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 Destination
Wonder Voyage has accomplished an ambitious goal that we have been pursuing for a decade. We have established a Wonder Voyage trip within six hours of any location in the contiguous United States. We wanted to give any group the ability to hop into a ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Stories
At Big Bend National Park on the Texas-Mexico border, I stood on the upper rim of the Chisos Basin, breathed deeply, and took in the contours and colors of creation. The 7000-foot climb was both exhausting and exhilarating. It had been just three weeks prior that ...
| By Shawn Small | Wonder Voyage Destination
When I was a kid, the ultimate adventure was the family road trip. My elementary school brain assumed flying was for the rich and famous. Our only alternative was to load up the wood-paneled station wagon--basically a rolling playroom--with survival supplies like sleeping bags, books, ...
| 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 ...