Shawn Small
After a decade working in parish youth ministry Shawn started Wonder Voyage Missions. Over the last 15 years, WVM has led thousands of pilgrims to over forty countries. Shawn is a storyteller and an award winning filmmaker. He is an author who brings the gift of engaging narrative to our journeys. Shawn is dedicated to creating voyages that give people abundant opportunities to encounter God.
| By Shawn Small | News
The travel drought of 2020 has been one of the most unexpected events of my life. As hard as it is to navigate the day to day, where planning feels like vanity, we must remember that this season of unease will one day be over. ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Destination
When COVID-19 pulled the brakes on travel, it appeared that my 27-year streak of leading voyages around the world had ended. In my head, I knew we'd travel again, but this trek through the travel-desert has been lonely. Strange times is an understatement. My world ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Ethos
Short term missions has become big business. Wonder Voyage started twenty years ago because, at the time, a good number of trips through mission organizations were being carried out in ways that were were unnecessary, unethical, and in bad taste. The only pilgrimage offerings, at ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
Wonder Voyage Executive Director Shawn Small is writing a travel memoir about his life experiences and what he has learned while traveling the world. This week’s post is an excerpt from that pending book. My favorite plant in my garden is a moonflower. Its thick ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
Wonder Voyage Executive Director Shawn Small is writing a travel memoir about his life experiences and what he has learned while traveling the world. This week's post is an excerpt from that pending book. The Shadowbeast We’ve all been hunted by a Shadow Beast. It ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
In the last of our 3-part series of Executive Director Shawn Small’s experience with living the wonder of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in his own life, we catch up with Shawn in the Amazon. All three parts are from his pending travel memoir. The ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
Last week, Shawn shared his story of how the wonder of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” drew him to a life of adventure. This week we continue his story as he reflects on his first trip to the Amazon as described in his pending travel ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
In our series, "Finding Wonder Everyday", Wonder Voyage Executive Director Shawn Small shares an excerpt from his pending travel memoir. When Raiders of the Lost Ark premiered in June of 1981, moviegoers were thrilled. In ways that tapped into our collective consciousness, Steven Spielberg ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Ethos
For the last twenty years, Wonder Voyage has ended every pilgrimage with a Celebration Meal. The last night of the journey is a time to gather around a table that is filled with local delicacies that punctuate the culture and people of the places we ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Destination
The sacrament of pilgrimage is older than recorded history. There is a magnetic pull in the heart of humanity toward sacred places, where heaven and earth meld together. Throughout the lifetime of Christianity, these sacred spaces have formed into places where moments of wonder have ...
