“Wherefore the farm?” Which, as all my high school Shakespeare students from my past life quickly learned, means not “WHERE is the farm?” (it’s in Linville, gorgeous Central Shenandoah Valley Virginia), but “WHY the farm?” I get this question often.…
Our driver shifted into a lower gear as the Toyota Land Cruiser turned onto a gravel road and climbed through one of the eucalyptus plantations that encircles the capital city of Ethiopia. With me was Abiy Eshete, a well-known artist…
I year ago I published my first children’s book! In the year since, I’ve read the story in schools and churches, discussed it with children in the US and in China, and promoted it at international events, festivals, and our…
I’ve never been to China before; in fact, this was my first time anywhere in Asia. However, this was not a sightseeing tour. This was a baby-seeing tour. There was baby-squeezing aplenty, as you probably saw in my announcement post.…
There were an estimated 8.5 million babies born in China last year, down from 10 million the previous year. At least a million fewer are expected for 2024. China’s birth rate may be dropping precipitously, but that’s still a lot…
In my limited experience, there’s nothing more humiliating than trying to write a book. Like most people, I don’t like humiliation so I’ve gotten good at excuses. I’m not really a writer. I’m a mom, an English teacher, an international…
This is a log cabin from the 1850’s. It just looks like a regular farmhouse from the outside, but inside–wow, it’s a stripy masterpiece of massive logs and chinking. In 2011, the previous owners of the cabin, Ruth and Timothy…
Amani Gardens Inn on Church Road in Westlands, Nairobi, used to be called The Mennonite Guest House. For decades–in fact, since 1964, as anyone who stays here and logs on to WiFi knows, this remodeled British military barracks has been…
A year ago, Bruce and I were about to move from Ethiopia, our home since 2016, to Virginia. In the middle of our preparations, I tested positive for covid. I had only the slightest of symptoms–a telltale fever of 99,…
What’s it like to be home? It’s a frequent question we encounter in conversations with folks, some of whom we haven’t seen–or have only seen sporadically–in almost a decade. I mean, what else do you ask a person who just…