I had the magnificent opportunity to engage with Filipino village women on some topics dear to my heart a few months ago. An opportunity I almost missed because I am fond of leisure and comfort. But in a rare-to-me display, God pressed it on my heart to accompany my husband. Here’s the story, written for a quarterly publication for our denomination. The unwelcome thought was hovering at the edges of my mind at the IF:Gathering […]
Next morning our taxi driver from the night before was there right on time at 6:30 am to catch our plane for our short flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Unfortunately, the famous mountain was completely clothed in clouds, so we missed the view. Safely through customs, all bags arrived, we went to meet Amanda and Bill Batterson and their son Owen who were waiting just outside. They were very happy to have the suitcase full of […]
From high on this hill, the town of Kigoma, Tanzania looks idyllic and beautiful. I can see the calm blue lake, shining in the sun, adorable little boats beginning to make their way out into the water for their nightly fishing expedition. The abundant rain has caused everything to grow with glowing greenness, covering the hill below. In fact, most of the buildings below my perch are covered, disguising the fact that many of them don’t have […]
This is our morning view over Lake Tanganyika from the tiny guest cottage that is our home for two weeks. At all times of the day we can hear a myriad of insects and birds, and when the dog barks in the evening, it means that there are zebras feeding close by beyond the homemade brick walls. Life is much simpler here for us, especially today since a thunderstorm knocked out the electricity, and the […]
Today I am sharing an account of a few days in a two week trip to Cameroon, W Africa a few years ago. This part was the fulfillment of a childhood dream to be a missionary nurse in Africa, if only for a couple of days! Africa……..the dark continent, so they say. I had little idea what to expect as the plane neared our destination. The sight of the seemingly endless Sahara Desert from the air, the sand beautifully […]
Steve and I sneaked in a few minutes late to the annual celebration of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. The accordion player was already in full form. We tiptoed to our saved seats of honor, only to be warned away by a woman with permanently surprised eyebrows drawn on. “That place is for Mrs. Litfin!!” she hissed. We assured her Mrs. Litfin had directed us to these seats and sat down to enjoy the quasi- […]
A handful of quietness 