Ebola virus

I was in Washington D.C. on Friday reading the Washington post. There was an article on the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in Uganda. It talked about the danger to health workers and the quick spread of the disease. Ebola doesn't have a cure and it can be an unpleasant death. I looked at the region and prayed our staff was safe.

Today, I was told by the Uganda leadership that the HIV staff have been evacuated from the Kamwenge district. The Ebola virus is spreading in the country. Though it has only been identified in the western part of the country, there have been decisions by the Ministry of Health to close down clinics serving the public even in the east.

I don't pretend to understand infectious disease, but I know enough to know that an outbreak of Ebola is a very bad thing. Closing health clinics creates a whole new kind of health crises. Please pray for this country, for our staff, and for the Ministry of Health leadership as they work to stop the spread of Ebola in Uganda.

There are plenty of times I would like the what I read in the news to become part of my life...winning the lottery for instance (though I'd have to play to win). This was not one of the times that I wished to have such a personal connection to the news.

Pomegranate part dieu

We bought two pomegranates. I shared one with Kenyon (the subject of a previous post). I'll give you one guess who ate the second pomegranate. HINT: it wasn't me...

You guessed it. Kenyon, the man who said he didn't care if he ever ate another. It so hard to resist that juicy fruit. Bet you can't eat just one!

Christmas tree

Kenyon and I are surrounded by tree farms. They are all around the city we live in, there are signs on every highway, our rental house has at least three in any direction. Last week we visited one of these tree farms and picked out a Christmas tree. I had a lot of fun doing it, I'm not sure if Kenyon enjoyed it as much. We came straight home and decorated the tree while listening to Christmas carols on the radio. It was the start of some fun holiday traditions to come.

I decided it was necessary to make time to decorate for Christmas. Thanksgiving kind of snuck up on me. I woke up one day and everyone told me Thanksgiving was that week. What?! How did that happen? I hadn't even seen it coming. The benefit was, I didn't have time to feel bad about being away from family and friends instead I was just grateful to have time off work. We spent the holiday with some families from our church. Thank God for the hospitality of strangers! The Christmas tree is my reminder that the holiday is coming. Every day I see it and think...Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming. It's my favorite holiday so I'm glad it's on it's way. We will be here for Christmas and have no special plan, except to be together.

I hope you are having a Happy Holidays!

Cali-forn-ia

Right now I am in the Vegas airport listening to the constant sound of slot machines. I'm traveling east after a few days in California - for business, not pleasure. I was in California for a work conference. Me and my team put in regular 12 hour days, we'd attend sessions then had meetings scheduled between sessions and at the end of each day. I'll have two days in the office and then I'm off to D.C. for a few days.

Don't feel too bad for me, I do manage to fit in some fun. Last night I got to visit with my good friend from college Katrina. We ate dinner and talked for hours. In D.C. I will get to see the Williams family. Kelsey is performing in the Nutcracker and I should be there opening night. I hear the airmiles accumulating...cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching.

Finally, some good news...

I've tried not to be a complainer, but this move has been less than ideal. The house still hasn't sold. We are living in the smallest town I've ever lived in, and though it's pretty and I have a great job, I am very uncomfortable in a small town setting...I grow restless, fidgety and unhappy. We don't have heat in the house, we don't have TV, we are still working on finalizing a local bank account, etc, etc, etc...every place seems to charge a large activation fee or put up so many road blocks I just don't have the energy or time to deal with it. The worst was that things were not working out for Kenyon. I was convinced when we decided to move that this was a move for us, not just me. We tried to enroll him in school and were told we'd have to pay out of state tution, no exceptions. We can't afford out of state tuition on one salary, paying living expenses in two places and all bills for two people. He looked daily for work with no luck.

Well, we recently found out that the program Kenyon want to be in can be taken through continuing education and he can still get the professional license. We can afford continuing education fees, so he is officially enrolled in school. His class begins Jan. 7. Hallelujah! We needed something to work out.