mark D. Walker

Ligia and I met Ed and Pilar when I joined World Neighbors in 1989. Fortunately, I came on board just as an international conference was taking place, so we met all of the overseas Area Representatives. I remember Ed since he was the most welcoming person I met in my early days in Oklahoma City, and he radiated an aura of Christian caring. Ligia remembers the conference because Pilar prepared a dinner some Chilean delicacies, including “the best Ceviche I have ever eaten!”  Thus started a lifelong friendship. Our cross-border matrimonies have produced three children apiece—always two girls and one […]

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Traveling to Guatemala with Granddaughters, Million Mile Walker Dispatch, August Edition 2024

Dear Colleagues & Friends from Around the World,  Putting together my photo album of our three-week sojourn through Guatemala with two granddaughters allowed me to reflect on the pluses and downsides of such a trip. I’ve revised my website based on this experience and the best-selling book. I have some new What Others Are Saying quotes and some new What We’re Reading (and viewing) and Why, topped off with an updated Calendar. And, as a special BONUS, click on the Million Mile Walker poster above for the latest Arizona Authors Association Dispatch. It includes an exceptional segment on the making […]

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Walking With Evaristo: a Memoir of Celebration and Tragedy in the Land of the Achí Maya by Christian Nill, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker

Fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Christian Nill has written an engaging story about the impact and consequences of his experience as a volunteer in the highlands of Guatemala. He’s also made a timely contribution to our understanding of the devastating ten-year period of violence there. Although I was a volunteer five years before Nill, the similarities were amazing. I worked on a study for CARE identifying some of the management and conservation practices used for the Food-for-Work program implemented in conjunction with the group Nill worked with, INAFOR (National Forestry Institute). My second site was also in Baja Verapaz, where […]

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