Only in Alaska....

Last week was all work after Jon returned from Chicago.  The temps have slowly warmed and the snow is disappearing, even the big piles of it.  Days are getting longer and we had to add dark towels to cover our small window in the bedroom.....sun rises earlier than we want to!  Some student nurses and physician assistants have arrived for various lengths of time, so Jon includes them in the call schedule as well as their daily assignments.  He was up most of Sunday night, teaching Kathryn as they tended to the emergencies. We also ate out together at the local Thai place.....excellent food and picnic tables in the back.

Despite the loss of sleep, Jon rallied and we went ahead with our last excursion away from Glennallen on Monday.  TOK was our destination....about the only place left that we haven't seen in this southeastern corner of the state.  Tok is on the main highway from Canada and the USA, the only 'port' that you have to exit from as well as enter.....unless you ferry home.  So Tok is a bit bigger and a bit spiffier than Glennallen....not much, but a bit.  It is the 'mushing' capital of Alaska.....so seeing these types of sleds displayed made a bit of sense.  

We even saw green grass, not just on the roof os this gift shop!  The sprinkler was running, so we had to time our entrance to avoid the shower from above. 

The vehicles may have been on display, but I don't know.  About any type of vehicle is seen on the roads, or off.  We did not have time to venture further up the road to Chicken, Alaska.  It leads to Eagle and was part of the original gold rush highway to the Yukon River.  From the guidebook, we would 


have had to have a hardier vehicle and nerves of steel.  Another time?

 We ate at FAST EDDY'S, a very nice restaurant in these parts.
We even ordered milkshakes to go....something we haven't seen for some time.

 The Wrangell Mts. seem closeby in Glennallen, but this cutoff to Tok took us around them to the east and we saw a totally different side of them.  I'm not sure which river this is as the Slana joins the Gakona, which joins the Copper River, which dumps into Prince Edward Sound.  The rivers tend to be broad and meandering as the glacial silt settles along the way.

 Trumpeter Swans begin to migrate north from Central America and 80 % of them nest in this area of Alaska.  Many of the waterways are still partly frozen, so some were roosting on the ice.  These had found open water and were 'fishing' for food.

Mr. Moose, and his friends, were most unhappy about posing for pictures!  They seemed to always turn around and give us the rear view by the time we stopped and got the camera out.  We have seen a lot of them this time of year as they are migrating also.

Jon has one more day of work and he is on his last overnight call.  Thursday we'll clean the apartment and pack.  Maybe we'll have time to drive to Willow Lake and stop at the Princess Lodge for lunch.  He treated a young employee from the lodge so they may be open for business.  The cruise lines built it for their benefit.....tourist excursions.  Friday we catch a ride to Anchorage with Donna and Cleve, the chaplain at the clinic and his wife.  Right now I need to start dinner as they are our guests this evening.  Thank you for coming along on our trip and we bid farewell until the next one.

I am back in Glennallen arriving near midnight on Sunday after a four hour drive from the Anchorage airport, all of which could have been driven without headlights given the late setting sun in these parts (but for safety, I did turn them on, if for no other reason than to alert the bull moose along the roadside that I was headed his way).

The weekend in Chicago to remember and honor my friend and colleague who died in Afghanistan in April was a busy and meaningful experience.  I not only met his family but also some of the immediate family of the young couple who also involved in the tragedy.  I continue to be amazed and blessed by the over 150 expressions of support Marita and I have received from our friends who share their concern for us and also the families involved, even though they have never met them.    Thank You for your love and support!

Jerry was the first pediatrician to join the Lawndale Christian Health Center, a thriving facility with many services to care for one of the most challenging communities in South Chicago.  The love for him was hugely evident in the assembly of hundreds at the memorial, the overwhelming provision of food, transportation and housing for the weekend activities (enough so that the coordinator had to say “no more” to those offering), and the re-gathering of coworkers over the years.

