2008, Lorna, Pamela and Sally.  Kibera On my second trip to Kenya in 2008, I landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. After making my way through the usual immigration control and customs, I headed out to the semi-circle of people awaiting arrivals.  Scanning the crowd, I spotted the familiar face of Kenyan […]

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 […]

I open the light blue binder, faded by time and use, to a page filled with words written in teeny tiny cursive.  My mama’s writing. The first page, undated, contains verses from the Psalms. Words of Poetry. Pleas for mercy. Pleas for comfort. Pleas for strength. And, yes, gratitude and praise. Essential words. Tested by […]

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 […]

Essential Supplies for Kenya In just shy of a week, Dennis and I are boarding an early morning flight to LAX, then to Paris,  and on to Nairobi. Even though I’ve traveled to Kenya over a dozen times, These trips still take lots of planning and preparation. I stay organized by making lists. Yellow and […]

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. […]

I’d like to say the moment I stepped off the plane in Nairobi on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at 10 P.M., I was on solid ground–normally when I land in Kenya, that’s how I feel.  However, traveling internationally during the pandemic adds a layer of insecurity to each step. And the steps are many: extra […]

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 […]

31 August 2014 Before embarking on the Camino de Santiago (a pilgrimage through Spain), I pounded the pavement, dirt roads, hiking trails and any other surface that might provide some sort of physical conditioning.  One of my routes close to home, led me by a construction site. I watched as the ground was leveled, wooden […]

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 […]