I started writing in the year 2012 while at home taking care of my young children. I have a son who was then, 6yrs and a daughter who was 3yrs old. My journey in writing starting from my realization that God, through his spirit was asking me to share my testimonies to be able to uplift others who may be going through what I had gone through.
I was not working then as I had to stay at home and care for my children as much as gain my strength back, i had also been dealing with severe pain from fibroids and excessive bleeding. This had been going on since before I was blessed with my son. Since 2000, the bleeding and abdominal pains had racked my body that I could not conceive or be up all day. But with the favor of God and the help of patient and realistic doctors, one of whom was a Pakistani Ismailia doctor, I conceived and gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. It took years of trying with the doctors and praying for God to help me.
The favour of God made it clear to me that this was not my testimony to keep but one to share with others through writing. He gave me a destiny changer through the Ismailia doctor who confirmed God’s hand by telling me to thank the God I worship for my miracle.
My children both belong to God and are a gift to me. They both live and thrive despite chronic ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome but by the grace of God they are strong and rise above it, every day.
When they were young, there were more hospital visits and admissions than was possible for one to mix school, work and hospital. I therefore had to focus fully on them so that they could have school and hospital visits. I therefore started writing.
I started writing without a particular direction as the spirit led me. Later I was able to assign the different topics into what seemed to me, to be three books.
I wrote on sticky notes in the car when stuck in traffic and left them in the glove box for months sometimes. I truly used to forget them as soon as I would start attending to the children. One day I collected all of them and tried to make sense of them. I realized they were making sense and each connected to an event that was a testimony of my life.
I built up on two books and in 2019, submitted the two manuscripts to Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB). The manuscripts were then titled ‘A seeking soul and New Dawn beginning ‘. In 2021 they wrote back and regretted not being able to publish but gave me a number of ways to publish my books. They also congratulated me for venturing into writing, and encouraged me to continue writing.
I set out to get an objective response on my writing. The response took so long but I got it. By then God had built my children’s capacity to withstand pain and still function in school. They continue to date as adolescents. The regret was sad but acceptable because it ended with directions and encouragement.
During a fellowship gathering one time, a friend heard me talk about my frustration finding a publisher and she mentioned Christian Literature Communications (CLC) and told me to contact them on line. From the first contact in 2022 till now, I’m with them and have submitted three books and now one in print ‘A soul’. The other is a novel and third, a prose. I’m working on a fourth.
‘A soul’ is from the first book I submitted to KLB, ‘A seeking soul’. It is about seeking, receiving and mentoring inner being.
Writing for me is a journey that starts with a thought, curiosity or release. It goes on building up with pauses, retractions and reflections. If it ends with someone reading and getting encouragement and blessings from God, then I’m fulfilling my purpose in this world of knowing and sharing Christ.
I can be reached on;
Facebook- Alice Kwenda.
LinkedIn- Alice Kwenda.
Email- elsiealice8@gmail.com
[…] Alice Kwenda Narrates How Her Writing Journey Came From Her Days As A Stay At Home Mum […]