PnK: East Asia: march in place

Sunday, March 8, 2020

march in place

dinner and a movie

Our students have successfully completed their first week of online classes (which lasted for 6 days), the health threat level has dropped a notch in our community, and we don’t seem appreciatively more cuckoo than last week. Many people are recovering and healed! We continue to pray for healing for those who are sick and comfort for those who have lost loved ones. We pray for wisdom and long-suffering for all. From the confines of our apartment, we focus on the blessings in the moments.

While our comings and goings remain limited and monitored, we are busy at home making educational videos to encourage our students as

making encouraging videos

they get back into the swing of things and forestall the disappearance of all things English from their heads. We are also making videos to share with our teacher friends and their students on social media.

We couldn’t have been more encouraged when one friend responded: “I laughed from ear to ear after I saw that video! How interesting it is!” And Crystal, a former student who is now in university and applying for a master’s program, is using the tongue twisters that we post: “I think it’s good for my pronunciation speed. I can speak English faster. It is very interesting too.”

We communicate with many on social media, answer questions and help with school and job applications and reports. Life goes on, even as we “March in place,” save for the 2-3 times a week one of us is allowed to venture out of our apartment complex for necessities.

volunteers check us in at the housing gate

There really is no shortage of productive things to keep us occupied, including a steady stream of requests and directives from our school and the local authorities that require translation and response. Everything that comes into the house should be disinfected and our outside clothes washed often.

We are also trying to be intentional about everything we do and say. We don't want to be lulled into complacency or forget where we are. Stress, uncertainty and doubt are never too far away. We strive to keep our thoughts on our Heavenly Father and His promises and to find the joy and satisfaction in the circumstances we find ourselves in. Yet, we know that it is exhausting to be cooped up, and everyone is tired of it.

long way to the grocery store

Inside our complex we are extremely thankful for the friendly workers and people who we see each day as well as the owners of the little store inside our community who keep us supplied with fruit and vegetables and snack food. We are trying to be ok with doing less physical activity and eating more. We miss the constant hiking, biking and swimming that we once freely enjoyed.

We are thankful for warmer weather and periodic snow, which helps keep things interesting as we walk around our housing community day after day. We are on the lookout for the kestrel that frequently comes around, the noisy magpies and the small flocks of sparrows in the trees. There are a pair of pheasants that we get to see when we are fortunate enough to walk in the corn field outside of the gate.

time for language study

The water quality in our apartment has improved dramatically since the city instituted new health measures and added chlorine, which is a blessing as we are cooking more and relying only on boiled water for drinking.

The city outside our housing community is a surreal place of deserted streets and fenced-off housing units. People line up to get into the grocery store, which carefully limits the number of people inside. Everyone must wear a mask, have their temperature taken and have their hands sprayed with disinfectant. Shopping has never been so orderly and polite.

our morning walks in the housing complex... making it fun

We are thankful for all the prayers, phone calls and encouraging messages from friends and family near and far. We feel blessed by our Father to have His peace and grace and we know that Father God is at work and has a good, good plan.