I’m a citizen of heaven who truly qualifies as a “global woman”, having been born in the UK, raised and educated in Australia, language-oriented in Europe, and called to Africa. (My connection with the USA? Do friends and a dentist there count?) After nearly 23 years in a desert setting working among Muslims, I was blessed by a surprise call from the Lord to work on the coast of Kenya. Here I count Christians, Muslims, and “believers in a creator god” among my friends.
I work with local churches in income-generation projects, primarily for women, to help families feed their children, provide healthcare for them, and educate them. I also channel funds from interested friends and churches for pre-school through to tertiary education and for various other needs, such as for a child needing ano-rectal surgery to give her an anus for the first time. Other ministries fit themselves in around these primary activities, for example designing websites for local businesses (which are heavily dependent on the fluctuating tourist market) and the church school, working alongside an international Christian conservation group which has a base here, and mentoring teenage and 20s young women in the church. We hope that certain businesses will help the church to help itself too. In my spare time I love to observe God’s undersea creation while snorkeling for weight-loss and fitness.
I’m based in Watamu on the central coast of Kenya. People here have only small plots of land with lots of rocks and poor soil. This makes the community as a whole dependent on the tourism sector.
The women ask prayer for their businesses to succeed and for their families, including their husbands, to follow the Lord. Me: I’d love to see an end to the daily migraines that came with menopause! They are well-controlled by medication, but who wants to take 30-35 tablets a month? Also, I need regular inspiration for Bible studies with the ladies’ groups and the teens/20s girls.
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