I was born into a Mormon family (from Wyoming, not Utah!) in Champaign, Illinois. By the time I was two, we were all living in Venezuela. From there, we moved to Tripoli, Libya and then on to Bahrain where I attended my first years of school. My child- hood was the beginning of a life spent mostly outside of this country.

I met my partner, Mary Lou Prince, when I was a student in Paris. When we left the Mormon Church five years later, we flew to Japan where we lived for twenty-four years.  My school studies were mostly around European languages and literature.  In Japan, we had a theater company and after many years of study, I also worked as a translator of Japa- nese and published a novel and plays in Japanese.

Your church was the first one I attended when we flew here from Japan seven years ago looking for property. Most recently, we visited again in April when we performed our play Man from Magdalena as a wor- ship service. After the service, when we asked for do- nations for micro-loans to Mexico and Central America, we were amazed by your generosity. Altogether, you donated over $1,800! That money has helped our total rise to over $35,000 for 490 micro-loans in efforts to heal the roots of the tragic migration that crosses by our doors. Thank you!

In May, I graduated from Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker seminary in Indiana and I spent my last year in a supervised internship at the UU Church of Surprise, Arizona. Yet, in the middle of all my theology, ethics and pastoral care classes, I continued to concentrate on my writing and during my second year I was awarded a fellowship to write a book about my ancestor Patty Bartlett Sessions and her encounters with Native Americans. That work, Dancing Bird's Apprentice, is now complete and I am working on a one-woman play that I'll begin performing in the summer. I am excited about my internship here. Reverend Diane Dowgiert has much to teach me and this is the first UU congrega- tion I have attended with a large population of children! I look forward to getting to know all of you and learn from you through the next months.