Along the red dirt roads of rural western Kenya, the foliage is so thick in places that car windows need to be shut tight to protect occupants from scratches by thorns and branches that slip through even the slimmest of cracks. These roads wind endlessly, deceiving me into thinking, “I’m in the middle of nowhere”. […]

The hills near Kisii in southwestern Kenya are painted a rich green color. Tea thrives here, plantations clinging to steep slopes. In 2012, I visited Kisii accompanied by Kenyan Deaconesses Evelyn and Elizabeth. We climbed on skinny red dirt trails through these verdant hills with breathtaking views. We were on our way to visit Richard* […]

We walked arm in arm, talking about our mothers. I was in Kenya, reunited with my dear friend Mary after not seeing her for three years. Although we had been separated by thousands of miles, we were bound by mercy. Mary’s mum had died from a brain tumor just a few months earlier. My mama […]

This time of year in Northern California, the days have grown shorter. Darkness descends early and lingers longer. The winter sun is weak, its slanted light creates gauzy shadows through the barren trees. Forgotten is the fierce noonday sun of summer when the light was too intense to behold. On this last Sunday of Advent, […]

This post is written by a good friend of mine, Kathy Barger, writer, poet and musician. She has captured the beauty of the Epiphany benefit concert and I hope you are as touched by it as I am.   Pamela The word GRACE has been in my vocabulary for several weeks now and my brain has […]

Sometimes by looking back, we see how things converge and come together. A dozen years ago I was finding my way, blending my vocation as an RN with a new vocation as a deaconess. That very year, 2012, I was introduced to two very different people who, unbeknownst to me (and to them), would be […]

Dear Friends, It’s not just the cold and stormy weather here in Northern California that makes me long for the warmth and sun of Kenya; no, it’s much more than that. I just received a letter from Pastor David Chuchu and the team at Rehema Hospice and Clinic describing the mercy work that now extends […]

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your chesed, for they have been from of old. Psalm 25:6 Recently, on two separate occasions, I’ve come across the Hebrew word, Chesed (pronounced: hess-Ed). Chesed–it is a difficult word to encapsulate. It’s big and roomy with lots of space. It’s often translated as “unfailing love, steadfast love, mercy, […]

 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 […]