They come to my door sometimes, always unannounced, and always with some inexpensive sugary drink or snack to give to me, the hostess, as is proper Asian custom. A blurry photo I snapped during one of those visits. We sit down, usually on the floor. They’re more comfortable there. I […]
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Ordinary Miracles – Where I praise my friends
I’m sitting on my friend Cindy’s couch when Sam comes in. He’s sad because of something that happened while playing, he got hurt, or his feelings were hurt, he needs some comfort. He lays down on the couch, head in Cindy’s lap, and she rubs his back and comforts him […]
Read MoreOf Darkness, and Hope, and How You Can Help Bring Light
Today I met a 14 year old girl, when I was visiting two of the mothers in my birth class. She was squatting in the house next to one of the grandmothers. I thought she was a kid who came in to watch the babies. 17 year old mamas The […]
Read MoreWe Are Small
Sometimes I want to quit. Pack it in. Go home. Sometimes I feel like all our work, all my efforts, are just a drop in a bucket or worse, completely futile. A class I had organized is on hold because the participants are afraid to be seen gathering in public […]
Read MoreAn Embarrassment of Riches
She carefully hands me the coins she has swept up from the corners of my bedroom, this change I didn’t even notice was missing. The way she holds them and places them in my hands tells me that she would notice. Her life is so hardscrabble and close to the […]
Read MoreOf Beggars and Boys, and Becoming Men
Sunday night on our way home from the market the clutch went on our car. We pulled over at the first place that seemed like it might have some of the things we needed for a repair. We hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and it was getting late, and the car […]
Read MoreWhat I See
We decide to eat lunch in a sit down restaurant near the border the day we renew our visas, rather than a street stall, mostly because we also need a bathroom. Six ladies and one girl, in coordinating tribal shirts, seat us and bring our dishes, ice, drinks, menus, etc. […]
Read MoreOn Being a Broken People
Thursday morning I drove to the airport in L.A. where Aaron and the Boy boarded their flight to Thailand. They are spending Christmas holiday helping out at the orphanage, among many other things. We were listening to the BBC radio broadcast, World Have Your Say, in the car on the […]
Read MoreOnly You Can Renounce Your Right to Do Good
You can tell you’ve hit some sort of nerve when a post gets responses ranging from, “Now this looks more like what one would expect of someone who claims to love God and imitate Jesus” to, “Woe to them who call evil good and good evil.” You can imagine […]
Read MoreSo You Think Winning at Candyland Actually Matters
A Plea For Perspective Dear friends on the religious right. Some of whom are beloved readers here. (Yes, I have conservative friends. They are dear sincere people who care deeply about others, their families, this country, and the world. Just as many of my friends who would define themselves as […]
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