Life Worth Living with Wesley Tran

Recovering Travel Junkie: Bre Byrd - New York City, London, and Bogota

We both met studying abroad in London! Her journey began from small southern town to the big city of New York! She's now working as the Studios Marketer for Spotify! She's my friend Bre Byrd! A lover of people and a big theology nerd! After graduating college, she had the opportunity to spend a year in Bogota, Colombia! 

Recovering Travel Junkie: Viet Bui - Bay Area, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Russia, New York City, London, Vietnam

He is an Organizational Psychologist currently working in the realms of leadership assessment and diversity & inclusion at a consulting firm called Korn Ferry. He is a coffee enthusiast. He is also obsessed with Spikeball, cocktails, and film photography. And is a networking coach. He's my friend Viet Bui. He's from Los Gatos and did his undergrad at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. He had the opportunity to study in San Francisco as a chaplain and go on a choir tour in Latvia and Russia. He then relocated to New York City to do his masters. He also traveled to one of his favorite cities in London and got to explore his roots in Vietnam. 

Recovering Travel Junkie: Brian Knocik - Poconos, Slovakia, Chicago, Cuba

Welcome to recovering travel junkie!  He is a virtual education consultant, he is everyone’s favorite cheerleader, and is using his voice to tell stories in his podcast, he is Brian Knocik. Yeah, so Brian and I really pushed each other to pursue our podcasts and we’ve become accountability partners! There’s this quote from the book The Defining Decade that talks about weak ties or acquaintance level relationships. “It is the people we know the least well who will be the most transformative.” I’ve only met Brian 3 times in person, and it was only because of an intentional happy birthday message that changed both of our paths! So I encourage you all to reach out to your weak ties too. You never know who can help you advance your career or your relationships! Be sure to follow Recovering Travel Junkie on Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter, and Facebook and catch us next time wherever you get your podcasts!

The Imago Dei Podcast - Episode 2 with Jay Walker the Nazarite

We have my friend Jay Walker the Nazarite share his story about being a Nazarite Missionary and hear about how he's currently going through the Apocrypha. 

Recovering Travel Junkie: Annika Phillips - Cape Breton, London, Uganda

We talked about Cape Breton and how it was growing up there. The sense of community is strong here because everyone knows each other. The Celtic Colours festival is a big 9 day music festival where the people of Cape Breton celebrate the trees changing color. She then volunteered in the mountains of Peru. She saw so much brokeness there working at an orphanage. She transitioned into the big city of London. She originally worked in Oxford and commuted to London. She also started a non-profit here called The Meraki Project. A non-profit focused on empowering South-Sudanese refugees to build traditional arts and crafts to fund their education. We also talked about the dangers of voluntourism and how that can be damaging to the people we serve. If your heart isn’t fully committed to serving others, then it can damage then, such as creating a White Savior complex. She recommends everyone to travel to experience and understand someone new.

Recovering Travel Junkie: Holly Aldridge - Therapy, Orange County, Ukraine, and Florence

Today we have a special friend of mine! She is a leader of a homeless ministry at PLNU, is obsessed with dogs, and is always down to get boba or a baja blast from Taco Bell, she is my friend Holly Aldridge. She is from Orange County, and is passionate about counseling, therapy, and psychology. She's lead mission trips to Ukraine and studied abroad in Florence.

Recovering Travel Junkie: Emma Smith - Aspiring Pilot, Washington, Cuba, and New Zealand

We have my awesome friend Emma Smith with us sharing her dream and passion of becoming a pilot! She's from the state of Washington and has explored many places such as Cuba and New Zealand! 

Recovering Travel Junkie: Samuel Cheung - Yuma, Mexico, Japan, Glasgow

We have my friend Sam sharing his awesome stories of going to the border of Mexico and building a church, visiting Japan for a dance performance, and a trip to Scottland with his brother!

The Imago Dei Podcast - Episode 1 Being Black and Vietnamese in America

This podcast was created in response to the death of George Floyd and the injustices of Black people across the United States of America. 

 

we exist to create uncomfortable conversations amplifying the voices of Christians of color in the US.

 

the backgrounds of POC Christians are multi-faceted. we aim to highlight various voices, and in so doing, help our white brothers and sisters understand the diverse experiences of the church. but we in no way claim to speak on the behalf of the entirety of any one people group.

 

we aim for unity and not division. but unity happens as the many parts of the Body come to understand the value of one another - the imago dei, or image bearing quality of all humans.

 

no matter where we come from, what language we speak, or what our first memories of corporate worship are, we all serve, and are made in the image of, an awesome God.

 

In our first episode, Bre and Wes share their experiences of growing up as Christians of Color in the United States of America.

Recovering Travel Junkie: Megan Butterweck - Occupational Therapist, Australia

Megan Butterweck is an Occupational Therapist and has gone on several road trips and Australia. Check out her story and how traveling has helped her learn more about the human body!