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 | Wonder Voyage Stories
Standing in front of the sandy yellow Comayagua Cathedral, once the spiritual heart of the Catholic Church in Central America, Eric pondered a world turned upside down. This Church was a gem of Colonial design. It represented the pain of forced faith and, at the ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
Michael Flickinger, affectionately known as Flick, is the most rounded member of the Wonder Voyage community. Flick first attended Wonder Voyage in 2001 as a recent high school graduate. His team was a conservative evangelical Minnesota church on an Irish pilgrimage. A few years later, ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
Wonder Voyage is celebrating 25 years of connecting people with wonder this year. Our blog will be filled with stories of our staff and partners around the globe. We can’t wait to connect you with the stories that make up the heartbeat of our organization. ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories | 1 Comment
Our eyes, already engaged in the remarkable surroundings, nearly popped out as we visually absorbed the seafood platter. The silver tray overflowed with succulent lobster, fried hake, mouthwatering crab, steamed clams, and luscious langoustines. It was a feast set for royalty. Tall windows flanked our ...
| By Shawn Small | News
Standing at the top of a 12,000-foot Himalayan pass in the Kingdom of Bhutan, I hiked with a few friends to get to a remote village on the other side of the mountain. I stopped to catch my breath, take in the view, and once ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Destination
We arrived at the magnificent Punakha Fort, where the PhoChu and MoChu rivers meet in a zesty convergence. The warmth of the bright sunlight caught us off guard, all of us assuming the middle of the Himalayan Foothills was cold. The weather was ideal. The ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Ethos | 2 Comments
The approach of Wonder Voyage’s 25th birthday has me sentimental. Nostalgia takes over my mind as I reflect on where we came from at the turn of the century. We founded Wonder Voyage with next to nothing: no money, no technology, no website, no supporters, ...
| By Shawn Small | News
We’re halfway through our summer season of leading pilgrimages and mission trips to dozens of countries. These rare days of mid-summer rest fall between our busiest weeks of the year. Hundreds of Wonder Voyage participants have finished their journeys. Biggest Milestones of 2023 Wonder Voyage ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Ethos | 1 Comment
From the bottom of the hill, I spotted dozens of stones peppered across the rise like the slanting teeth of a stone giant. I had come to a graveyard that was puzzlingly established on the top of the sandy mound. The gravestones I spotted below ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Ethos
Every so often, Wonder Voyage travels back in time when a team has the opportunity to live in a monastery that has existed for hundreds of years. There is a significant connection to our roots of faith when we pray in places that have absorbed ...