How you spell it makes no difference

Valor

The French spell this valour. It means gallantry or heroism.

My image of gallantry is Sir Francis Drake throwing down his cap so the Queen Lizzy the First would not have to soil her shoe.

Heroism, on the other hand, takes many forms and shows itself in various places, peoples and times.

Parents making difficult financial decisions, dropping the baseball tickets to keep their child involved in soccer.

Employees cutting their own hours so that another employee is not terminated.

The priest in charge of missionaries who leaves family behind in order to visit each of them in the field once every year.

The couple that move their ailing parent into their apartment to personally care for her.

The friends undergoing chemo or radiation therapy.

The friends coming to grips with mental illness.

Today I am adding another person to the list. Diana.

Diana is the woman that several of my women friends assisted in removing her from physical danger in Khartoum back to her mother in Uganda. She had come to Sudan in hopes of finding employment. Leaving her behind was very difficult for me.

Diana is leaving Uganda tomorrow, Sunday, as an employee of the UN. She is going to work in Darfur.

She is brilliant, compassionate, and brave. She is stronger than she thinks.

What she will be doing for the UN is still not clear to me. However, she will be calling and emailing me as soon as she is able and I will get some additional information from her.

My goal is to find a way to support her in this journey. I have a laptop that I need to get to her and I would like to send her a digital camera so that she can take pictures, blog and send them out to each of us. If any of you have a spare camera that you would like to donate, please let me know.

For all of us that write or read this little blog of mine, I ask that you place Diana on your prayer list. Think of her daily, wish her well. Send wellness and safety her way.

And, when she starts to write, send her greetings.

She will smile, and silently bless you.

God speed Diana. I love you.