Ministry:
Well our time of quarantine was supposed to end on April the 15th but the government decided to extend it until April 30th and possibly longer. The number of cases here is relatively low, with only 500-600 in the whole country. One of the problems though is that the infrastructure here could probably not handle a large amount of cases so they are being extra cautious. Because of this extension, we have had to make some adjustments with out ministry activities, to try and help the people of our church and keep things going with our activities. I am continuing to record the messages for each of our services and Beth has been doing some children’s classes and also meeting with the ladies of the church, online, to encourage them. We have also attempted to keep our Bible college classes going by meeting with them on Zoom, so that we can hopefully finish our semester by the middle of May. While technology could never replace personal fellowship, it has been a blessing to be able to encourage our people to stay strong in the Lord.
Preparations:
The extension of our quarantine has also thrown a monkey wrench into our plans for get things ready for our furlough. We are still waiting for stores to reopen, so that we can get the materials needed to be able to make repairs on our house and get things ready at our churches. Also, since there are no flights, national or international, being allowed in Bolivia, until the quarantine is over, we will have to reschedule our flights for a later date. Our kids are on their last week of homeschool so it will be nice to at least have that part done. Although being at home on lockdown 24hrs a day can get nerve racking, I have been trying to take advantage of the extra time to work on projects that I have had for some time, and get things ready for our churches while we will be on furlough.
Encouragement:
This past Sunday I preached a special message to try and encourage our people, in this time of trouble and uncertainty. It was titled, “What to do in Perilous Times”. The thing that usually causes us to worry or have fear, is when we face the unknown. When we don’t know how long it is going to last, how it is going to end or if I will still have my job. All this can cause lots of stress and anxiety and in the face of uncertainty we tend to create our own future, usually imagining the worst. I explained to our people that the key in uncertain times is to have something certain and trustworthy that we can confide in. There are three things that are certain and trustworthy in times like this. God, His Word and His Future. These three things can be our anchors in times of storm and trouble. I also explained that if we are trusting in these three things, we can and should be taking advantage of the opportunity to first, draw closer to the Lord, and second, reach others that are more open because of what is happening. So in these uncertain times I would like to encourage you to trust in the one that is always true and faithful.