Astonished, I found Him, the Beautiful One, deep in a cranny of Mathare Valley, Kenya - the same One I glimpsed in the fissure of a Mother Teresa's home in Huruma, as I share below. It's enough to make my head spin - apparently, at least according to what my senses report, my body landed…Read more In the Cracks
Mother Teresa orphanage
Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 9
Another Day in Kenya - Chapter 9 Searching for Emma No doubt about it, stepping into that baby ward flooded with memories, bursting with the babbling and innocent beauty of babies, I could not stop my heart from searching for my daughter. The sight of sleeping little girls with intricately braided hair melted my heart.…Read more Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 9
Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 8
Another Day in Kenya - Chapter 8 Keeping Watch My heart shatters as I pass through textbook stages of grief. But when the denial stage spirals through, I sit down and refuse to budge. Questions torment me. If Emma came to the orphanage once due to an obviously unstable home environment, perhaps she will return.…Read more Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 8
Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 7
Dear readers, several week ago I began writing an account of my days in Kenya, of how Kenya has changed me forever. I am considering this manuscript a first draft as I both consolidate some previously written and some new passages into a cohesive story, and it continues today... To start at the beginning, click this…Read more Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 7
Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 6
Another Day in Kenya - Chapter 6 Fire in My Bones In the throes of culture shock, I started saying, admittedly with a certain amount of sarcasm: “Expect the unexpected.” But on the day I missed the bus, something inside me snapped. I realized with absolute certainty that I was not in control; and therein…Read more Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 6
Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 4
Another Day in Kenya - Chapter 4 Where Are You? Both babies drifted off to sleep during our drive through the Nairobi night, but woke when we arrived at the guest house. Jedd fussed, and I knew it was well past his orphanage bedtime. I stayed with him in the room while the others went…Read more Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 4
Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 3
Another Day in Kenya - Chapter 3 The Flame After we boarded our plane, iced wings delayed our departure for a couple hours - on May 20! It's true Colorado is renowned for snow, but never this late in the year. As we waited, I carried Justin, 12 months old and restless, to the almost-empty first…Read more Another Day in Kenya – Chapter 3
Joy Hunt
Sr. Fidence was like a beautiful rose in my hand, but her fragrance drifted just beyond my grasp as she stood there barefoot, her white-draped physical being unable to contain an other-worldly joy. I didn't understand her at all. I wanted to, desperately. How, in the midst of despair and hardship, hunger and lack, did…Read more Joy Hunt
Huruma Means Mercy, Part 1
A few months ago, international news reported the collapse of buildings in an obscure place called Huruma. At least seven people died and 121 people were injured, buried in shoddily constructed dwellings that rose much higher than should ever have been allowed. There was no mercy for these impoverished slum dwellers, victims of corruption. Ironically,…Read more Huruma Means Mercy, Part 1
For the Ragged and Beautiful
https://www.facebook.com/fragmentsoflight/videos/1283437661683835/ In 2002, my dear friend Nicole Gillin and I volunteered together with a small team serving at Mother Teresa's Home for Abandoned Children in Nairobi. We've never been the same. Last week we collaborated to create this dance to share our changed hearts at the Flourish 2016 Recital. Blessed Are the Peacemakers Blessed…Read more For the Ragged and Beautiful
Colleen Briggs Art & Writing 