Panera

I am sitting at Panera Bread and going over the last few months. I have been feeling a special pull on my heart lately for the poor in Africa once again. Even here I am aware of the abundance of America and my heart sinks as I look at the food items listed for sale. There are so many choices of foods. I feel spoiled. I feel guilty too.

How is it that I have all this? I can have soup today or a sandwich. I can choose a salad or a bagel. With the bagel I can choose butter or a spread. With the soup I can choose an apple or bread. The funny thing is that all of it tastes good and I can have two.

There is nothing I can say to compare my life to the villages we work in. The dominating food would be casava. It is a white root similar to a potato. There is usually no salt for them to increase flavors. They make stew with it but the water they boil it in is filthy and brown. They stir it with a long stick. It tastes bland and starchy and there are no other choices.

I wish I could bring one of them here to experience this. But then again, I would feel embarrased too. How could I explain the wealth and abundance here and the lack of the basics there? It is a puzzle.

Ben is doing better. The doctors put him through tons of tests. One doctor told me he needs to manage his stress better and relax. Ha! I still don't know how to make him do that! When I see him start to fume at the kids or one of the 3 dogs, I start yelling, "Relax!" I don't really think that is working!

Back in the States

Well, I am back in Naperville with the kids. Ben also came home this week in order to have his heart checked out. We also have been trying to stay in touch with the next team that was leaving on July 2 and arriving on July 4. There was a huge problem in London when they missed their connecting flight to Nairobi. Peter Alexander and Debbie Damron have been waiting in various airports for days. I feel so awful for them! Hopefully they will be in Uganda today. I will keep you posted.