“How was your trip to Kenya?” is the inquiry I get most days since I arrived home from Kenya late on November 22. “Great!” I reply, leaving both ends of the conversation sparse, vague, and unsatisfying. But how carefully I gathered what I could while in Kenya, like a mother hen gathers her chicks under […]

These phrases, which I picked up during my November trip to Kenya, have become part of my lexicon. “Don’t crack your head”….means, “Don’t get stressed out about it”.  I discovered this after Caren, one of the palliative care nurses, announced to our class that she was passing out pretests and panic ensued. “Don’t crack your […]

The weather is finally changing here in Northern California. It’s November and the long, hot days of summer have given way to cold nights and mornings, and the rains have arrived! I’ve bundled myself up in layers– turtleneck, sweater and scarf, while my suitcase is packed with breathable lightweight clothes, sandals for the heat and […]

We hike up the steep cobblestone path leading to even steeper steps and eventually find our way on dirt paths that wind through the various homes tucked in the foliage of the hills above Colonia Hermano Pedro, Guatemala  Far below us is the quaint city of Antigua her streets flooded with tourists, language students and […]

Small Things  (by Anna Kamienska) It usually starts taking shape from one word reveals itself in one smile… It’s not from the grand But from every tiny thing that grows enormous As if Someone was building Eternity As a swallow its nest Out of clumps of moments. A mother’s love often reveals itself in the […]

Mother’s Day 2024 The quiet of early mornings will find me sitting in my study overlooking a portion of my backyard, now painted in springtime green. Often I’m accompanied by the faint rumble of traffic, the familiar sound of the washing machine down the hall, and always, a cup of strong coffee with milk by […]

Please be sure to watch our new video at the end! Way back in time (2006) Pamela and Deaconess Mary building a mud wall. Back in the day when I first traveled to Kenya in 2006, cell phones with the capability to make cheap calls home were not an option. The iPhone had yet to […]

 Fra Angelico, OP, 1395-1455  Dear Friends, The Lenten journey is one of Love, marked by the shifting shadows of the Cross. In the midst of this season emerges not only spring, but the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25)  where the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, an ordinary young woman, with words of mystery and […]

Hanging out with Kenya Deaconess Sisters in 2009 A big huge thank you to all of you who take the time to read my little blog posts. My last post in April, 2020, I focused on the needs of the suffering in Kenya due to the pandemic, the flooding and the invasion of locust. And […]

I am always torn when I leave Kenya.  I am ready to see my family and friends in California, AND sad to leave those I love in Kenya.  I have been cared for in so many ways here. Pastor David Chuchu has been my steadfast pastor, colleague, friend, driver, organizer, cheerleader and so much more […]