It is almost time for us to leave. These past weeks have been spent packing and repacking the countless donations that have been put Into our care: Soccer balls, clothing, jackets, hats, shoes, socks, school, supplies and books challenge the seams of our suitcases. Meeting the weight and size restrictions challenge our minds. We are each allowed 2-50 lb bags, plus a carry on. Each of our checked bags can measure no more than 59 inches, our carry ons must be under 29 inches. Filling each bag with just enough heavy items with just enough light items so,that the bags fill the space and meet but do not go over the size restrictions has been a giant math puzzle. We finally had our 8 checked bags ready. I looked around the room and still there were so many beautiful items waiting to be packed. I called our airlines and discovered that we could add up to 25 lb per suitcase for an added cost of $50.00 each. Back to the Math problems. Which suitcases have more space to hold additional items? Which suitcases have heavy items that can be exchanged for light items without going over the size restrictions? The shuffling began and many hours later we had 40 additional pounds added for a total of 440lbs of donations ready to be delivered to Lesotho, in the name of our incredible community.
Author Archives: Kim Colella
A Message from St. Camillus
Last Sunday, I woke up early motivated to get my self packed for our trip. I gently woke up Niko and said, “Let’s get up and get packed before we go to Church.” As we worked on our personal packing, I was overwhelmed with the amount of donations we still had yet to pack. I would not know how much space we would have available for these donations until we each had our personal items packed. Anxiety began to fill me as I looked at the great feat ahead of me.
As we headed off to Church, Niko was almost all packed and I was well on my way, but the stress of all those donations, still loomed large in my consciousness.
It was Fr. Jim’s last Mass at St. Leo’s. He had been assigned to a new parish. I was grateful to be there to send him off and to infuse myself with the energy of this community as we prepared for our journey to southern Africa in just 6 more days.
To my surprise and delight Fr. Jim’s sermon was about St. Camillus. I have been a Catholic for over 55 years and never before have a heard a talk, a sermon or a story about St. Camillus. I knew nothing about him. And it is the name of the orphanage that we are going to in Lesotho. Coincidence? I think not.
St. Camillus is the patron saint of the sick and of those who care for the sick. He was a friend of St. Ignatius. Fr. Jim shared the story of St. Camillus being overwhelmed by his calling to create an order of religious dedicated for caring for the sick. There was so much that needed to be done. He had no idea how he could possibly do it. In the midst of his overwhelm, he heard the voice of God say, “Why do you worry, don’t you know that this is my plan.”
As Fr. Jim repeated God’s words. “Why do you worry, don’t you know that this is my plan?” I heard God speaking to me. I felt my breath deepen and my shoulders relax. I have known from the beginning that this trip was a calling from God. I knew it was God’s plan, God’s trip, directed by Spirit. My job was to say, “Yes.”, listen to the voice of my spirit, respond to it’s urging and all would be well. All of those donations would get to Lesotho. All I needed to do was trust.
St. Camillus Wish List
The Seed of a Dream is Planted
Thula Thula Game Reserve, South Africa
Kim, Mary, Sam and Niko 2010
St. Julianna, Founder of the St. Camillus Center
In 2004, I went to South Africa to study the AIDs pandemic with a delegation of 16 women from the United States. We spent 2 of our 16 days in South Africa on a game reserve. Upon returning my then 6 year old, Sam, who is an animal enthusiast, made me promise that I would not go back to Africa without him. I made that promise and set my intention to go back to South Africa with Sam and Niko one day and to spend time on at a game reserve.
In 2009, a young woman, Mary, came to Tacoma from Lesotho Africa to work in L’Arche for a year. We were her host family. Mary walked into our home and took up permanent residence in our hearts. She returned to Lesotho in the summer of 2010. By the summer of 2011, Mary had married her longtime boyfriend, Paul and she had given birth to their son. They named their son after her brother… Sammy. Our family’s dream to visit her and to meet Paul and our grandson, Sammy became more than a dream. It became a clear intention.
I served on the board of The Lesotho Connection for 3 years from 2006-2009. Lesotho is a small mountainous country surrounded by South Africa. One out of four children, in Lesotho, is orphaned by AIDs. A Holy Names, Besotho, nun named Sr. Julianna has devoted her life to caring for the orphaned children in Mohales Hoek, Lesotho. One of the goals of the Lesotho Connection has been to raise the funds needed to build a home for the orphaned and vulnerable children in Sr. Julianna’s Care. This dream was fulfilled and the children moved into their new home, the St. Camillus Center, in December of 2014. I wanted to see this center, which had been just a seedling of a dream when I was on the board and I wanted to spend time with Sr. Julianna and these beautiful children.
