Dear Friends,
“He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.” (Col 1:17)
Oh, the
riches! Have you noticed how many different Scripture verses and passages
friends, colleagues, pastors, and family members are sharing right now? It’s
not like there is just one place we can turn in our Bibles to find comfort,
encouragement, and a reminder of God’s presence. It’s woven all throughout
Scripture. Which, of course, reminds me of all those who don’t know the Lord
and all those who don’t have access to the wonderful treasures of His Word.
As we hear
reports from around the world, much translation work does continue, though many
workshops, meetings and training courses have had to be cancelled. One of the
great blessings of this era is that so much translation is being done by the
people from the language communities. Imagine how eager they are to provide the
life-giving Word in these times of trial. May we be as eager to spend time in
that Word! You can access some of the latest prayer information at
https://www.wycliffe.net/resources/prayer/
We are
thinking of you and praying for you. May you draw closer to God during this
season and may you also draw closer to family and friends, whether they are
“locked up” with you or far away. There is much good that can come of these
difficult times. It is most certainly a time to be grateful that faith and hope
are gifts from the Lord, not something we are responsible to manufacture!
Oddly
enough, our lives have not changed all that much. We work from home anyhow, and
I’d been doing less traveling this past year or so while in my study program.
So, what’s changed? More Zoom meetings (although the Colorado grand girls have
even more Zoom meetings than we do as that’s now part of their school routine!),
no travel, and I’m now part of a Wycliffe Global Alliance crisis monitoring
team. Tom continues his work with Wycliffe Americas Area and connects with his
colleagues several times a week. He was able to quit his Starbucks job at the
end of January, but continues working with our friend’s maintenance company. We
are grateful he is now only working in empty houses and apartments, readying
them for the next tenants.
I turned in
my dissertation the same week we went into lock-down and just a week before
South Africa locked down. So, my paper may be in limbo between me and the
examiners, but it is out of my hands! I still have some related paperwork to do
and an accompanying article to write this month. I’d been looking forward to
getting away from my desk a bit more (at least on weekends) and doing exotic
things like going out for coffee and to prowl the second hand stores for
clothes for Kate’s kids. But it was not to be! At least I am well-practiced
in hunkering. I am, however, starting to get back into more activity
(virtually, of course) with our Alliance leadership team. This is a crucial
year for many reasons, including a change of executive directors. As you can
imagine, few things are able to go as planned!
We are holding my parents
captive. They are doing well and staying home. They miss their small outings
for shopping and the occasional meal, but we are keeping them well stocked with
groceries. Daddy is happy to be back out in the yard again now that the weather
is warming up a bit. The man actually likes to weed, hurrah! I did not
inherit that trait. And Mother is on repeat #? of most of the jigsaw puzzles we
own. She has also been doing a bit of sewing and has written notes to all her
Sunday school class.
House
projects are gearing up a bit, though we don’t really have any additional free
time. But we keep working on things little by little. The major blow for us
just before Covid-19 became everyone’s big news, was finding out we need a new
roof (which we suspected. Tom has been patching since we moved in and we have
had several leaks in several rooms). We have a large, old house that was
neglected for years and that has been added on to several times, so the roof is
a bit crazy as well as in need of new shingles. We have a good roofing company
we trust. They did our last house here (sigh) so we have confidence in his
estimate. A friend from church has offered to pay a good-sized chunk, and we’ve
had two other gifts that will help. Unexpected and undeserved generosity! So,
we are at last half way there. Thanks for praying with us about this need.
In the
meantime, we are grateful to have a home and a roof at all! We know many people
around the world do not enjoy the benefits we have. It’s important to remember
them especially in this challenging season. Let us know how you are doing! We
do so appreciate you, your friendship, encouragement, and support. Hasn’t it
been amazing to see the unity of God’s people as we connect during this time of
distancing! We are blessed to be part of the Body and pray we can be a blessing
to others. How can we pray for you?
We
appreciate your prayers! My parents are in the very high-risk age and health
group, so in this household we are the “kids”. But we realize we are also at higher
risk than some. We are praying especially though for our kids. Even the
Colorado bunch is not beyond the reach of the virus, and our New York bunch is
in the very thick of it. Please pray for them! And that we will all grow in our
willingness to truly trust the Lord!
Our pastor
read Psalm 126 this evening (We did drive-in church. I couldn’t help but
connect how our desire to get out of our cars and fellowship…which we didn’t
do…is just a small taste of what our desire for heaven should be. And when, Lord
willing, we can meet again face-to-face, what a lovely little taste of heaven
that will be!). As you read Psalm 126 picture that day when we can “laugh
loudly and shout for joy” and how even now we can proclaim, “The Lord did
indeed accomplish great things for us.” We stand in the shadow of a
pandemic, but also in the shadow of the cross and the stone that was rolled
away. May God fill you with His joy this Easter season and in the coming months
ahead.
