Meskel Invites

First, a detour from the Meskel. Let’s talk about Ebola. I know, it kind of makes us cringe.

We can’t let this be a just a Liberia problem. We also can’t continue with it being an African problem. This unprecedented explosion of a disease with a  70% fatality rate is a monster.

Here is a portion of our friend, Debbie E’s prayer letter. She is a SIM Surgeon in Liberia and is currently in the USA. Three of her colleagues have all gotten Ebola. 

“The Ebola epidemic in Liberia worsens by the day threatening the health of citizens and the stability of the country. 21,000 cases are predicted by late September and 1.4 million cases in 4 months. The case fatality rate is estimated to be 70%. Liberia’s population is just over 4 million. You do the math….Schools are closed, food prices are rising. Most hospitals remain closed to general patients. Predictions are that fatalities from malaria, as a result, will exceed Ebola deaths. Obstructed childbirth, surgical emergencies, major infections and other life-threatening emergencies continue to go untreated…It all seems increasingly discouraging and hopeless. When and where will it end?"

SIM Global is calling for a week of people, worldwide , praying specifically for the end Ebola. (this post was supposed to go out on Monday but we haven’t had the internet for it.)

www.praytoendebola.org

I can’t get the previous post to go, explaining more of Meskel, excuse the random order. We have also been internet less and this afternoon, there it was…straining to connect and I jumped on it! Sorry if you have e-mailed and I have not responded :)

 

On Meskel day, our family did some visiting, we are so blessed with hospitable friends.

We were served coffee (with spiced butter) along with this thick injera spread with a butter and spicy pepper paste.

Everything is a muddy mess so the girls were carried, which they no longer scream in protest about. They seem resigned to their fate and a little relieved as their boots get sucked off in this mud.

Then we went to another party, this one outdoors

Because of our friends’ knowledge that we try to only drink filtered water, we were not served this barley drink. I wasn’t sad about that.

The outdoor scene before our arrival.