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 […]

Deaconesses Pamela, Mary, Callen visiting Virginia in the slums of Kawangware Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. Mother Teresa There was a time, about 15 years ago, when I set my heart on traveling to Calcutta, India, to visit the hospice established by the now sainted Mother Teresa and […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A friend of mine recently told me that mothers hold the sorrows of their children, even, and perhaps especially, after they’ve grown up and moved away. We may not even know the particular sorrow, but we sense it and embrace it nonetheless; Perhaps we offer it up in prayer. After my mother died, I discovered […]

Medallions attached to my backpack for traveling to Kenya Besides the gift of all of you, I carry a few icons of hope with me to Kenya to remind me of who I am. Crucifix–the source of all mercy, always Mother Teresa--the model of humility, spiced with courage and perseverance Camino shell–points me to The […]

Proud owners of water filters! Mama Caren and Pamela Love and Always Mercy, Pamela

For those of you who travel with me through the words on this blog, you’re probably aware of my longing to open a hospice house in rural western Kenya. Longing creates a sense of anticipation and hope. Longing also involves a sense of loss as what was once imagined morphs into something new.  Longing also […]