Santa Joins Soldiers in Prayer in Liberia

U.S. Troops Fighting Ebola Epidemic Focus on Progress over Holidays 
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Dec 24, 2014

Santa Claus and service members bow their heads in prayer during the Joint Forces Command – United Assistance holiday tree lighting event on Barclay Training Center in Monrovia, Liberia, Dec. 18, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rashene Mincy

The troops have lit a Christmas tree, received a visit from Santa and even held a "Skype Hanukkah" this holiday season, but the focus for U.S. troops in Liberia during the holidays has been on maximizing the gains they've made against the deadly Ebola epidemic. "It's been a whole lot better of late," Army Lt. Col. David Bowlus, a chaplain with the 2,400 U.S. troops in Liberia, said by phone Tuesday from Monrovia, the Liberian capital.

About five new suspected cases of Ebola have been reported daily in recent weeks, Bowlus said, compared to more than 50 at the end of October. "We're at the point where Ebola is no longer hunting us, we're hunting it," said Bowlus, 43, of Pemberville, Ohio.

For Christmas Day, a Catholic chaplain will be going by helicopter to conduct services at outposts in Liberia for troops serving in Operation United Assistance, the mission led by the U.S. Agency for International Development to combat Ebola, Bowlus said.

Since all faiths are represented in the 101st Airborne Division and other units, the chaplains posted to Liberia have worked hard to accommodate all faiths. "We don't have a rabbi with us," Bowlus said. So they arranged a Hanukkah service via Skype for four Jewish soldiers with a rabbi in Missouri. read more here