Saturday, May 16, 2020

Pray, Wait, Work, Play

Due to the virus and shutdowns, I have been waiting to see what the travel situations would be in Europe. England is letting up some on their shutdown, but some of the other countries have not. I still have a ticket booked for the end of June, but I may change it depending on travel allowances and restrictions after traveling... Please pray that God opens the doors I am to go through and closes those I should not go through. I am not worried about getting sick, but safety in countries that remain locked down could be a problem, or having to quarrentine two weeks every time I enter a country may be a bigger problem than blessing to those I am to help.

While I have been home, I have been helping my dad with video recording our church services. We have only closed three Sundays, but we have not had any Wednesday services. We are meeting in small groups, and last week we had three services with a total of 33 people. Many of our older folks are staying home, but we do have three older ladies who would rather be in church than be worried at home. We have had several families who have worked with us for music, video recording, cleaning and sanitizing... Please pray as we continue to function as a church that we will not have any issues from the local or state government.

Please pray also that someone can step in and remove our governor's powers which she has abused the entire shutdown. Her goal is to collect federal money for bankruptcy. This would not be necessary if she would simply allow businesses to reopen. If she receives this money, the small business owners will never receive any help. There have been about 30 business across the state that have closed, but there may be more which have not been announced. Suicides have occurred due to lobster fishermen losing everything because they were told they couldn't fish, and in Portland, 15 people per shift overdose on heroine. The lack of work and lack of interaction with family and friends is the cause of the rise in drug use, suicide, depression, and anxiety.

My mom and I flew to Indiana last week and picked up my sister and her three kids then flew back. It was a fun day as they kids had never flown. One pilot allowed them in the cockpit and let them sit in his seat. The following Monday, we went to my other sister's house. She was due with her 5th baby, and went in for a regular check up. She ended up delivering a beautiful healthy baby girl. Please pray for her and her family as they adjust to the new baby.

Today, we took my sister and her kids to the beach. They loved running into the freezing water. I stayed clear of it. I still can't swim in the northern Atlantic at any time of year. Give me the 85 degree waters of Puerto Rico. We collected shells, found some crab shells, and one of the boys found a lobster head. it was a nice relaxing day.

Please pray that I can gain some more supporting churches. I have had one church which had to pause in their giving due to some financial set backs last year, and now with the shutdown, one other church has paused in their giving. Please also pray for the ministry in Puerto Rico as the earthquakes early in the year and the shutdown have caused a difficult financial situation for the ministry and for the teachers who depend on that salary to make ends meet. Pray also for Guatemala as the people there are struggling to even get enough food. People hang white cloths on their homes to indicate they need food. I am sure it is this way in much of the world. The death toll from the virus will be far less than that of those who die from hunger, suicide... because of the shutdowns.



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