The Wedding Gift Finding Joy in the Midst of Death By Margaret Hofmann-Nein Finding Joy in the Midst of Death By Margaret Hofmann-Nein

In Memory Of Pauline E. Morrisey-Hofmann April 4, 1931 July 22, 2001 Pauline E. Morrisey-Hofmann April 4, 1931 July 22, 2001

The Wedding Gift My mother died six days before my wedding. This is a mother/daughter memoir, a love story, written mostly in the first year after my mother’s death from cancer. Her life, her illness and her passing, changed my life. I felt compelled to write about the most difficult week in my life. I share intimate moments, extreme emotions and shocking events that transpired at the end time for my mom.

The Wedding Gift My mother was a wife, grandmother, servant, volunteer and missionary. She spent close to 30 years volunteering in a Comboni mission center in the U.S. and financially supported a poor Comboni mission school in a slum in nairobi Kenya. She exemplified the true spirit of volunteerism and displayed a genuine love for the poor and often destitute children of Africa.

The Wedding Gift After her death, a Comboni mission priest, who benefited from my mother’s financial help when young, set up an education Fund in her honor. The Pauline Hofmann Education Fund keeps her mission work alive and thriving in the Kariobangi slum in Nairobi Kenya. Here, children play amid open sewers and piles of garbage and people still die of hunger.

The Wedding Gift This fund helps to provide shelter, food, clothing, (uniforms) shoes and school supplies for the children. Most of the them lack the basics by which to survive on a daily basis. Many have no parents and some take care of their brothers and sisters. These children are the victims of years of war, famine, illness (AIDS), death and destruction.

The Wedding Gift This is about saving lives and helping to change Africa with the education of its youth. These children want to live and learn and they have big dreams for their futures. They will grow up to change the nation. It has to happen from within.

The Wedding Gift proceeds from the sale of this book will be put into my mother’s education fund. I am asking for your help. Lets work together to create change and to support the poorest of the poor children in Africa. We can give them hope.

The Wedding Gift The impact is profound. Just $100 puts one child through primary school for a year. You don’t have to be in Africa to make a difference. The sale of this book will feed hungry children and keep the school open and operating in Nairobi. The school is a safe haven for these kids, it is their lifeline.

The Wedding Gift I will be forever grateful to those who donate no matter the amount. If you say yes to our cause, you will be listed in the acknowledgement section of my book. Other great perks are listed on this campaign page. And if you can’t donate, I understand. Help us then by sharing this campaign with others. Thank You. I will be forever grateful to those who donate no matter the amount. If you say yes to our cause, you will be listed in the acknowledgement section of my book. Other great perks are listed on this campaign page. And if you can’t donate, I understand. Help us then by sharing this campaign with others. Thank You.

An Irish Blessing In remembrance of my mother pauline May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand. In remembrance of my mother pauline May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

The Wedding Gift Photos in this presentation are provided from a personal collection, as well as the Comboni missionaries literature and website, Africa Renewal, and google images. Photos in this presentation are provided from a personal collection, as well as the Comboni missionaries literature and website, Africa Renewal, and google images.