My hosts, Karen and Bill had worked with Jerry in the past, were most gracious and fun to be with.  Karen actually has given tours for folks through some of the neighborhoods in the area so gave me a look at some of the unique architecture in the communities.  Over the weekend, I travelled in the steps of some famous folks:  past the home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright, viewed some other homes he and his contemporaries had designed, past the apartment that the MLK, Jr. family lived in when they moved to Chicago to protest the unequal housing rights.  Jerry and Jan live just a couple of blocks from the Obama’s home, and the gymnasium where we had the memorial was dug out by shovel and wheelbarrow from the Cadillac agency where Al Capone purchased his cars.

I enjoyed hearing the stories of folks’ experiences with Jerry, many of whom I heard him speak as we travelled and lived together, now meeting them for the first time.  I am not the only one who considered him a gifted doctor, a warm friend, and enthusiastic adventurer.  Among many stories, he loved to tell of their eight hour zip-line excursion in Thailand, advising Marita and I to not miss it when we travelled there, although we did not heed is recommendation.  They showed a video at the service of his zipping down a line, whooping and hollering along the way.

We had time to meet with those of us connected to the training program and grieve together, share our concerns for the future and begin formation of an interim course of action.  It looks like I will be the point person at this stage, trying to be as available and helpful as Jerry was even when he was in the US.  Likely that will mean many emails, phone calls and Skype encounters to keep communication flowing.  I will have great support from our sending and receiving agencies in Tulsa and Colorado Springs.  

Those of us who spent time with Jerry knew that he was always pondering. I noticed he would often start a conversation with the words, “OK, so...”  Riding with him and some of our faculty with our driver we would hear those words often:

“OK, so,  I need to go to the community clinic at 12:00.”

“OK, so,  who do you think are the leading candidates for president?”

“OK, so, Doctor, what is your brother doing now?”

Actually I think Jesus had the same expression; maybe those "verily, verilies" really should be translated:

“OK, so,  if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed...nothing shall be impossible to you."  (Matthew 17:20)

"OK, so,  if a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it brings forth much fruit."

(John 12:24)

"OK, so,  you shall weep but your sorrow shall be turned to joy."  (John 16:20)

"OK, so,  whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you you."  

(John 16:23)

Well, OK, so...it’s one notion, anyway

In Asian countries, the custom usually is to remove your shoes before entering the home or workplace.  So it’s good to have shoes that are easy to remove and survive the dust and mud of the country.  Jerry introduced me to the L.L. Bean slip on Storm Chaser; so I had to wear my pair for the weekend, even though they never quite meet the high standard of appearance that our housemate, Kelly, would tolerate there.  I will always wear them with joy remembering my gifted friend.

Jon

We took a trip on Monday......up north in Alaska.  Glennallen is at the junction of the Glenn highway coming east from Anchorage and the Richardson highway coming north from Valdez.  We travelled 235 miles, over the Alaska Range and on to North Pole.  Notice I did not say THE north pole.  It is an actual town just south of Fairbanks, with fast-food drive-ins and all!   A bigger town than we live in.                                                                                                      

 Our original destination was Delta, which is the junction between  Highway 4 from Anchorage and the Richardson, and the Tok Highway which goes on into Canada and beyond.  It is not a very big place other than that.  Crossroad Medical Center has just started up a new clinic in Delta, opening in March.  So, Joel and Karen had business to tend to there and made for a fun trip.

Moose were out foraging and we saw quite a few of them.  This is mom and yearling.

These are called the Rainbow Mts.(6,000 ft.) because of the various colors in the volcanic rock (red and green) and siltstone/ sandstone (yellow and pastels) on the talus slopes.  Of course now it's still dusted with snow.

 



Another 'beast' we got a peek at was this baby yak.  The nurse at Delta Junction raises yaks with her husband.  This little one was not doing well after birth, so she brought it to work in the van, to keep an eye on it.  We pestered it until it stood up...
kinda wobbly.  They have 120, or so, yaks and will be able to sell them for meat.  Ugh.


And yet, another beast Jon ran into was this mosquito at The Knotty Shop at Salcha.  The gift shop was closed but we viewed the burled animals on the lawn.  The burled logs come from Thailand.



