Month: September 2020

Carter is over halfway through boot camp. YAY! His scheduled graduation is 22 October (dang, I’m automatically giving the date like a European now — after 10 years, the transformation is almost complete).

The first month was radio silence, which is what we wanted because no news meant that things were progressing for him as they should. We knew the first 2 weeks were quarantine at the Army base in Wisconsin, then week 3 was the beginning of real boot camp with the first 5 days full of medical/paperwork/etc.

Week 4 is when his form letter arrived, letting us know his address. That meant he moved ahead as he should and was assigned a unit and was in the training phase. A week later is when the first wave of personal letters arrived and we finally got a picture of what he had been doing for the last month.

And then, a week later (two days ago), we got our phone call! Middle of the night, 2am, and I’m thankful that we had prior warning that this was the week a phone call might come through because it meant that Josh left his phone on overnight. I’ve never been so happy to have the phone wake me from my sleep. Actually it felt a lot like Josh’s first deployment, when Calvin was a baby and Josh would call randomly in the middle of the night from Japan. We were full of questions, and trying to get as much information as we could before he ran out of time.

From his letters to me, Josh, Caleb, and Camille and his phone call to us, I’ve pieced together this outline of his boot camp experience. First, quarantine was terrible. He was housed at a La Quinta Inn, not the Army base, with one roommate who was very nice, but to be trapped in a room with a stranger for 14 days with no phone or TV . . . kind of like prison, except in prison they get TV and outdoor time (at least according to Prison Mike).

He said his roommate was really nice, but anxious, and that wore on Carter and stressed him out as well. Carter said he spent a lot of time reading his Bible and they gave them a book to study about Navy stuff which he finished in the first four days. His roommate ended up being separated from the Navy because he couldn’t handle the pressure and Carter said he wanted to quit so badly, but he knew he would stick it out. In his first letter he said he didn’t realize how difficult it would be to be completely cut off from the outside world. He told us on the phone that for the last 4 days they were moved to Great Wolf Lodge where some of the other recruits were doing quarantine and that was better because they had all tested negative by then so were in bigger groups and the RDCs (Recruit Division Commanders) let them watch TV which helped to pass the time.

Once he started P-days (processing) everything went well — he passed his Physical Fitnesses Assessment with 51 pushups and a run that was fast enough to earn a bonus. The only wrinkle was that his blood work came back showing that he was slightly anemic. That required followup testing which we don’t know the results of yet. On the positive side, he said when the doc saw his numbers, she said she wouldn’t have flagged him for a followup, but since he was there already . . . And on the crazy, Big Brother side of things, they said, “when you were 2 your doctor noted in your chart that you were anemic, so we need to follow up on this.” That’s what happens when you’re the kid of an Active Duty military member and you’ve been in the system since you were born! Normally they don’t check medical records, but since they have access to them, they looked through all of it.

What else? He said one of the guys he met at Great Wolf is his bunkmate and in the hight line next to him or near him so they talk and get along. He is counting the days until he graduates: 23 days! He gets his official uniforms and they start weapons training this week.

What am I forgetting. He said his RDCs are great and if people would know when to stop talking then they wouldn’t get “beat” (made to do pushups and other physical things) so often. And he said he loves getting our letters and to keep writing — I was worried he’d be annoyed by having to read all my words, but he said mail makes all the difference.

The only things standing in-between him and graduation in a little more than 3 weeks are Covid, injury or anemia. If any of the people on either side of his bunk come down with any symptoms of being sick, they pull that group out for another 2 week quarantine. We’re hoping it’s all smooth sailing from here on out (and that I get a few more letters soon!)

Camille was feeling sad and missing her brother and shared that with her class at school so they all wrote him letters. Carter is going to be overwhelmed by mail this week! These 5th graders are so funny, telling him that they hope the food is good, that people are nice to him, and “hope you don’t get seasick!” And they all included a meme or a picture. Enjoy the sampling below:

And a very sweet one from his sister:

I would love to jump 50 years into the future to look back on this time as a part of history to see what we’ve gotten right and where we missed the boat with COVID. Everyone feels like they have it right and everyone else is wrong, but we can’t all be correct.

