We have been getting a lot of messages with concern regarding the Ebola outbreak and its proximity to Burundi. We thought it best to actually just respond in depth here.

First, yes, we absolutely are aware of the outbreak in DRC and moving into Uganda, and we are quite aware that the DRC is next to Burundi. We know there are warnings for neighboring countries. We also understand Ebola, and we are discussing with doctors in Burundi this specific strand.

There are always risks in life, and in America, we can live so comfortably that we actually don’t need to take that many risks, or we have so much that we don’t feel the weight of those risks at the same level as others do around the world. In this family, we want to be and raise up risk takers who are unafraid to travel to the places few go in the name of Love. We are also not going to be blind fools. There is a thick line between trusting God and following His lead into the challenging unknown and feeling invincible because you’re going in the name of Christ. We are not the latter.

We are keeping an eye on the situation and the outbreak, we are thinking through the various options and risks, and most importantly, we are listening to wise counsel that has depth of knowledge in those specific countries, with specific diseases, and understanding of implications with travel.

Should we choose not to go, or not be allowed to go, the decision will not be made from fear. In any case, this outbreak is impacting an area deeply right now. And while it may be across the world for us and have little to no impact on our lives, please don’t forget how blessed we are. I have wrestled and continue to wrestle at times with why I have been so blessed to be born in America, the greatest nation in the world. Now my kids have the same questions, but if it’s such a dangerous disease, why can we be safe and our friends can’t? It’s not so easy anymore to put a comforting blanket statement of God’s goodness and needing to trust Him, yes, that is true, but it’s also not so comforting when it is your loved one at high risk. Through these wrestling matches, though, I hope for each of us to come out stronger in faith and press in closer than ever before to the only One who has all the answers and will hold us when we feel we don’t have any answers.

So, we are aware, and we are praying. We are not afraid if this trip is rescheduled, and we are not afraid if this trip happens in June. We appreciate the care and concern of so many, and we’d ask you to pray for wisdom for us, but most of all for this outbreak to miraculously cease.