From an early age I wanted to help people. When I was young, I was a student of the Bible. I loved church, and I loved learning about Christ Jesus and his love for all. I did some summer mission work with my aunt and uncle who were missionaries for a Protestant church. In college I simply knew I wanted to help people and live abroad.
I first came to Africa when I was twenty-four years old, fresh out of graduate school, where I had studied international development. I was newly married, and my husband and I both went to a war zone in Liberia to give humanitarian help. I was at times overwhelmed by the desperation and the need. Conducting reconciliation workshops in villages where neighbors had perpetrated terrible acts against neighbors (all of whom now had to live side by side again) was challenging and difficult.
In the several decades since I first came to the continent, I became a student of Christian Science and eventually a full-time Christian Science practitioner. This has been an interesting and inspiring journey. I came to Africa originally as a humanitarian aid worker with a desire to alleviate suffering and help people. Now, as a Christian Science practitioner, I still have the same desire. But I go about helping people in a different manner: I pray to help people find improvements in their health and lives through understanding their relationship to God as His spiritual image and likeness.
