Ebola

Peter and I are celebrating our one month anniversary today. 

Woo Hoo!!

We’ve celebrated our anniversary by having hours of conversation about whether or not we should re-enter a country that is in the middle of an unprecedented Ebola virus outbreak with a 60% mortality rate.  Wow, that sounds dramatic doesn’t it? (I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic....ask….well, anyone).

To be perfectly honest though, we have spent HOURS in the last few days (many of them with me in tears….sorry Peter, can’t return me now) trying to figure out what to do.  We’re supposed to go back on Sunday.  When we left in May , the outbreak was present, but hadn’t escalated like it has now.  We’ve talked to so many different people, both here and in Sierra Leone and have received very different advice.  I think that's what we're struggling with the most.  People who we love and respect are telling us different things.  Last night  we were both utterly confused about what to do. So we holed ourselves up in our room and hashed everything out, all the while begging Jesus for wisdom and discernment. 

We’ve decided to go back.

We have precautions that we’re going to put into place.  Peter will be doing the administrative work that he can from home and will meet only with the people that he must.  I’d left my job at the hospital before we came to the States to get married, so I have no commitments at any health care facility right now.  I was planning on taking a couple months and help get our family established, help Peter in any way I can in his new role, and get homeschooling off to a good start. 

Now I’m a bit torn.  I won’t be going to the hospitals where the Ebola is, but as a health care worker, I find it difficult not to do anything when I’m sitting in the middle of an epidemic!!  But so far ALL the advice has been for me not to get involved in the health care aspect of things at this time.  Many of the Sierra Leonean people are confused about what is actually causing the outbreak and are angry with the health care workers. There have been some angry gatherings at hospitals and ambulances are being stoned.  There are lots of rumors and lots of distrust.  Any work that I would be looking at doing would be in seeking to educate the people.  I’m just not sure at this point what that would look like and what the risk versus benefit ratio would be. 

So we’ll get there and figure out what the best thing to do will be.  We’ll see. Please please pray for this outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.  Pray for the health care workers, the people risking their lives. Pray for the infected people and their families. That fear would not overwhelm truth and that trust will be built between the hospitals and the people.  Pray for the stability of the country. Unrest and violence will only make a dangerous problem exponentially worse.