To think, we're already at North Pole, Ak.!
The reindeer were busy molting their horns.
This one doesn't look like Prancer, or Dancer...... But Santa, poor guy, is stuck up there reading off his list.  After purchasing a Northern Lights Christmas ball for our tree, we found the recommended restaurant and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  I hadn't had chinese food for a long time.

We were surprised at the end of the meal by a phone call from our friends in Kabul.  This was a first and Jon talked to them for a long time, getting more of the details of the last week.  The only problem was hugs don't go over the airwaves.  But, we loved hearing their voices!!

 

WE started for home around 8 pm.  This photo of the Alaska Range was taken a couple hours later.  It takes a looooooong time for the sun to set this time of year.  We arrived in Glennallen at ll:30 and it wasn't really dark yet.  Dusky.

 This bull moose, and a few others we didn't stop for, was alongside the highway.  He lost his horns somewhere.  Hunters get real irked at all the easy sightings of moose and caribou out of season.

 Jon has decided to fly to Chicago tomorrow on the overnight flight and attend the memorial service for Jerry.  In fact, a LOT of people are going.  The cool thing is how Jan and Jerry's friends are hosting so many overnight and others are arranging for gatherings enabling people to visit and get to know each other.  He doesn't even have to rent a car! And, maybe he will be able to visit our wounded friend in the hospital. She should be back in the US by then.  I will stay home and mope..ha.  I'll keep myself busy helping Karen with some projects....and I always have the ones I brought with me.

A tribute to Dr. Jerry Umanos in the song that follows. My Breathe of Aire choir sings this song (the California Baptist Choir here) and it seems to me this is the the way Jerry lived in all aspects of his life.

Give Yourself Away

What do we do when the unthinkable happens?

Thursday morning we learned of the shooting at CURE hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. We immediately looked up world news online and our fears were confirmed.......Dr. Jerry was one of those who died at the hands of an apparently newly hired 'security guard.'  He was greeting guests at the visitors gate, where Jon and Jerry have entered many times.  Two of the guests were also killed and one was injured.  Details are slow in coming to us as everyone there has been preoccupied with the logistics of the fallout.   The Taliban is not responsible for all the violence that goes on in Afghanistan. Sometimes extremist muslims act on their own. 

Dr. Jerry became a dear friend, not only to Jon but to everyone he worked with.  We have been receiving e-mails from Afghan officials and professionals and friends that he befriended and they are all heartbroken, as are we.  

One doctor wrote: "I do not have words for such a big loss.  Last night we were together in [at]  wedding party.  We talked and I will never forget the last time I hugged him.  He was a great man, we will ever never forget him.  He was as close as a brother to us."

Jerry was an unusually gifted physician,God-fearing man and generous Christian. Why him?  All I can say is he lived fearlessly, loved unconditionally, and gave his Lord all he had to give.  I will include the link to the Chicago news

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-doctor-killed-afghanistan-20140424,0,2375219.story

John and his wife had arrived in Kabul about 3 months before we did in 2011.  They were in language school but eager to find how they would contribute to the betterment of Afghanistan.  John was an IT expert and taught at the University.   They were very attentive to us and we enjoyed being with them.  Here is the article that tells more about John.

http://www.suntimes.com/27056815-761/two-more-people-with-chicago-ties-are-
confirmed-dead-in-kabul-hospital-attack.html#.U1uxFVfFn9s

Despite our sorrow, our fear; despite the injustice, the terrors of man.......
we still trust that our Maker, Redeemer and Father/Mother sees beyond our seeing....and we submit.
Both Jerry and John would want God to be praised....

O God beyond all praisings, we worship you today
and sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay.
For we can only wonder at every gift you send,
at blessings without number and mercies without end.

Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring...
that we who know your favor may serve you as our King.
And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,
we will triumph through our sorrows and rise to praise you still:
to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise,
                                                                           Michael Perry

The scenery has changed....but still lots of mountains!

We left the beautiful blossoms of spring in the Pacific Northwest yesterday and backtracked to the late winter of Alaska.  Snow is banked around us in Glennallen where it melts by day in 50F highs before the freeze of night returns.  We are ensconced in our basement apartment of last summer where the only two windows are filled with snow up to the top 6".

