This Our Exile: A Spiritual Journey with the Refugees of East Africa

by James Martin

Overview

Seamlessly combining spiritual writing, reportage, travel narrative, humor, and recent history, bestselling author James Martin recalls his time as a young Jesuit working with the refugees in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Drawing on his previous experience in the business world, he imagined that he had much to teach the refugees. But they would end up teaching him much more about life, about survival and faith, and about love and friendship. With stories that are by turns frankly incredible, darkly comic, inspirational, tragic, and always provocative, this compelling work is a wonderfully realized tribute to our shared humanity

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608330232
Publisher:	Orbis
Publication date:	03/22/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	5 MB

Table of Contents

Foreword Robert Coles ix

Introduction: Into Africa xiii

Finding Sister Luise 1

The Road to and from Thika 15

Takataka 21

A Chicken Farm, the 241N Machine, and a Visit to Safi Textiles 25

Standard 33

African Scarves 41

"I Am Crying to You!" 47

Kawangware 51

"We Are So Glad You Are Not Dead!" 58

Mikono 71

Stories from the Grass 83

Khadija's Son 93

In Malindi 97

The Tree of Life 104

Consolation 109

Sister Maureen Makes an Unwise Purchase 121

One Thousand Green Plastic Christmas Cups 124

Our Speciality 135

Adjumani 137

Hurry, Hurry, Means No Blessings 155

Some Little Money 159

I Meet Mama Mzee 170

The Rains 177

John Mutaburunga and His Cows 180

The Home of the Wind 185

Kabina Sockor 190

My Brother 194

"When Are You Coming Back, Brother?" 197

The Mustard Seed 201

New Afterword: Twenty Years Later 205

Acknowledgments 213

Glossary 216