The most recent news here is that the government will be putting signs on the doors of people who are in quarantine. Just stating facts. No public judgment here. You would have thought the house arrest tracker would be enough … I was going to write more, but I. Can’t. Even. (I can’t even legally either or I could be under another kind of arrest.)

The house arrest watches for people who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. 14 days in isolation, guaranteed by this tracking device (Not mine, thankfully — at least, not yet). Unfortunately many of them are buggy and set off alarms saying you’ve crossed the perimeter line when you’re actually home in bed . . . but I have no comment about that.

Meanwhile, after a 6 week trial with 30k participants, emergency approval has been given for a coronavirus vaccine that was developed with China, but tested here. In unrelated news, it generally takes 10 years of testing and refinement to develop a vaccine. I’m sure it’s perfectly fine.

Hopefully we get to go back to school in person on Sunday (elementary, not MS/HS yet). [*** yes, Camille did get to go back, yay!] We all did our nose swabs again and as long as we don’t get two positives, we are cleared to open. It feels a bit like going to Vegas and putting all your money on black.

A pastor friend wrote an article about how to continue to participate in the body of Christ when we are physically distanced and the entire thing was excellent, but my biggest takeaway was to adjust my attitude. I can’t control the rules, the fines, the tracker watches, or any of the other external controls, but I can adjust how I think about them.

Instead of banging on (thanks British English for that lovely phrase) about how illogical some of these restrictions are, I can think about how Paul gave up all sorts of freedoms (including his physical freedom) to advance the Gospel. God has us in UAE for a reason (not always sure what that reason is, but we are here in his service) so am I willing to give up my freedom to travel for the sake of the gospel? Yes I am. Am I willing to forgo seeing my US based kids for the sake of the gospel? Um, God and I are going to have to have a long conversation before I’m OK with that one. BUT, if that’s what he calls us to do, then I’m willing.

And we just got the news 5 minutes ago (via Instagram) that for the near future (until we are told otherwise), Middle and High school kids will continue learning from home. They were supposed to start in person this coming Sunday. (Surprise!) But wait, there’s an exception for High school students. They may come in person if “they are sitting exams that affect university placement.” Hmm, that’s basically every high school student. It’s the sweeping declarations paired with burdensome exceptions that bothers me.

Since admin was informed at the same time as the general public (via Instagram) I don’t know how our school will handle it. I’d love for Caleb to go in person, but I’d rather have his teachers focused on one population and teach it well, rather than splitting energy between those at home and those in person. But I know there are plenty of parents who are concerned about college admissions and exams and want them to have in person instruction and there are probably just as many who are scared of Covid who will want to keep their kids at home.

Bless, I have no idea what the future will bring because every time I turn around, things get crazier here. But, I’m reminding myself, I have freedom in Christ, so none of this matters in the long run. A friend in the US has thrown around the hashtag #freethechartiers and yes, 6 months in and this is getting to be a bit much, but I’m going to hang on and not give up. Long term? I have no idea. I can see a lot of the teachers feeling like this isn’t worth it. More than one has commented that they’ve considered going home at the end of the year and working at a garden center or driving a truck because this environment is not what teaching is supposed to be.

Enough complaining. My favorite thing about today? This letter that Camille wrote to Carter at boot camp. I didn’t ask her to write a letter, but she heard me say that I had finally gotten his address and next thing I knew, she was handing this to me to send to him.

Thankfully we have the sandboxx app so we can type a letter, upload a photo and have it printed and shipped to him overnight. It’s not as cheap as a regular stamp via USPS, but if we mailed him letters from here, he’d be done with his 5 year contract before they arrived.

Last weekend (Saturday evening), after I had finally made peace with our “new normal” (for as long as it lasted before it changed again), I got a message from school saying that two of our staff had tested positive for COVID during the mandatory testing performed on Thursday and as a result, we were required to move to online learning until we receive approval to go back in person. The four days of in person school for Camille were great while they lasted. Sigh.

