Jan 1 and Dec 31, beginning and end of the year

Today we spent with Jonah’s family, trying to give them a breather from mourning, a bit of green grass and sunshine and pizza and coke. Julia the jewel entertained with soccer and Speed Uno, and by the end of the afternoon the bigger girls were at least smiling and the youngest giggling. I realized that we began 2007 with Jonah’s family at his house—a year ago (Jan 1, 2007) we celebrated the 10th anniversary of a previous New Year’s Day feast (Jan 1, 1997) by visiting at their farm for the day, including slaughtering a goat and eating together. That day we thought we were entering a new decade of partnership . . . Today however we brought closure to the grief of this year, and reaffirmed our ongoing friendship and commitment in spite of Jonah’s death. We took a pause in the pizza fest to ultrasound the new baby, who is growing perfectly on schedule for a March 19th arrival . . . and looking rather male (Scott's 95% sure) which made me cry and Melen too, after five girls. We’ll see. Love breaks through and finds a way even in the greatest of losses.

None of my kids want to leave tomorrow for our Team Leader retreat, a meeting scheduled a year ago for Austria, tickets long paid for, and a break we think we need. I understand their longing for home at this moment, and it is not without a good helping of guilt that we will leave for two weeks. The hospital is just beginning to get busier again, and it is hard to leave the staff struggling. But 2008 will begin tomorrow with transience and travel, reminding us that we are sojourners at best, longing for true Home.
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Post-Script:
For those who surf for the sake of the Ebola numbers...

Current Admissions: Bundibugyo Hospital 3 currently admitted; 1 of which was a new admission--there were 5 discharges. Kikyo 1 current admission and 1 one discharged.

Total cumulative cases: 146
Total cumulative deaths: 36

Contacts, total: 767
Currently being followed: 275
Those who completed the 21 day follow-up: 408
Visited today: 263 (95%)

Au revoir and Happy New Year!!!

Last day of 2007

2007, a year of blessings and sorrows, a year of life, in review. . . . .

BLESSINGS OF 2007
Blessings in Health

• New Paediatric and Maternity Ward opened officially
• BundiNutrtition:  God provided the funds, Stephanie’s work in sustainability, more goats, and miraculous recoveries
• Kwejuna Project reaches 10,000 pregnant women, funding extended, Pamela’s connection with TBA’s
• Opening of the Butogho water line serves the neediest part of the district
  

Blessings in Education

• Christ School football and track both took teams to nationals, boost to student morale
• Leadership development made great strides at Christ School; Kevin’s discipleship of teachers
• Process of re-opening school after disturbances (see below) strengthens community support
  

Blessings in the Church

• The book of Acts in Lubwisi was dedicated in June
• The church responded to the Ebola Epidemic with fasting, prayer, and grappling with God’s word in a healthy way.  
• National leadership growing in grace and spirit.
  

Blessings in Expansion of the Kingdom

• Two team trips to Sudan led to the Massos sensing a call to that nation, being approved as team leaders, and determining an initial location!
  

Blessings in the Team Community
God sent us the right people at the right time:

• Sarah Reber and Ashley Wood, two new teachers for our missionary kids
• Larissa Funk and Scott Will, short term medical help
• Bethany Ferguson, intern leader and friend!
• A great group of summer interns
• Ministry to the team by Stu and Ruth Ann Batstone and Donovan Graham, pointing us to Jesus just when we needed it most
• Emergency care from Dan and Gini when team evacuated
  

SORROWS OF 2007:  War, Disease, Death, and Goodbyes

• ADF incursions led to insecurity early 2007
• CSB near-riots led to temporary school closure and slow process of reconciliation
• Annelise Pierce long illness and thyroid surgery, four month HMA unexpected
• Two team families making decisions to move on from Bundibugyo, good process but painful anticipation of separations
• End of term for Kim, Amy, Scott Ickes, and Pamela
• Gray’s abrupt departure to pursue evaluation for Chase, great loss
• Ebola Epidemic
• Death of Dr. Jonah Kule
  

PRAY FOR THE MYHRES AND THE BUNDIBUGYO TEAM:  looking ahead to 2008

• For godly grieving.  The Kingdom is a dangerous business.
• For courage and perseverance.  Pray we would not give up.  
• For wisdom and leadership through a year of extreme transition.
• For our family:  unity, love, recovery, educational plans for kids.

