There is always one event that signifies that yes, it is time for the end of the term. Our neighbor had college age twins visiting her, and we invited them over to do devotions with the guys. They are both bright cute woman, and after they sat down, one of the guys tooted loudly. And they all laughed loudly. And so I said loudly `That’s it. In this dorm, we honor woman. We will never pass gas in front of a woman again, If you need to do business, excuse yourself and do it in another room. Never again in front of a woman. Is that clear?’

One of the guys very innocently asked `Even Aunt Nancy?’ And at that point, I knew that it was time for the term break to begin. We are on three months and then the guys spend a month at home with their parents. I am going to help install Account Payables, build an ordering system for the library, deliver maize in the valley, and all sorts of other projects, but having the kids with their folks is a nice break.

There are things that catch you by surprise, even after nine months here. The butcher came by on Saturday, and I was the only one home, so I received our order. As I took the meat, I noticed how warm the package was, which was a surprise, since it was a cool day. And it struck me again: he has no electricity, and no refrigeration, so as soon as the animal is killed, they start to deliver the meat immediately. It cures me from ordering anything rare.

Someone gave us a subscription to Time magazine in July. We have received five copies of it to date. Magazines are routinely stolen, and sold on the streets. There was a guy here who subscribed to a woodworking magazine, and was driving into town and saw someone hawking the magazine. He bought it, and found his name on the back of the magazine. Another friend was sent candy from her fiancee, and there were tooth marks in it.

But it hit a new level last week. JT’s grandfather sent him a check for his birthday, and the check was stolen and changed to be for $2800.00, quite a change from the $20.00 it began as. The bank caught it, and there won’t be any charge to Papa, but imagine how you do business in a country where the mail is not secure. It is very very sad, and the government’s response when confronted by a newspaper entailing the huge amount of stolen mail is `It could be a lot worse.’

You may have read about the bombing in Sudan. We have friends who work in the hospital there; the hospital is a target because it is a Christian hospital in a Islamic area, and for some reason, blowing up the only hospital in hundreds of miles staffed by volunteers is a neat idea. They are talking about evacuating the personnel, but the response of one of them has really stayed with me this week. A bomb went off less than 1000 yards from the hospital, and they suggested that the staff consider leaving. Almost to the person, the staff wants to stay and help, because they feel like if they leave, there will be no one there to help those people.

I read a quote this week about this kid who was killed in WWI. His journal was found, and it said `I will work, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully, and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.’

I will never be a medical person in a war zone, but I want to live my life like they do. Whether I am in Kenya or Grapevine, Texas.

YP