Anyway, moving on, because I’ve decided that I’m not going to let this get to me . . . our school kicked it into high gear and by 9 am on Sunday morning the kids all had received emails with daily schedules, meeting links, assignments, and encouragement from their teachers. Way to go, ACS.

5th grade 2.0. She was disappointed, but bounced right back.

One week of online school down, one week to go . . . inshallah. The process is that all staff have to be retested at the end of this week (and those who were positive have to have 2 negatives before they are considered “clear” and then maybe they’ll let the elementary kids go back in person . . .

That is the process to return, but it’s unclear when that will happen or if it will be allowed to happen because numbers are increasing in UAE. Deaths are not, but numbers of cases are (1000 new cases yesterday when we had been down to 300 or something back in early August). Of course our percentage of infection is still under 1% (out of 100 tests, less than 1 person is positive), same as before, but no one is making the logical leap that increased testing naturally equals an increase in raw numbers of positives and doesn’t necessarily mean that things are out of control again.

I’ve got lots more to say on that, but you can attend my Ted talk on numbers and statistics and test specificity and margin of error and the drawbacks of testing large numbers of asymptomatic people when I live in America and have freedom of speech. Amen.

Meanwhile, Carter turns 19 tomorrow and he’s doing something like this:

These photos aren’t him (believe me, I’ve zoomed in until it’s completely pixelated and had no luck finding his chicken wings), but they are of people in his unit from photos taken when they arrived to ROM (restriction of movement/quarantine) in Wisconsin.

We still haven’t heard from him, which is great news. That means he left Wisconsin at the end of the 14 days and was transferred to boot camp in Great Lakes, IL. These past 5 days he should have been doing medical checks, paperwork and all the other details related to in-processing, like shots and his initial Physical Fitness Test, and if all goes well, tomorrow his birthday present will be his first day of official training with his new unit.

I’ve been doing a bit of detective work and can see from his bank transactions that he’s alive and well and that they took them to the NEX yesterday. I’m sure he’s buying stamps so he can send me lots of letters. Ha! More likely it’s Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, sunflower seeds and Big League Chew, but I’ll keep dreaming.

Heavenly Father, I pray for protection for all of us, both physical and spiritual. Let us not be discouraged by things of this world, but help us to focus on things with eternal meaning and consequence. Open our eyes to the unseen and help us to fix our eyes on that, as what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor 4)

I pray that Covid numbers would decrease and that there would be no more shutdowns. I pray that schools would reopen and businesses would be allowed to operate as normal and that jobs and incomes would be restored. Lord, I trust that you are acting even in the times we can’t understand and that your purposes are greater than ours. That this time that I see as a setback, you are using to advance your kingdom in greater ways.

I pray for our kids, that they would not be anxious or discouraged, but that they would remain flexible and adaptable in your strength. That this uncertainty would cause them to seek you more closely and be a foundation for relying on you in the future, no matter what troubles they face. I pray that it wouldn’t take trials for them to draw close to you, but that they would celebrate you in their successes and joys as well.

Help us to not be a stiff necked people who are only driven back to you when trouble comes our way. Lord we look to you for shelter. Forgive us for not always remaining in your presence and for forgetting that we need you even when we are not in the valley of the shadow of death.

Lord, I ask that there would be peace in our homes. That your presence would be felt throughout UAE. When everyone is on edge with uncertainty and constant changes, please be the constant in our lives. To those who do not know you, please reveal yourself to them through your spirit of peace. I ask that you strengthen family bonds and relationships — do not let this fracture us. I pray against depression and worthlessness. Do not let the enemy have its way with those who are feeling that there is no point to this life any longer. Please be generous with your spirit and draw people out of this pit. Let them know that their worth is found in you — not in what they do, how much money they have, in their physical health, or in their status — but in you as their God and savior.

I pray for the UAE as a nation, that it would be protected and successful economically and globally and that your glory would be made known throughout the world for the great works that you do here. I pray for a revival — that peace because of our right standing with you means that we don’t have to fear anything of this world or of man. No fear of Covid, no fear of economic ruin, no fear of the future: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust. (Psalm 18)

Lord I thank you for the Abraham Accord that was signed, bringing peace between nations. I praise you that I was able to witness something that previously seemed impossible. Thank you for your power in orchestrating this event and I pray that it will result in more peaceful agreements between nations in this region. I pray for protection for those nations involved and that this would be the beginning of favor and blessings that will ultimately bring glory to you.

