Things have been a bit crazy the past few weeks, as I imagine they have been for you also. We wanted to give you a quick update on things here in Bolivia and how it is affecting us and the ministry here.
Where are we At:
When it comes to the Virus and it’s spread, we have been better off than most countries, although it is changing quickly. The last confirmed number I heard was 29 cases that are all over the country. As a result, to slow the spread down as much as possible, the Bolivian government has closed all borders, canceled all national and international flights, and we are now on 24hr quarantine. That means that no one can go out, unless it is one person in the family and just to get food and supplies. No cars are allowed out, and many have been arrested for being out for no reason. One of the great problems here is that there are very few tests to detect whether someone had the virus and there are no mask’s or hand gel to help protect yourself.
How is it Affecting Us:
So far we are doing well because before the 24hr quarantine started Sunday, we were able to go out during the day. On Saturday we were able to go out and stock up on food and supplies, so we are good for a while. We are trying to make the most of our time inside by spending time reading, playing games and working on projects we have needed to do for a while. One good thing is that the kids will be able to continue with school (probably not so good for them) in the mornings so that they don’t get behind and they can finish before our upcoming trip back to the US.
How it is Affecting our Ministry
In an effort to continue to encourage the people of our churches (since we can’t have services), I was able to go this past Saturday and record several video messages to be able to send out for services during this time. We were able to send two yesterday, one in the morning and one at night, and have ready the video for this coming Wednesday and next Sunday morning. The week before they announced the 24hr quarantine, we were having our anual pastor’s training, but we had to cut it short, so that our visitors could get back to the US before things closed.
This has also affected us finishing the paperwork on the land that we are purchasing. We are on the last step before finalizing everything, but that has obviously been put on hold.
Pray for US:
We know that this is a time that we must all pray for each other, but I would like to ask you to pray for several special requests.
1. Pray that everything gets back to normal soon because Courtney our intern is scheduled to leave on April 11th.
2. Pray that we will be able to get everything taken care of and that flights will be back to normal before our departure for furlough.
3. Pray we can get the land taken care of and the churches ready for our departure.
4. Pray for Bolivia that this can open many doors to share the gospel with them.