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A Flashback
My grandfather was a delicious story teller.
I would sit at his feet, hungry, brown-eyes wide with wonder beckoning him as he cooked up tales that could fill the most insatiable soul with delight. He taught me that life is an adventure; the good, the bad, the highs and lows are all part of the story, setting the adventurer up for new possibilities. I do not remember if it was my grandfather's influence or my own innocence, but I took in the world around me with curiosity and romanticised awe viewing things that happened in nature as magical acts of a divine god. I felt special.
By the time I was 14, I knew I wanted to be a missionary to help people less fortunate than myself. I had given my heart and soul to my favourite story of all time-- Jesus the saviour. I had no reason to question Christianity and the beliefs of my southeast Texan neighbours, friends, and relatives. I took what I was taught as fact and truth and embraced it with abandon.
Things were so black and white to me then...
~Kate Ellen
About the Author
Kate Ellen Showalter was born in Port Arthur, Texas USA in 1975 and grew up in a wealthy family where she felt privileged and overwhelmed by the needs of the world. At the age of 14, she knew she wanted to be a missionary to help people who lived in poverty.
She moved to Kenya with her husband and 3 children in 2005. They founded A Future and a Hope where they took in 9 orphans and raised them alongside their (eventually) 6 biological children. In 2012, people from all over the world helped raise funds to purchase 12 acres of land where they built an environmentally friendly homestead using earth materials, rain water harvesting, solar energy, and poly-crop gardening. It became known as The Shire. Kate started a horse assisted learning program on the Shire named Horsepower designed for children with disabilities.
Her life seemed like a dream as she kept everyone up to date on social media. Riding horses in the African sunrise chasing after wild animals, giving of herself in a noble project of helping orphans as well as children with special needs, all on an off-grid, sustainable homestead in beautiful Kenya; it was perfect; however, Kate was running from herself, and the chase caught up with her.
Day after day for 24 years, Kate's husband would press her for answers about why she seemed 'different' than normal women. Why couldn't she "let go of her inhibitions, be less prude, be FREE?"
In August 2018, she finally acknowledged the truth.
Having grown up in a moralistic, conservative culture in the '80s, Kate suppressed her feelings for women and tried to console her mother’s fears that she might be a lesbian. Seeking God’s approval, she got married to a man she hardly knew. She was just 19.
Twenty four years later, she finally spoke her truth to her husband; you can read it in her book, Windows in Time, Vol. I, A Poetry Journal of Escaping my Cage.
As their project in Kenya was funded by conservative evangelicals from the Bible belt of the U.S., Kate knew that exposing her true self could cost her everything. Her body began failing as she tried to punish herself through starvation and self denial. To risk it all and 'come out' was literally becoming a life or death situation.
…
Kate’s story has turned into her own romantic fairytale. She resides in beautiful northern Norway with her partner Marit Liarbø and their three youngest children. Together, they continue to manage The SHIRE Project in Kenya as well as bring hope to people around the world by sharing their personal stories.