“My mother gave us chili peppers before we went to bed,” said Samuel, recalling his difficult childhood in sub-Saharan Africa. “We drank water to cool our mouths, and then we would feel full.” He added, “It did not work well.” Government upheaval had forced Samuel’s father to flee for his life, leaving their mother as the family’s sole provider.

I live in a region and neighbourhood that share a tragic racial history. For instance, the daughter of one of my elderly neighbours was part of a civil suit to force area schools to obey federal law and desegregate. As I’ve spoken with my neighbours, I’ve had to grapple with the racial divide in my country, with the many ways people have yet to fulfil God’s mandate to be agents o

In Debbie’s new home, she discovered an abandoned plant in a dark corner of the kitchen. The dusty and ragged leaves looked like those of a moth orchid, and she imagined how pretty the plant would look once it had sent up new bloom-bearing stems. She moved the pot into a spot by the window, cut off the dead leaves, and watered it thoroughly. She bought plant food and applied it to the roots.