It was an unlikely meeting one April morning, 2012. She, not even thirty. Me, nudging into middle age (OK, I was plunging into middle age, not liking it one bit).  Mutual friends kept insisting that we meet because of our travels and work in developing countries. And so one sunny morning we met for tea. […]

Those of you who’ve contacted me after my last post, “Holding Hands with Grief”, I thank you. Your words of consolation; your sharing of your own griefs and struggles; it all helps to break open the isolation that often accompanies sorrow and allows the healing to begin. You are in my prayers; and fear not, […]

Kenyan Deaconess getting water…. I want to give a little shout out for the fifth annual Taste of Loomis on Friday, June 16, 2017 from 6:30 -10:00 P.M. Each year, this event grows and tickets for last year’s event sold out!  So, buy yours now. “OK, so what is this Taste of Loomis and why […]

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 […]

I’ve had some time off these past few weeks and have filled it with resting, reading, walking and more often than I’d like, catching the ever shifting news. Tucked in amongst the tirades of presidential candidates, the gold medals of Olympiads, (some tarnished by bad behavior) appear heart-stopping images of victims of war and bloodshed […]

Throughout my many trips to Kenya, I have come to a deeper understanding that joy and sorrow are always intermingled.  With Christ, there is always joy, often hidden in sorrow. It is the way of the cross. The way that makes no sense to the world, but the way that leads to life and peace […]

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”. […]

A couple of months ago, when visiting my mama and step-father, I loaded a rectangular, wooden box into my trunk. This tiny trunk contained treasures I planned to use to create a memory book for my mama. I’d read an article written by a daughter who did this for her mother who had Alzheimer’s and […]

Me and my mama, 2016 I was out for a bike ride enjoying the cool of mid-morning, letting my mind wander as my legs pedaled.  As I was coming around a bend on the bike trail, something to the left caught the corner of my eye. “A snake!” my brain registered as my heart raced […]

My husband is man who spends his days teaching first graders how to read and write, and yet maintains a capacity for deep thinking and great ponderings. The other day he sent me this quote from one of his favorite authors, George MacDonald. But God sits in that chamber of our being in which the […]