goodbye gulu

So, its been a whirlwind couple of weeks. Some highlights:

-Ray has been approved to be a pastor in the ELCA, meaning that once he graduates next May from seminary he can be called to be ordained as a pastor. He had his final interview via skype, and was unanimously approved.

-I am feeling much better. All signs of malaria and e.coli are gone, and I'm just working on regaining my strength and weight.

-A strange disease, yet to be identified by name, started to spread in the Northern region of Uganda. The disease originated in an area outside of the district we were living in, but a couple of cases had arrived at a hospital in town. Our university decided to relocate us to Kampala (the capital city, 6 hour bus ride from Gulu) and officially end our program, moving up our departure date from Gulu by 10 days. We said rushed goodbyes and packed up our lives in Gulu over the weekend and drove down to Kampala Monday.

-I decided to fly home early, so here I am in Jerusalem. I am happy to indulge the comforts of being home-  yesterday I had a delicious steak (helps with my post-malaria anemia!) and fresh veggies. On the menu for tonight is sushi! I am working on my final paper for the semester, due Tuesday and then will be able to really relax.

-Ray is presently in Egypt-- he had a 5 day layover in Cairo on route to Jerusalem. He is staying with a WCC friend and is seeing the sites! He has now seen the source of the Nile in Uganda and the end of the Nile in Egypt, all within a matter of weeks.

We will be in Jerusalem through the new year and then back to the states in January to begin classes. We'll keep posting from Jeru :)