April Folkertsma, Lauren Winner

An Interview with Lauren Winner

TOJ: In your book Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity, you say, “Without a robust account of the Christian vision of sex within marriage, the Christian insistence that unmarried folks refrain from sex just doesn’t make sense.” (p. 25) What is a robust account of the Christian vision of sex? How can we talk about […]

April Folkertsma

Seeking the Kingdom: A Christmas Reflection

In the year 2005 our world was no stranger to deep tragedy. Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tropical storms, war, and the AIDS pandemic devastated countries resulting in loss of life and livelihood. The ones who were already vulnerable were made more so because of such unexplainable acts of God. Children who already lived in poverty lost […]

April Folkertsma

Prologue Alida

“Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for He who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother.” -Saint Clare of Assisi Chapter 1 The rhythm of her rocking body lulled the child to sleep. The night was warm, […]

April Folkertsma

Crossing the Border: Human Trafficking and the work of the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition

On January 25, 2004, Peter Landesman published a landmark article on human trafficking and sexual slavery in the New York Times called “The Girls Next Door.” In the article, Landesman captured the radical movement of victims through Mexico and into the United States. His investigation into the world of trafficking has raised many questions, but […]

April Folkertsma

"Inventions of the West"

Russians don’t use closets. They keep their clothes in wardrobes. Most Russians don’t have an excess of possessions so the storage space is unnecessary. Closets are an invention of the west, where people hide the things they don’t want seen. A Russian girl from Vladivostok in Siberia, Olga had longed to leave Russia for the […]