Karis by Debra Kornfield

The fourth of eight children of missionaries to a remote village of Guatemala, Debra Kornfield faced profound city shock when she moved with her husband David and four small children to the megalopolis of So Paulo, Brazil in 1990. This was her home for fourteen years until she moved to Pittsburgh in 2004 to support their daughter Karis through intestinal transplant, never dreaming that over the next fourteen years, Pittsburgh would become home.
Debra is a nurse with a graduate degree in family counseling. She published three books in Brazil, one of them a groundbreaking book on care for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She loves hiking, playing with her grandson, cultivating Kariss Friendship Garden, teaching Scripture and counseling in three languages, writing, and traveling with Dave to the ten Latin American countries where they now work. She enjoys writing for and reading the stories people send for her blog, https: //ButGod.blog, and is delighted that biweekly chats keep her in touch with her seven siblings.
Debra met her husband Dave as a freshman at Wheaton College, where she earned a B.A. in English Literature. Dave helped put her through Rush University, where she received her B.S. in Nursing the same month he was awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. In 1988, two weeks before their fourth child was born, David and Debra joined One Challenge International. They live in Pittsburgh, but travel frequently to Latin America and West Africa for their mission work with OCI.