Ebola Bundibugyo, Not Going Away

The Sunday night numbers while not huge continue to cause concern... I failed to reach the Task Force Meeting due to mechanical motorcycle problems, but got the report second-hand from a very reliable CDC source... Current Admissions: Bundibugyo Hospital, 5; of which there were three new admissions. All of the new admissions managed to somehow filter through the Triage System and were admitted to the Bundibuygo Hospital General Wards. After displaying symptoms suggestive of Ebola (high fever, vomiting and diarrhea) each of the three were subsequently transferred to the Isolation Ward. Patients seem to be hiding their symptoms and/or history of contact with cases because of fear of admission to the Isolation Ward. Consequently, more health workers are being inadvertantly exposed to Ebola. This is a huge problem that has eluded a definitive solution. Kikyo has 2 current cases. Total Cumulative: 146 Deaths, Cumulative: 36

Mourning the passing of a loyal companion

Our dog Angie died last night.

In the grand scheme of ebola and eternity, the death of a dog may not seem important, but to the hearts in this home it is the final crushing blow of 2007. Angie was nearly 12 years old, which is a long life for a large dog in the toxic environment of a tropical jungle. Over the last year she had slowed down considerably, but in the last few weeks she could barely walk and finally she was unable to even stand without help. It was time for her to go, but that does not make it much easier.

Angie was Scott’s idea. In 1997 we had three children age 4 and under . . . So adding a dog to the mix was far from my mind. But he saw a notice in one of the first little grocery stores frequented by foreigners in Kampala (for such luxuries as ketchup and mustard) offering a 1 year old mixed yellow lab to a family because the physician owner was finishing her term in Africa and moving back to England. We searched her out and brought her home to Bundibugyo. And never regretted it. Angie stuck with us through war and evacuation. When the ADF attacked us that year and we were running for our lives, Scott took the time to get her on a leash from the line of fire on the front porch and bring her along. She was denied passage on the military helicopter that eventually airlifted our family out, but stayed with Rick Gray in Bundibugyo until we could be reunited. She was never very fond of soldiers after that.

Over the decade she killed her share of snakes and rats, once nabbing a cobra just before Julia walked by it. Our house was never broken into during her tenure, in spite of numerous thefts plaguing other mission houses. When Scott traveled and I was here alone with the kids, I had no fear sleeping at night, knowing she would alarm me to any dangers. In 2001 we brought home another yellow lab puppy, Star. But Angie always remained the top dog, the level-headed one, the trustworthy one.

Her greatest value to all of us was that she represented home. Our kids live as outsiders in an insular culture, slightly out of step no matter where they are in Africa or America, except this little plot of ground. Angie was a force of continuity, unconditional acceptance, faithful love. She was a constant in their lives of tenuous transitions and frequent loss. Whenever we were away, they longed to be back with her, and as we would drive into the yard they would burst out of the doors of the truck to greet their beloved dogs. Her life span fills their conscious memory.

They said goodbye before they went to bed last night, sobbing and stroking. I do worry about the impact of this month on their hearts, this death following so closely upon the frightening separation from us during the worst days of the ebola epidemic. They have seen first hand the groaning of creation, the pain of the Fall (Rom 8). We talked about the New Creation, about Jesus’ words, Behold, I make all things new (Rev 21). We long for that day in a new way this morning, firmly believing that creatures like Angie will be part of that new and good world.

Ebola Bundibugyo, Friday Night Numbers

The Ebola Task Force daily briefing was tense and long. The death of a patient who was errantly admitted to the Female Ward of the Bundibugyo Hospital, later recognized as a Ebola supect, later confirmed and then died...after having exposed at least six health workers to the virus--has left the hospital and district anxious and angry. Current Cases: Bundibugyo Hospital, 5 - of which 3 are new admissions (no discharges, no deaths). Kikyo Health Unit, 4 - of which 1 is a new admission (no discharges, no deaths). Total Cumulative cases: 143 Total Deaths: 36 Case Fatality Rate: 25.2% Contacts: 667. 362 finished their 21 day follow-up. 240 visited today. Please continue to pray for an end to this scourge. PS Check out this trailer for the 20/20 feature this evening which may include Dr. Jonah (the trailer does!)... the ABCNews 20/20 trailer

On being home, and on counting the cost of Ebola

I realize how much our souls have been imprinted by the geography of where we live—mid day yesterday Pat and I both experienced such tiredness.  I think that in spite of the fact that we are told to get away and take breaks . . . There is a certain amount of tension associated with displacement and transition, and real relaxation comes when we’re back home, back in familiar surroundings with familiar people, back where I know what drawer to open to find a spoon and how to use my stove, which allows a release and a wave of tiredness to wash in.  Even though this place is associated with grief and loss, those are only a small aspect of the depth of experience.  So it is good to be home, to prepare a meal, to celebrate our family (plus) around our own table together for the first time in over a month, Christmas candles burning, quiet music, all telling our “highs” and “lows” of the day (the former mostly relating to the fact of being home and the thrill of our mountain pass plane ride; the latter mostly related to the illness and decline of our beloved dog Angie).