This dream of returning to Southern Africa, which started in 2004, continued to grow in me as our love for Mary developed, the St. Camillus Center was built and Sam grew into a young man. The dream expanded to include Sam’s best friend, Will, in this adventure. Sam and Will have been friends since birth. Their friendship has been nurtured by their deep loves of animals, music and community.
In the autumn of 2014, I felt a voice inside me say “The time is now! You must begin to prepare and plan to go to Southern Africa this upcoming summer.” It would be the summer before Sam’s junior year of high school and Will’s senior year. If we waited any longer, the opportunity for all of us to go together could be lost. And so we began to plan.
Lesotho Bound
This summer, I will spend 3 weeks in Lesotho, Africa with my husband, Niko, my 16 year old son, Sam and his best friend, Will. Our focus is 3 fold. First, to see our daughter of the heart and to meet her husband and 4 year old son. We were Mary’s host family for a year as she volunteered at L’Arche Tahoma Hope. She walked into our home and immediately was a part of our family. After Mary returned to Lesotho, she married her beloved, Paul and had a baby whom she named after her Tacoma brother, Sam. We are so excited to see Mary again and to meet our extended family in Lesotho. When I told Mary that we were coming to see her, she replied “I have prayed for this for so long. I never knew when it would happen and now it is happening.” Together we wept with joy. Mary has enlisted Sam and Will to teach in her classroom for 2 days that we are with her.
Secondly, we will spend 8 to 10 days at the St. Camillus Center. I was on the board of The Lesotho Connection(TLC), here in Tacoma for 3 years. TLC has recently completed a long time goal of building a new home for the St. Camillus Center. This home houses 20 children orphaned by AIDS. There are over 200,000 children orphaned by AIDS in Lesotho. This is roughly the population of Tacoma. We will spend our time serving in whatever way we can be most helpful to the center. Also, Sam and Will will use their talents in music to write a song with the children that we will record so that it can be used both by The Lesotho Connection and by the St. Camillus Center in their promotional materials.
Thirdly, we will spend 3 to 4 days at a game reserve in South Africa to take in the amazing animals of South Africa and to learn about conservation projects in place. Sam and Will have been animal enthusiasts from the start. Their love of animals has been one of the things that has nourished their deep friendship for the past 16 years.
Sam and Will have committed to paying for their airfare, spending money and time at the game reserves and to help raise funds for playground equipment and a sign for The St. Camillus Center. To fulfill this commitment they have created and are selling cards with their original artwork as well as selling my Umbutu tea. If you would like to support their efforts, you can purchase their items at Sam and Will’s Etsy Shop or you can check out their project updates on their fundraising page at Sam and Will’s You Caring Site
This is a trip of a lifetime, but it is more than that. As parent’s it is an opportunity to offer these young men an opportunity to have their image of themselves and their world expanded. It is an opportunity to allow and encourage them to steadily and faithfully work towards a goal and to bring it to fruition. It is an opportunity for them to share their gifts in a profound way and to have their gifts shaped in new and profound ways by the Lesotho people. This is a trip that will crack all of our hearts open, that will change us in ways we do not yet know, and that will imprint on our souls our place in the family of humanity.
Click the link below to watch this beautiful video about the St. Camillus Center:
Umbutu: I Am Because We Are
Umbutu is a South African word. There is no direct translation in the English language, but it has been translated as meaning – kindness, humanity, compassion, goodness. It is regarded as a fundamental way Africans approach life. My favorite translation of this word is: I am Because We are.
In 2004, I went to S. Africa with a delegation of 16 women to study the AIDs pandemic. I came home inspired by the intensity of joy and strength that I encountered in the South African women.
In 2010, my family had the honor of being the host family for a young woman from Lesotho Lesotho is a small country surrounded by South Africa. She walked into our home and was instantly a member of our family and filled our home with her intense joy, love, and deep commitment to family.
Umbutu tea is created in celebration of the spirit of African women and as a prayer of blessing for you who drink it. May you may be strengthened. May you be infused with joy. And may you become increasingly aware of and moved by your connection to all of life.
I bow in gratitude as I say to you, “Umbutu, I am Because We are.”
Umbutu Tea: I am Because We are.
A tea to bless and amplify our connection to all of life.
Herbal Tea Blend: Rooibos, Orange Peel, Hibiscus, Apple Pieces,
Rosehips, Safflowers, Rose Petals, Vanilla, Lemon, Cinnamon, Ginger
Infused with Joy, Strength, and Deep Connection.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/213219131/umbutu-tea?