Joel and Karen Medendorp are the couple we worked with in Redbird, KY. in 2004.  He is the administrator of Crossroads Medical Center,   http://www.crossroadmc.org/.  This mission outpost was a hospital in the beginning but now patients are flown out if hospitalization is necessary.  Their ER capabilities are excellent and the needs of the natives and tourists are well taken care of.  Jon has to get used to the slow pace here again.... not a high patient load in a day.  In fact, I hope there is enough of interest to make this blog interesting!
We walked to the IGA tonight to get a few more groceries....maybe 1 1/2 miles?  For my crippled knee that was an accomplishment.  I hope I can do some everyday as the life is rather sedentary otherwise.

 Daylight is longer here.....the shortest day(Winter Soltice) being between 10am and 2pm, with an hour each for dawn and dusk.  We are headed for the longest day in June which will be the 4 hours of dark, or so.  Right now it's in between.
We may have seen the Northern Lights last night, but we opted to go to bed.  Hopefully another chance will come along.

Jon surprised me, once more, with acknowledgement of our first date.....50 years ago today!  A sweet card from a loving husband.  Guess where our first date was?   To a missionary conference....go figure.


My last picture is of the Metanuska Glacier, which feeds the Metanuska River at the base of the Ghugach Mt. Range, which we followed on the Glen Highway from Anchorage.  Notice the size of the glacier compared to the trees......things are massive here.  Especially the blue sky!

At home again....

Jon has a fire (wood) burning in the fireplace, the cat is sleeping on my lap, TV news is catching us up on what's been going on while we were absent.  WE arrived home yesterday, having been awake for most of 27 hours.  The north pole flight featured dinner as we approached the north pole....Jon called it a date with tight seating!    

The day of rest in Dubai was a lifesaver as we arrived there a bit weary.   Getting thru the Kabul airport

 is always a marathon of being frisked (5x) and baggage inspection (5x) plus standing in line at Passport Control for an interminable time.  I'm always aware of how outnumbered women are at the airport and on the plane......of many nationalities with attending garb. 

We always realize how plush we have it here in the US as we regain the privilege of paved roads, electricity 24/7, safe water,  a variety of foods, and our own comfy bed!   How should we live then, with so much of the world in so much need?  That is the tension we live with.  "To whom much is given....much is required."   Luke 12:48

 Drs. Jon and JErry with some of the residents of the family practice residency program.

We will be home now until April 21 when we fly to Glennallen, Alaska to relieve a vacationing

Nurse Practitioner at the clinic we served last August.  You can 'tune in' again to this blog then.

Happy Spring!!

Off to Herat....in western Afghanistan

Sunday dawned as Jon, Dr. Jerry, Dr. Rahimulah, and Dr. Rafi.            
took off for Herat.  The residency had been issued an invitation by
 Ghalib University, a private medical school to come and see what connection could be made as they are building a new hospital and need doctors as well as faculty for all the above.  They flew Kam Air, which Jon assessed as being older planes and Russian appearing......meaning the crew may have come from one of the 'stans' to the north (Tajikistan, Usbekistan, Kyrgestan).

Herat is close to the border of Iran, more of a plain with mountains on the periphery.  It was colder than Kabul, a surprise.  More than any other city, Herat speaks to the centrality of the Silk Road in Afghanistan.....at the crossroads of trade routes to the Middle East, Central Asia and India.  It has flourished as a center of  learning and commerce, giving the city a cultered air of independence.  It has a realiable power supply, street lights and public parks.  It remains a beacon of progress compared with much of the country.

Surprisingly, blossoms were appearing on fruit trees, which is not yet happening here in Kabul.
Of course, there are not the abundance of fruit trees.  Roses are the 'crop' that excels in Kabul.

 Meals are served on a 'dustacan' cloth ....

