PnK: East Asia: free to move about

Our community is once again swarming with people, traffic and activity after more than a month of residential lockdown, travel restrictions and closed businesses. We’re so grateful for all the sustaining prayers and encouraging words that you’ve lavished on our community. We feel loved! Having declared our area virus-free for the time being at the beginning of May, local authorities gave the green-light to free movement and the resumption of businesses and in-person school (sans universities and colleges). And, we didn't need a virus test for almost 14 days, but who’s counting? Yay, our building is no longer being doused in bleach every day. Health codes, temperature checks and masks continue to be strictly enforced in public places. Seemingly, everyone is out and about trying to make up for the lost weeks of April and put things back to normal as quickly as possible.

We happened upon our sister
at the hospital again.

Returning to “normal” was a somewhat painful experience as the routine of homestay,
deserted streets and shuttered shops coughed back to life. People flocked to grocery stores at the first available opportunity. The first few days were characterized by lines of several hundred people toting rolling luggage and backpacks outside every market in the area. Thankfully, our food situation allowed us to wait until more stores opened, and we could shop without waiting in long lines. We depended on group buying (going in with neighbors to buy from wholesalers) and our college leaders helped us buy a few extra things to help us squeak by (frozen dumplings and pork tenderloin). We were extremely happy when the little store in our housing complex reopened. It’s been nice to catchup with the family who runs the business. The store was shut down for more than 4 weeks and grandpa told us all their perishable foods rotted while they were forced to quarantine (they were in a central quarantine hotel for 2 weeks because the "positive" people had gone through their store). They’re thankful to be busy and tired again and still manage to smile through it all.

Group consulting is key.

Among our first orders of business were to complete K’s medical exams that were postponed
as our community exercised extreme caution over a couple that came down with the virus after their travels to another part of the country. Our school colleagues advised us as soon as we could get out the gate that we should complete the appointments asap before the usual crowds returned to the hospital. Thanks to the help of a sister, from the local fellowship who works at the hospital, we were able to complete K’s procedures without too much problem. We ran into the sister by chance; actually, an answer to prayer, and K walked away with a clean bill of health while avoiding much of the uncertainty that usually accompanies healthcare conducted in a second language. While the sister doesn’t speak English, she was patient and dedicated to getting us where we needed to be on time. Translators on our phones helped us understand most of the instructions and advice. And her back is feeling better by the day. PTL!

Our first in-person meeting in more than a month!

Our classes have continued online 5-days a week even through the lockdown. While most people in our housing area waited anxiously to get back to work no cars left our lot for a whole month!
(Some people reacted by taking the tires off their car completely.) Our students pressed onward with meaningful lessons and creative activities. Yet we’re all exhausted with virtual learning, which requires a lot of prep and too much sitting and staring. Our college announced this week that the students will not return for in-person classes at all this term. Yikes! While this isn’t a surprise to us, it was a disappointing to many students who are really tired of being home. Our term is scheduled to close at the end of June. In the meantime, we’ll continue to engage and encourage as opportunities come our way. This week students drew colorful pictures and made short videos describing “My Perfect Week.” They enthusiastically imagined travel, shopping, visiting family, buying gifts for friends and eating at restaurants. It was a great encouragement for us all and we love to see them learning and improving.

Our friends at the coffee shop
are happy to be working again.

Our return to “normal” in the past week has meant that we’ve been able to visit some of our favorite restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses that are trying to recover from the shutdown.
Everyone is friendly, welcoming and eager to share their experiences. We were happy to meet up with our friend Paul for dumplings, visit the bike shop and get a new set of tires for P’s bike, return to K’s weekly massage therapy, get some help at the computer store and see the friendly workers 3 times at one of our favorite coffee shops. Spring weather means that we can bike most places and enjoy the blooming trees and mild temps. While we’ve tried to remain active during lockdown, our bodies still need a lot of exercise to return to pre-lockdown levels. We’re more grateful than ever that we can get out and enjoy it! Our Father is good. Thanks also for praying with us for people in other parts of the country who are experiencing lockdown restrictions and dealing with virus tests every day – peace, health, endurance and wisdom and strength for all, especially the medical workers.