missionary life
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some kind of mother’s love
I am good at burying memories of my not-so-proud moments. I’m really, really good at it. But then sometimes, something random and innocuous trips my memory blocker and I remember the moment–in detailed clarity and with all the original embarrassment. Today a cute little dog name Tia was what made me remember one of my moments. Read more
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God in a Fortune Cookie
Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you Genesis 12:1 When our family received a call to go to Nepal as missionaries, I said no. It was the worst possible time–My career that was perched for great possibilities would die; my son’s intensive piano lessons that were Read more
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measuring life with potato chips and cheesecake
My first few months of missionary life in Nepal were awful. I felt trapped, imprisoned and deprived of necessities like heat in my home, television sitcoms, hot showers, high speed interne, and people who used deodorant. But most of all I was outraged that there was no potato chips or cheesecake. Unable to imagine six Read more
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a cup of tea?
This is the last of a series of 12 articles published in the Adventist Review “Where can I get a cup of tea?” he asked, winking exaggeratedly. Must be a nervous twitch, I thought as I pointed down the road and said, “Try the blue stall under the big tree.” His request was strange when Read more
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strife in the land of peace
An email I sent a friend back in 2006 The strike has been on full swing. Yesterday was the fourth and supposedly the final day. Roy has been itching to defy the strike and go into Kathmandu. Yesterday he got his chance when a patient had to be transferred to a KTM hospital. He rode Read more
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the view and the fog
(published 2003, Adventist Review) Sometimes a fog of discouragement clouds my vision and my view is not very appealing. What once brought pride and satisfaction is now a pathetic sketch of mishaps and coincidences. What once was a source of encouragement is now a sore irritation. Without a WOW moment in a while, my spirituality Read more
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in spite of the what if’s
(Published in Adventist Review, 2003) Backpack slung over his shoulder, Raymond, a blue collar factory worker, rides the Singapore transit bus every day. All week long his routine is the same, broken by moments when he tucks a few dollars in the envelope that stays in his backpack. Every time we make plans for Singapore Read more
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the club
(published 2003, Adventist Review) Ten feet tall, it stands in my front lawn on a well worn patch of dirt, symbolizing the differences between the worlds on either side of the fence. The basketball hoop is as uncommon a sight in Banepa as is a 225-pound, 6-foot, bearded 17-year-old. And it doesn’t take long for Read more
SAYS FYL 