upward & inward

Today is the day which has been set aside by our nation to give thanks.  Organized declarations of thanksgiving have been a part of cultures for thousands of years.  So, we gather to give thanks to God, not to celebrate a simple pilgrim meal that happened long ago.  Although not the first leader to do so, Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, made a proclamation of Thanksgiving in 1863.  After describing the "bounties" of harvest, new frontiers, and natural resources of a country still struggling in a time of war, the President goes on to say, [These] are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who ...

Across from me hangs a uniform coat wore by my grandfather in World War I and now displayed in my office. It's hard to believe that it has been 100 years since the beginning of "The Great War" as it was called then.  More difficult to comprehend is the incredible loss of life that was the result for both sides of the conflict . Dead:                  8,556,315 Wounded:         21,219,452      POW/Missing:     7,750,945 Even after entering the conflict toward its end, the US lost over 120,000 lives, wounding nearly twice that number. Why do I bring this up?  In the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918, the Armistice Treaty was finally signed, signaling the cessation of hostilities between the Central Powers (Germany, etc.) and the Allied Powers (France, Russia, Britain, US, etc.)....

After a 35 hour trip (from the missionaries' compound to the church parking lot in East Canton), we returned safely from Uganda. Or, did we? Although we Americans typically prefer avoiding risk, no mission trip is without it.  Sure, going to the grocery store includes risk, doesn't it?  But, traveling thousands of miles in the air, and bumping up and down along nearly a thousand miles of really bad roads, that's pretty risky. Serving in a country that has less than adequate water treatment and availability, that's pretty risky. Visiting the homes of real people with HIV, that's pretty risky. Walking around the slums of Kampala, past young men high from opium as they make make fun of the 'mzungus' (white people), that felt pretty risky. However, do you realize the risk we didn't take?  We did not risk Ebola. There is no Ebola outbreak in Uganda. The outbreak that is ravaging West Africa is thousands of miles away from our friends in Uganda...