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.