 Herat's Old city is the most complete traditional medieval city in Afghanistan.  Three focuses of the design are the commercial centre, the Royal Centre and the Religious Centre.    The Citadel, pictured on the left, is hte oldest building, standing on the foundations of a fort built by Alexander the Great.   The Blue Mosque, which Jon did not visit, is AFghanistan's finest Islamic building...and one of the greatest in Central Asia.  It has been a synagogue and a church before a mosque.

 Transportation varies from area to area in all of Asia......mutations of the two and three-wheeled
carts.  These are quite colorful cabs for a motorcycle.  Zaranges are what they call these.






                                                                                         

The Pul-e-Malan is a fine olf 22-arched bridge,
believed to have been constructed by the Seljuks in the early 12th century.   It crosses the Hari Rud river and has recently been repaired.

 

This shrine, The Gazar Gah, is one of Afghanistan's holiest sites, dedicated to the 11th-century saint and poet Khoja Abdullah Ansar.  Run by Sufis, it receives hundreds of pilgrims daily.  It is the most complete Timurid building in Herat .  The courtyard is filled with the gravestones of the many of Herat's old ruling families and poets.

Parties, Puzzles, Partnering.......

 Life in Kabul involves the fun of going to parties.  The first was this 1-year-old double party for Laila and Hannah, neighbors.  Their mothers had arranged to have US decorations brought and we had a Hungry Catapillar party and it just happened to be Hungry Catapillar Day!  Lots of people I didn't know, but the cupcake was good and Laila happy to be the recipient of some recycled gifts....an idea I think

has lots of merit.  Instead of buying brand new
gifts, regift something.  As families come and go
regularly, sales of personal goods  are frequent and popular.  Good stuff can be gotten that you can find nowhere else in the country.

Puzzles have been fun to do here, giving us something to work on together and providing a social context for visiting.  Even the children helped us find pieces.  We had no picture for this second one until Jon found the artist online and located the painting....Twilight Village.

 





Our friend and former housemate, Faith, recalled our doing this puzzle over two years ago  and I gave it to her!  It began to look familiar as we got it put together.







Jon and Mosa had lunch at The Blue Flame restaurant.....we have eaten there twice.  The choices of places to eat out are diminshed with the sad happenings recently.  Many places shutting down as people do not trust security.

Here is Dr. Jerry checking on a newborn (I think).....sure is tiny anyway.  Jerry is a pediatrician from Chicago who works here about half the year and home the other half.  He and Jon and two Afghan doctors from the residency are in HErat today looking at possibilities of helping set up a Family Practice Residency there in the future.   Now you know what our next, and last, blog will be about.   I need to go downstairs for movie night with our other guests.  Shalom.

Music, Henna, and Zohra

   Since we have returned from the north, Faith, our roommate of two years ago, has returned from the US.  We met up yesterday at the gate to Kabul University and she took me to office in the Fine Arts Building.  She is in her third year of volunteering in the music department.  Her many talents and much expertise and experience in the music field, as well as business and people skills, have made her a very integral part of the development of the department.  She works 





with the Afghan Music Dept. Dean, and the 
faculty, two of which gave me personal concerts!  Here at the piano is Fawad, piano instructor.  Below is Moshen, guitar instructor.  Two of her graduates are away on scholarships, studying abroad.  The dept. is small, but growing.  

 I was invited to a Henna Party in the afternoon.  Theresa's language helper from Pakistan does this for brides, etc. primarily.  It last for about 4 days on the skin, so it won't last for my trip home, I guess!

Can you guess which hand is mine?

AFter the party, Zohra came to visit.  She is an english student of mine from 2011 who became my seamstress .... and is now sewing for other expats.  She worked for an NGO that downsized and lost her job.  HEr husband is not working either, so supporting 4 children (and another on the way) is daunting.  Needless to say, I purchased quite a few items from her bag of handwork.  She does the same embroidery work that many women do....beautiful.  The pink top I'm wearing here is one I ordered from her ahead of my visit.  It is always a joy to see her.  Wish we could bring these wonderful friends more stability in their country.  We are doing what we can, as are hundreds, if not thousands  of others still laboring in Afghanistan.  Lots of love being given and received here.