Even in a broken world, each of us is called to share with others-and ourselves-gifts of kindness, time, laughter, joy, failure, music, dance, truth, success, storytelling, healing, and friendship. I first learned this from my mother, the beacon of light for our Kenyan village. She taught me by example, as did my extended family and community. Though orphaned at the tender age of nine, I turned my pain into the power of her Memory of giving, seasoned with God's grace.
Connected with her legacy, I feel more whole and fulfilled. In sharing these stories of my journey from rural Kenya to life on three continents, a near-death experience, and decades of serving communities in rural East Africa, my desire is to inspire those weighed down by unexpected circumstances. Despite life's deep valleys, each of us has gifts of the heart to offer-big and small-that can dispel darkness around us with the sparkle of our compassion, one step at a time. Receive, give, be lifted, and Be the Gift, Be the Light.
