sisters
THeSe village girls in
Sudan have
never been
to school.
They are part
of the population that
Sister marilyn
Lacey’s
organization, mercy
Beyond Borders, helps
to pursue an
education.
Joy I never expected
Working with women in Sudan brought a “wild, unexpected,
indescribable happiness” for this Sister of Mercy.
by sistEr
marilyn
laCEy,
r.s.m.
i’M sURe you’ve seen those “before and after” commercials where some amazing product transforms some-
one from a nondescript individual into a
dazzling starlet. you know what i mean:
only using the right shampoo, wearing
the latest fashion, or driving the sleekest
Sister Marilyn Lacey, r.S.M., a
Sister of Mercy and author of
This Flowing Toward Me: A
Story of God Arriving in Strangers (ave Maria Press, 2008), is
the executive director of Mercy
beyond borders, a nonprofit
organization working with displaced women and
girls in Southern Sudan to alleviate extreme poverty.
car (better yet: doing all three) guaran-
tees your life will never be the same.
somehow, though, those promises
never deliver. But don’t give up; marvel-
ous transformation is still available to us
all. As Christians we call it conversion—
God turning our lives around—and it’s
central to every vocation.
here’s my own “before and after”
story, in the form of personal ads:
Before: “strongly introverted,
academically focused, painfully private
woman seeks to give her life wholly to
God and become a math teacher.”
After: “Woman wildly in love with
God, totally immersed in working with
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