We came home because we wanted to be here, and wanted to spend a few more days in the fight.  But an unexpected side effect has been the confidence boost to the community.  I did not anticipate people stopping us and telling us with great sincerity, thank you for coming back, for brining the family, for loving us.  I’m glad for that, the simple act of being present translates into the message that we are still part of this place, that we have not given up, that children can still live here too.  Public opinion is fickle but we’ll enjoy this little surge of connection and community while it lasts.

This morning I went back to Nyhauka Health Center with Scott Will.  We found a half dozen inpatients on most wards (Paeds, maternity, male, and female) and about 30 outpatients.  Though many nursing shifts are remaining uncovered there are a core of faithful people at work.  We learned that six children have died there this week—of anemia, of waiting too long to come for treatment.  The Ebola impact is so much greater than the 36 deaths recorded in the official toll.  The fear that keeps people from coming to the hospital, the fear that keeps staff from working, the isolation that impacts our blood bank supply, these things are more difficult to measure.  Another child left against medical advice in the night, and will die at home, with signs of meningitis according to the clinical officer.  There is no system to track non-hospital deaths, so no way for us to know the true cost of Ebola.  The loss of medical staff, the reluctance of those remaining to work, the loss of confidence in the medical care system, these will have an enduring and devastating effect upon the health of Bundibugyo long after the last case of Ebola.

Ebola Bundibugyo, the Thursday Night Numbers

Yesterday, the delight of anticipation of the end of the epidemic emerged. With only one Ebola patient resident between the two Isolation Wards, the end was in sight. Today, however, reality crashed in. Bundibugyo Hospital Isolation Ward had two new admissions and the one previous patient died. Kikyo had three new admissions, bringing to five the total number of suspected cases admitted to the two Isolation Wards. The one patient who died proved to be a laboratory confirmed case, the one who had been mistakenly admitted to Female Ward. There is a long list now of health workers who will be monitored for 21 days because of their exposure to that patient. The total cumulative cases: 139 Total deaths: 36 Case Fatality Rate: 25.9% Contacts to date: 643 Number who have completed their 21 day follow-up: 330 Number visited today: 235 A new reported statistic being reported: date when the most recent contact will finish their 21 day follow-up and the epidemic will be considered over: ~ January 17th.

Iconic Images of 2007

ABC 20/20 plans to air a year-end review that will possibly include Dr. Jonah as one of their “Iconic Images” for 2007. The show will air tomorrow, Friday, at 10 pm EST (but different schedules will apply to other areas). We are praying that their take on his story and the images they were able to obtain from our summer intern will bring the story of self-sacrificing love to a wide audience, both as challenge and inspiration. We are not certain yet that he’ll be included, but if he is in the show it will be towards the end.

Back in Bundi

We are so grateful for the rich experience of family and team immersion for Christmas, from a white dinner under the moon in our rented yard in Kampala to the the fun of surprising each other with simple gifts and resting far from patients and crises.  This morning Garrett from MAF treated us to the best ever flight into Bundibugyo, threading through some unexplored Rwenzori folds as we topped the mountain passes and looked down on bamboo and heather, rocks and streams, dropped thousands of feet to float to a stop on the grass airstrip.  It was spectacular.  Not quite so fun to get home where a dead rat was decomposing by our bed (!) and one of our beloved family dogs is now so old and arthritic she could not rise to greet her devoted fans.  On the aistrip Scott met with some CDC people who confirmed that a woman with a miscarriage just before Christmas turned out to be positive for Ebola, and exposed numerous hospital staff by denying her history of fever and exposure to known cases.  Sigh.  Back to reality.  More later today, but all of us are grateful to be back home for a few days.

Ebola Bundibugyo, the Sunday night numbers

Two steps forward, one step backward…the first Ebola death since December 13th. Cumulative cases: 134 Cumulative deaths: 35 (Case Fatality Rate, CFR = 26.1%) Case Fatality Rate among Laboratory confirmed cases = 12/34 = 35.3% Current admissions: Bundibugyo Hospital 5, with no new admissions, no discharges, no deaths. Kikyo 2, with no new admissions or discharges, but one death. Contacts: 587 of which 148 have finished their 21 day follow-up period. 321 were visited today. Tomorrow, I will fly out with Pat and three others from MSF to spend Christmas with my wife, my kids, and my Team. As much as I am bursting to see my kids again…I also don’t want to go, to leave behind my fellow soldiers fighting the war against Ebola, against death. As Jennifer mentions below, our Net access is limited at best in Kampala. Funny, but we are better connected to the world in rural Bundibugyo than in Uganda’s capital. May your Christmas celebrations be filled with the Life and Light of the World.