Protest Updates

Many people have been asking how we are doing right now with all the protests, demonstrations, storming of embassies and deaths that are occurring in the areas around us.  So, I feel like an update is in order so no one will worry TOO much about us personally (while still worrying and praying for those in the more 'explosive' areas--please!):

There were some planned demonstrations/protests for yesterday and the day before--but apparently it was mostly hearsay.  However, I was told that yesterday there was quite the beef-up of security at the embassy (lots of tanks and hundreds of military guys).  Personally, I don't feel afraid.  I haven't seen anything that's really threatening here.  Luckily, our embassy here is the hub of the middle east.  If things get worse, we'll be the first to know and we'll be evacuated first.  The places where there has been the most damage have been the places that, historically, are always rioting and looking for a reason to fight anyway.  There have been demonstrations and protests all over, but for the most part, it has been ok.  We have radios, and all the embassy has an SMS system where they sent out security threats on our cell phones, and we've only had one, which was the other day telling us of a few planned/anticipated demonstrations that mostly didn't pan out.  Everything's scary if you let the news media tell you what's going on.  They WANT you to be fired up by their portrayal of events--otherwise they're not doing their job.  And besides, they're looking at the really big picture and making it look small (if that makes any sense).  We're looking at it from the inside out.  It doesn't look so grim this way.  We're not sitting back and saying 'all is well', but we can't live like scared cats, either.  So, we pray and we keep moving on and we pay attention to what's going on.  That's all we can do, right?

What that person did with their movie makes me furious.  Practicing your 'freedom of speech' is all fine and good, but he spared absolutely no thought whatsoever to what that would honestly mean when he pressed the upload button.  Ridiculous.  While he sits in his nice little house in California, lives are threatened all over the world.  But in all honesty, I think most of these places were just looking for a reason to start in on us.  It would be nice if our government wouldn't sit upon their thrones in a thoughtless stupor, but from what I've seen and read lately of their response to what's going down, I don't think we can hope for too much from that end.

I have to admit, my 'favorite' protest was in Lebanon.  They burned a KFC/Hardees in protest of the movie and the visit of the Pope.  Now really, what kind of sense does that make? Ha!  "Would you like your chicken extra crispy or burned?"  Ok, so it's really NOT funny, but one must deal with it as they can to not get too worried, right?

But, we're ok.  I think we're going swimming today.  And we'll probably walk instead of take a taxi. :)