Dear Friends:
Coronavirus. It seems this disease, or rather our perception of this disease has been at the root of an unfolding evil that multiplies daily. We will remember at first no one thought much about it. Then, people became terrified. There was a fear that a large portion of the world’s population might die. There was a strong reaction to stop that possibility by “social distancing.” Then, it was discovered that the disease is far more deadly among the very old and those whose immune systems are compromised than among the general population. Then, the reaction moved to seeking to save and protect others. Nations, including the US, have been shut down and a huge economic cost. But the government prints money and distributes it and that helps. Or does it? Is it only compounding the problem? Any economist will agree that it is.
Then, people started wearing out under the stay-at-home regimen. The suicide rate, the divorce rate, the domestic violence rate all jumped to many times the the normal average.
Next, a white police officer slowly kills a black man with other police officers just standing around and watching. The fuse had been burning, and now, along with all of the other tensions, an explosion occurred. Riots, looting, people hurt and killed.
Every perceived evil, or harm, or injustice has become accentuated because people’s emotions have come to dominate in this “social distancing” “stay-at-home” world.
God did not build us to live this way. It is useful for us to remember a few things as we go through all of these things:
2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear , but of power and of love and of a sound mind. NKJV
1 John 4:17-18 There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life — fear of death, fear of judgment — is one not yet fully formed in love. THE MESSAGE
1 John 4:20-21 If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. THE MESSAGE
1 John 5:4-5 Every God-begotten person conquers the world's ways. The power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God. THE MESSAGE
If there is any lesson we must learn in the midst of all of this, it is that love overcomes the powers of this world, and even the power of Satan himself. What are the first 2 Commandments God has for us? They involve loving God and allowing no other “god” to interfere with that, and to love one another even as we love ourselves. We cannot allow anything to interfere with an active demonstration of that love. It requires daily work on our part to do exactly this. It is the perfect antidote to the cycle of fear and violence that are now surrounding us. Ask God how you can be involved in these active demonstrations of love towards Him and others, and then do it! We who have the Holy Spirit residing within hold the power to overcome these harmful aspects of the world around us.
It appears that Mexico has finally begun to take coronavirus seriously, but I have just seen in the news that central America, and particularly Mexico, are now likely to become among the hardest-hit countries because they did not take adequate precautions. What will this mean? In countries such as this with inadequate health-care systems, in will undoubtedly mean the death rate will be much higher, and of course it will also mean that many more people will become infected. One of our volunteers who lives in Mexico has contracted it, and he lives with his grandmother. We know of many older people and people with compromised immune systems in Mexico who are at-risk. Please pray for protection for those involved in the ministry and for their relatives!
Pat and I continue to travel to Casa each month because it is important to maintain that contact and to minimize the negative effects of “social distancing”, but for the immediate future, we will not be able to bring other volunteers, nor to meet with people outside of our girls at Casa.
We need this social distancing to end! We need to get back into active demonstrations of love and support in the community! Please pray with us that solutions will be quickly found, and that life can return to normal. Perhaps the heat of summer will help solve the problem. Perhaps an effective anti-virus will be found quickly. Perhaps God will intervene! Let us pray!
In May Raquel and I had the opportunity to go to Palomas and help prepare the food pantry kits for our students. With your donations, we had the resources needed to make kits that were worth about three days of food. The kits had beans, rice, sugar, flour, vegetable oil, toilet paper, and candy. Once again, the Pastors and Leaders of each Church helped us by picking them up and distributing them to the students and their families. We included a raffle ticket in each one of the kits as part of our Family Day celebration. We had several prizes for the families.
Additionally, Sister Cecilia prepared a short bible study for all our students and their families, which was transmitted through our Facebook page. We did a raffle among the people that watched the video to encourage participation.
This month we will be going to Palomas again to prepare the food pantry kits for this month. We will also be preparing certificates for the end of the year for the students and prizes for those students with a final average of 8.5 or better. We hope that this will keep our students motivated.
We are currently preparing for next school year. We have 45 new students! 4 of this year’s graduates are going on to college. Cost for college is around $100 a month. Any sponsorship or part donation will help. We have a way for you to make a regular monthly donation at the bottom of the page. $25/month, $35 a month, $45 a month or any other amount you wish to bless the students or the ministry will be much appreciated. We are praying for God to provide sponsors for these students and we hope that you can join us in this prayer. If you know of anyone who is interested in supporting the program, please let us know. We can provide them with more information.
May you have a blessed month.