I pray for all those involved in the nuclear power plant project over the past decade. I thank you for a successful launch and I pray for those who continue to work there and keep it running. May there be no accidents or injuries and may all of your children who work there continue to be in positions of influence to bring light and peace to those who do not know you.

I thank you for your reminder in Psalm 37, that you are in control and that I do not need to worry or be angry when things don’t go according to my plan (highlights from meditating on it this week):

Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.

Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him.

Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated — it can only bring harm.

The humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.

The Lord watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever. They will not be disgraced in times of adversity; they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

A persons’ steps are established by the Lord, and he takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord supports him with his hand.

Amen.

I had a massive pity party for myself on Thursday/Friday and started looking for great places to live in America by crowdsourcing ideas on Facebook.

Of course that stirred up a flurry of messages asking if we were moving … God willing, no, but something’s gotta give. Every week things change and new rules are announced that are very unclear and it takes a week to clarify/understand what they mean and by the time we get it they are on to the next announcement that is no clearer than before.

Am I too tired to explain the most recent confusion? Let’s give it a try. A week ago in order to enter Abu Dhabi you needed either a PCR nose swab test ($100) that was good for 48 hours of crossings or a quick blood test at the border ($13) that was good for a 1 time crossing.

This is mostly an issue for commuters as regular people have been trained to treat AD as it’s own country and not even attempt to decipher the ever changing rules to come home if we were to dare venture over the border … but there are people who have to commute every day (as the cities are only an hour and 15 mins apart). This change was a boon for commuters as they could pay $13 per day (plus the hassle of the line at the border for testing, etc) instead of $100 every 2 days.

But 7 days ago they made an announcement saying that the Nose test would be good for 6 days as long as you had a current blood test which would also be good for 48 hours, but you couldn’t do blood tests back to back. So instead of the cheap tests only, daily commuters would have to trade on and off between the tests. (We think. This announcement was particularly confusing in wording and no one was ever sure what it meant. Which means you’d be at the mercy of those at the border interpreting it in whatever way they deem accurate. Well that’s always the case here, but I digress.)

The decision makers must have decided it was confusing too, because yesterday they announced that once again you could do either test to cross the border, but after 6 days of being in AD you’d have to do another nose swab. Still so unclear. What about those who do daily crossings? Do they have to do a 6 day follow up test? For a one time trip if you did a nose swab to cross why would you now need another nose swab on day 6? (Doubling the amount of testing that was previously required.)

The bigger question is why are we conducting all this security theater (I love this term along with hygiene theater) in our city while the rest of the country is going on as normal?

With confusion like this it’s no surprise why we end up staying close to home. There are people who have no idea what all the rules are, and it’s much better for their peace of mind, but I don’t like to live in the dark. I might have to try dimming the lights a bit though because my brain can’t take much more of this.

The restrictions that affect us daily are no visitors are allowed to our home, no public or private gatherings (other than 4 people to a table in a coffee shop or restaurant) and masks everywhere in public. Those restrictions haven’t changed since early on in quarantine. Churches are beginning to be allowed to meet in person, but you have to register in advance, go through a sanitizing machine (like a mister of disinfectant), insert your ID with a chip so it logs your presence as it captures your temperature, and then you can sit way spaced out (the photos I saw had people at separate ends of the pews and every other row), and service is a maximum of 1 hour. Our church, because we don’t have a dedicated space, has to wait until they allow public meetings (like in hotel conference rooms) to be able to open. With the current restrictions we’d prefer to stay home. We compromise by hopping in the car after the service ends and meeting up with friends from our home group at the mall food court to catch up in person.

On the bright side the news announcement requiring quarantine in a field hospital for positive people has quietly disappeared. The link still exists, with the original headline, but it takes you to a different story now. Such is the way things go here. Poorly conceived ideas disappear, leaving only rumors behind.