Spiritualitea: A Cup of Blessing
From beginning to end, the process of creating a Spiritualitea blend is a process of intention, prayer and blessing. When I decided that I wanted to create a line of teas for my clients, my idea was to create a line of teas that would support them at each stage, each mood of the spiritual journey. Immediately, I knew that I would begin with 4 teas and that the teas were meant for more people than just my clients. The first 4 teas in the line are:
Umbutu Tea: A tea of deep connection. Infused with joy, strength and deep connection.
Sanctuary Space: A tea for deep listening. Infused with Comfort, Courage and Deep Peace.
Possibilitea: A tea of empowerment to follow where your soul leads. Infused with clarity, vision, power and peace. And
Body Blessing: A tea to bless each cell of your being. Infused with love, gratitude, and healing.
I began taste testing over 50 teas, looking for teas that held the qualities I was looking to inspire with each tea. I narrowed the base for each tea down to 4 possibilities.
As in all spiritual quests, I coul only go so far by myself. I needed to enlist the help of other spiritual guides. So, I gathered a group of wise women, who are committed to their own spiritual journey, and asked them to help me choose the most powerful base for each tea.
We gathered in prayer and stillness. We began by first looking at, smelling and touching the dried herbs of each tea. In silence, we recorded our individual observations and preferences. Next we sat in meditation with a small cup of each brewed sample, noting the color, smell and taste, observing how it played on our tongue, felt in our body and what emotions and feelings we experienced as we savored each cup. This process was done with great care and after hours of savoring tea we had chosen the base for each tea.
Once the base was chosen, It was time to broaden the circle again. I enlisted the help of Heather Foster, Chef Extraordinaire. Heather took each base and brought it alive by adding just the right ingredients to fill out the taste and intention of each tea. So far we have completed the Umbutu tea and Sanctuary Space tea. We are currently working on perfecting Possibilitea and will add Body Blessing in 2015.
When the blends were perfected and we were ready for production, 16 year old, Will Bentley, created the artwork for each blend. Susan Sezgin, took my design of the labels and perfected them. And Sam Colella, began blending the teas in small portions, so to ensure the best blending of ingredients in each bag.
Once the teas are bagged, each blend is blessed. The Umbutu tea is calibrated with African music that is filled with joy and strength and speaks of our deep connection. The Sanctuary Space Tea is calibrated with chants of peace.
The end product is a work of love, blessed by many hearts and hands, ready to be passed onto you, with the intention that they will bless you and support you as you bring your spirit more fully into this world.
To order your Spiritualiteas, go to
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BodySacred?ref=hdr_shop_menu
May you be blessed.
Spaciousness.
I sit on Elk Ridge,
Watching the sunset over the mountains.
I feel myself expand in the glow of this Big Sky.
Space.
My mind stops.
Taking in this moment,
I breathe deep.
Savoring my lungs full expansion.
My heart opens.
Embracing this blessed space
I feel my self come home.
– Kim Colella
Joel
Joel
April 15, 1950 – Feb. 4,2014
In November, after learning that my brother, Joel, had advanced lung cancer, I wrote this reflection. In early February, I read it at his memorial service. In honor of his birthday, I share here today.
JOEL
As I stop and Breathe,
I feel my grief arise.
Tears surface as I
Hold you in my heart.
The sadness takes my breath away.
I remember my childhood,
You, ten years older,
my protector brother.
I am moved by the memory
Of your tenderness, loyalty and love.
Fifty years of smoking
Has taken root in your lungs,
Blocking your airway,
Stealing your breath.
Death stands waiting to receive
Your tender, loving spirit.
Am I ready to let you go?
I choke on the sob of grief
Arising in my chest,
And allow the winds of sadness to shake me.
Slowly, I relax my breath
Releasing, Blessing, Receiving,
All that is to come.
Uncharted Territory
The uncharted territory of our time is silence. Our lives are filled with the constant hum of our technology: phones, computers, televisions and music. When is the last time that you sat in such silence that you could hear the beating of your heart? If we are to stay connected to our own true self, it is imperative that we create such moments for ourselves. In these moments, we hear the beating of our purpose, our calling, our truth.
Thirsting for time with my spirit.
Too many voices surround me.
Sweet quiet alludes me.
How do I hear my spirit in the midst of all this noise?
Breathe deep.
Deeper Still.
Breathe into the silence of your soul.
Breathe into this place
for a moment
And feel it stretch to eternity.
Sweet silence,
Sweet solitude
Awaits you.