A little update...

It hasn't quite been a month since I've posted, but almost!  I always hate it when the blog has to be silent for a time.  But it's birthed out of my extra and lately, I haven't had much extra to give.  These past weeks (really since we've arrived in country) have been up and down and up and down with my adrenal insufficiency...a couple weeks of feeling low, followed by a few good days, followed by more weeks of being low.  It's been difficult to regain the stability that I once had. Simple illnesses can knock me off my feet because it aggravates my adrenal insufficiency and it seems that I've had quite a few lately.  Cortisol is your fight or flight hormone, so when your body is called upon to fight an illness, you need to have your normal supply of cortisol that gets you through a normal day, plus extra to fight whatever is bugging your body.  When you rely on medicine for all your cortisol needs, simple illnesses suddenly become a bit more complex. Shortly after my last blog post, it was a small ear infection that took me down for a few days followed by a slow climb back to normal.  We are continuing to pray that God will be gracious to us to pull me up more and allow me to remain at a good place, where these little bumps in the road don't knock me down quite as much.  In the meantime, I am also praying that God will grant me contentment in this trial and to place my hope in him rather than in healing.

Despite this, Eric and I were blessed to have a few days away this past week for our 17th anniversary.  We needed to go to Western Uganda for work related things, so we tacked on a few extra hours to celebrate as well.  Near Fort Portal, Uganda there is a beautiful lodge that overlooks a crater lake.  We spent the night there.  In this picture you can see the lodge from across the lake in the center:

This is looking from the lodge out over the lake.  Eric and I walk/ran the rim of the lake in the morning.  It was so much fun!

After our night out, we drove around the Rwenzori mountains through this valley that empties out into the Rift Valley.  So stunningly beautiful!

While we were over there, we saw Cocoa trees for the first time!  Here is a cocoa pod hanging from the tree.

They found one that was ready to be picked and opened it for us.  So cool!  The flesh is sweet and the pit (or nib) is chalky, but you can taste the chocolate flavor (kind of like dark chocolate...it is bitter too!)  Normally, they ferment the bean, then dry it, then roast it.  The flesh is also often used in things like cocoa butter (in lotions, etc...)

We also had the experience of eating crocodile ribs.  haha!  They taste a bit like chicken only a little tougher...

I was so thankful for our days out.  The kids did a fabulous job while we were gone.  But we sure are glad to be back together again and back to our normal work.