Life can be difficult, especially for those with limited resources in under-served parts of the world. But what can be done? Well, as it turns out, a lot! It usually doesn't take a special set of skills or costly gifts to make a difference; often, all they need is compassion.

Within these pages, you'll find fascinating accounts of people living with daily difficulties in remote and beautiful parts of the world: A boy abandoned by his mother for his deafness creates his own sign language to survive. A fifty-five-year-old woman in Peru weighs less than her age and lives under a tarp but maintains her indomitable spirit.

Though our cultures may be worlds apart, we share something unique with them: our humanity. As we embrace the differences and similarities between us and work to enrich their lives, we find that we also enrich our own.

Read along with us as we, myself and many volunteers, travel throughout the world, forging relationships of trust with people from all walks of life, ultimately sharing in their joys, discoveries, and, yes, tears. As we seek opportunities to share these humanitarian efforts, we travel to some exotic locations as well as to some plain and ordinary places. We need to connect with people where they need us