As we wait in expectation for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, our musicians will be preparing a little visual and auditory gift for us. What we are asking you to do is simply send us 1-2 (no more) photos of a Christian Advent or Christmas symbol you use in your home. (Advent wreath, nativity set, …
It can close schools. It can close libraries. It can close just about everything–my yoga studio and even my church. But it cannot close my eyes to the gentle sway of the birch’s pale green heart-shaped leaves. Not the coal black olives still clinging to silvery branches. No it cannot close my eyes to the …
It was evening. The sun had slipped down into the horizon, sharply silhouetting trees against the twilight. We pulled into the hard-packed dirt parking lot outside the Jalaram Nursing Home—a private hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. The noise of city traffic churning past us. Pastor David Chuchu was responding to the distress of a friend whose …
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 …
This story begins with this photo taken in 2006. It was a hot day and we traveled far to visit this family. If you look closely at the photo you can see the despair etched on faces. A mama and a daughter-in-law whose lives are forever changed as HIV/AIDS claimed the lives of mama’s ten …
Dylan. A sweet 15 month old who lives in love at the Udom rescue center in Pokot Sunday 26 January 2020 It’s funny how time moves when traveling. Sometimes, the days hurtle by and other times, it seems as if time is standing still. Mostly, things are moving at a rapid rate here in Kenya. …
Before I left for Kenya, I was conversing with a friend about homesickness– that awful, sick, anxious feeling that comes into our bodies and hearts when we miss home and all that is familiar and knowable. We long for something or someone to soothe us. Perhaps we first experience homesickness when we leave home for …
Mother’s Day 2019 The guy who invented the Post-It-Note was a genius. I love sticky notes—these seemingly innocuous pads of pale-yellow paper with the right amount of adhesive on the top allowing them to stick to just about any surface, are remarkable. It is amazing how much writing will fit on that little 3”X 3” …
My husband is a 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 …
The meaning of life is the mystery of Love. Just as the roots of the trees hold firm in the soil, so it is the roots of love that hold the ground of our being together.* It is that time of year. The trees are losing their leaves, creating a carpet of color over sidewalks, …