Go-Bag

I remember reading an excellent book by Australian Naomi Reed. The book is her journal of the time she, her husband and three children lived and worked for a missionary organisation in Nepal. At one point, they literally had to flee to safety from their mountain home, as fighting had broken out. They were caught in the midst of in-country fighting. Naomi mentions that she had already packed the family's "go-bag" so when the time came to evacuate, they had that one essential travel bag ready to grab and go.

I remember thinking, "What would I put in our family's 'go-bag' if we had to leave our home suddenly?"

This week that question has been answered.
We received an email yesterday telling what we should pack, just in case, should we need to evacuate suddenly. Now I have a very clear document telling me what to pack! Not that I have packed it yet- life has just been too busy, as it always is with young children at home. But I will do so very soon...

The same email also advised us not to leave the compound unless we have to. and if we do, to record our time of leaving, to leave our mobile phone number so we can be quickly reached and to record our time back in at the gate when we return.

We have also been advised to have our food supplies in store for a few days, in case the situation here deteriorates and we find ourselves unable to leave the compound to purchase food. And to have a plan in mind should we need a"lock-down" at home, with a safe, secure room that can be locked and used as a place to keep items safe. Or perhaps ourselves.

We find ourselves this week on "high alert", carefully monitoring the security situation. Events here are uncertain at the moment. It is hard to know where recent current affairs, to do with the signing of a peace deal, are going to lead:
To trouble?
Or to peace?
Thankfully, all is calm right now. But in the interim, we are taking every precaution and our management is ensuring that we are prepared... just in case things become difficult.

Tonight, we had our weekly staff prayer meeting. Not surprisingly, peace is the topic that people are praying about.
 For praying people who read this, we would appreciate your prayers for both peace for this country and for safety. Although we are being cautious on the ground, our pilots are still out there working and flying, so safety is a paramount concern.

We started our meeting with a song. Its words are so apt when applied to our situation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0gu0nOaFsI

To read more information on the current situation, you can click on this BBC news link:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33957744

For now, though, it is time for me to go. I have a go-bag to pack...!