Our world has certainly been turned upside down. Wow! What a difference a few weeks can make. Of course, we were aware of Covid-19 months ago, but honestly didn’t think much about how it would impact us here in Rwanda. On Saturday, March 14th, we got the news that the first case of Covid-19 had been confirmed in Rwanda. Suddenly, all schools, churches and public meetings were being suspended effective immediately. Six days later, all flights in and out of Rwanda were cancelled, and all borders closed. Following that, city to city travel was also banned, stranding some individuals and keeping them from being with their families. Subtly, for better or worse, the reality began to sink in that we are trapped here. A day later, a total lock down was instigated through April 19th. We expect that it will be extended. As of April 6th, only 104 confirmed cases have been reported in Rwanda and no deaths (in a population of over 13 million people). That in itself is pretty amazing!
When Covid-19 hit, we had a group of pastors studying at NCM. We had to send them home immediately, and at this point we have no clear picture when those classes might be able to resume. In the meantime, NCM faculty and staff, working from home, will continue to follow-up with them by phone, email and text. The only activities currently happening at NCM are ag related. A couple of local workers are tending the garden plots and green house. In the days ahead please pray for wisdom as we contemplate what to do next at NCM.
In spite of the lockdown, things are going fairly well. It would be nice to get out, but police are very serious about enforcing the lockdown restrictions. Yesterday, a pastor tried to go to church, was arrested and the police confiscated the car. I think they made an example of the situation just to let people know how serious they are about the lockdown. We are doing alright on food and supplies but are a little concerned about banking and getting funds because Forexes (foreign currency exchanges) are closed. Everyone is being encouraged to switch to paying for things electronically. We are trying to figure out how we can get funds out of one bank and into another in order to pay staff salaries at New Creation Ministries.
Thank you for your concern and prayers during these unprecedented days. As we listen to the news we are often reminded to pray for all of you as well.
We are thanking the Lord for new avenues of ministry. Our local church has gone online with Sunday services, and we are holding our Wednesday night cell groups on Zoom. Monday nights Gary has a men’s Bible study online and Tuesday evenings, the church facilitates an online prayer meeting. Some of Barb’s university classes meet via Zoom, but a month ago Gary had never even heard of “Zoom” online meetings. Now it seems we are on at least one Zoom meeting per day! We are also using Skype to keep in touch with our girls and extended family.
We are thanking the Lord for new avenues of ministry. Our local church has gone online with Sunday services, and we are holding our Wednesday night cell groups on Zoom. Monday nights Gary has a men’s Bible study online and Tuesday evenings, the church facilitates an online prayer meeting. Some of Barb’s university classes meet via Zoom, but a month ago Gary had never even heard of “Zoom” online meetings. Now it seems we are on at least one Zoom meeting per day! We are also using Skype to keep in touch with our girls and extended family.
This past week we were really blessed by participating in the Gospel Coalition‘s day of prayer and fasting. What a blessing to join with people from around the world in prayer! The #JesusChangedMyLife initiative is also an exciting opportunity to add our voices to, especially in light of the Easter week ahead of us. There is no doubt that God is at work during this pandemic. We feel so privileged to be able to participate in what He is doing. This last weekend in Rwanda, all of the evangelical churches encouraged members to pray and fast regarding the Covid-19 situation. They also asked people to set aside the money they would have spent on food and use it to support those in need. It has been a neat experience for us to join with our Rwandan brothers and sisters in this national prayer effort.
One of the blessings of being confined to home is that, so far, our internet has continued to work and we've been able to stay connected to the outside world. Secondly, we have been blessed by watching some great YouTube videos. Two favorites are:
Psalm 11
https://youtu.be/j580__r-uKY
https://youtu.be/j580__r-uKY
If you have a moment during these days of seclusion, we would encourage you to give them a listen. Click on the photo and a link will take you directly to the video on YouTube. I think we all are much more in tune with God these days and trying to figure out what He might be saying to us, or trying to show us. What we are finding is that being confined to our homes is a great chance to re-evaluate what we are doing and pray about what God wants us to do on the other side of lockdown.
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