Now is a Time to Pray

Relearning to ride bikes!

The month of fasting started on the islands on Saturday. Many islanders work extra hard during this special month to do everything they believe God requires. They believe that God’s eye is on them especially this month so that their good deeds have more worth and their errors are more costly. For that reason, the mosques are usually packed. Praying at home might be okay at other times, but it doesn’t cut it during the month of fasting. They even add special prayers at night and the sound of prayers and chants being broadcasted from the mosques at night is a hallmark of the month almost as much as the quiet that comes at sunset when everyone is breaking their fast.

But now the month of fasting has come and the normal displays of island religious devotion are being stopped by the government. The government has ordered a stop to corporate prayers. They instituted a curfew from 8pm-5am, so no one is to be out and about at night, let alone gathered in groups at the mosques.

This is not an easy thing for islanders to accept and the government has been sending military out to enforce it. Our teammates and other island friends have reported hearing for themselves the sound of shots fired and we hear that tear gas is being used on people trying to gather.

Taken from islanders’ perspective, the government’s restrictions could seem nonsensical. What is mankind supposed to do in the face of calamity and great illness? The proper island response is “Pray!” Islanders respond to times of great difficulty with large organized prayers, gathering as many people as possible, pleading with God for mercy! Now the government is telling them there is a great disaster coming upon them, but not only are they not allowed to organize any special prayer gatherings, but they aren’t even allowed to do their normal prayers AND during the most religiously important month of the year!! For many it must feel crazy and godless. Add to that the fact that many islanders distrust the government and expect the president to lie to them and misuse them. Plus, they don’t understand diseases and the need for social distancing. Brought all together and it seems like a population ready to go against orders!

An island household (and that's not the whole household)

Part of us wonders… can the curve be flattened in a place like the islands? The people live on top of each other. People often don’t have any extra food in their house, even for one more meal. The places where people have to go to buy food don’t have enough space for anything close to social distancing. There is no one-stop shopping on the islands. Normally you have to go to multiple different sellers to get what you’d need for one meal. The measures taken in the US just can’t work here. For places across Africa that are like the islands, it seems like the choice could be between starving or taking your chances with the coronavirus.

With the island government being so slow to acknowledge the disease and islanders not embracing social distancing (because a curfew at night doesn’t mean much if the rest of the day you are interacting with people), we wonder if most people on the islands are going to get COVID quickly. No doubt that there will be a lot of death and dark days ahead, but we can also hope that enough people will get it and recover for group immunity to start kicking in. 

Island version of the produce section

We understand the island desire to pray at a time like this.  We should pray!  We agree that hard times should draw us to our knees before God. But there are some critical differences in our understanding of what prayer is and what it does that make a world of difference. One, we realize that praying at home does not discount our prayers. For islanders, the prayers must be done in a certain place, at a certain time, in a certain language, and with certain rituals for them if they are to be accepted and heard by God. We do see the power of praying with others. It is difficult with social distancing, but we can pray “together” in spirit and purpose across separations. The Holy Spirit has the ability to unite us in prayer across vast distances and even across languages and cultures too! Two, the heart of our prayers are different.  We succumb neither to fear nor fatalism.  Some islanders respond in fear, believing God to be a harsh overlord who wishes nothing more than to see many die.  Out of fear they make bad choices that may lead to even greater problems—like defying orders to gather for nightly prayers.  Fatalism is just as grievous.  Many islanders will sigh and say “God will do as He wishes” and release themselves of any responsibility, when in reality, their actions do have significant consequences. 

Understanding the difficulties, facing hardship, grieving loss and expressing heartache are all part of our prayers.  But we are not ruled by fear or apathy.  With God’s help we continue to face this darkness with faith, hope, and trust. And we can even hold onto our joy.  In so doing, we share the hope that we have and the love that gives us strength to go on with people who are afraid, lost, or hopeless.  In these dark times, may we be bright lights wherever we are, and may our island brothers and sisters shine in the darkness.

PRAYERS ANSWERED

The islands have finally got the machine they needed to do testing for COVID on the islands (still haven’t heard if testing is happening yet, but we’re hopeful that the end of the government’s denial might be in sight). The island brothers and sisters (with smart phones) are organized in a big WhatsApp group to send daily encouragements to one another during this hard time. We got a good response from people looking to pray with us for the islands during this month of fasting —it’s not too late to join in, send us an email if you want a daily guide for the month and details about specific islanders! Megan’s dad’s different test results came back negative. So even though we still don’t know what is wrong, we are thankful that some bad options have been ruled out and that his symptoms have lessened. May he find complete healing!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray that the islands would finally confirm the presence of COVID on the islands (which has now been confirmed by outside sources but not by the government). May getting the truth of its presence out in the open lead to better understanding and precautions among islanders. The month of fasting is a unique time on the islands, that will be even more unique during a pandemic. Usually it is a month of increased religious conversation and increased persecution. Pray that our friends would be bright lights during this month. Pray for our colleagues and friends who are trying to stay-at-home and take precautions amidst islanders who aren’t and still come to visit regularly. Pray that they would find ways to educate others on safe practices while still showing love and friendship. Pray that they would have increased opportunities to share with others in spite of social distancing. Pray for the political situation on the islands— dispersing people with tear gas isn’t going to promote stability. Also there was some kind of explosion on Clove Island this past week, supposedly targeting the government and many were arrested and have been interrogated (one news article said people were being tortured). We don’t know what is true but we pray for the islands to become a country of justice and peace.

Honor and Shame and the Coronavirus

Looks like spring!

As coronavirus spreads around the world even our remote islands are not immune to the crisis.  For awhile it seemed like it was passing the islands by, but daily it becomes more and more clear that the islands, like the rest of the world will not be spared.

COVID has been slow to arrive on the islands, but recent AP news reports claim that though “[Africa is] weeks behind Europe in the pandemic...the rate of increase has looked alarmingly similar”.  By following local island news and getting reports from our teammates we are able to piece together the virus’ progress and the islands’ reaction to it.  Unfortunately it seems that the islands (especially the government) has decided that admitting that the coronavirus is on the islands would be to admit weakness, would be to admit that they were not able to stop it, to admit that the coronavirus is on the islands would bring shame to the islands. Because of that stance, this COVID crisis on the islands is playing out as a case study for honor and shame culture meeting a right and wrong culture.

In honor and shame cultures covering shame and maintaining honor are high values—more valued than the truth.  This is an important factor to keep in mind.  The islands found honor in the fact that coronavirus hadn’t come to the islands. So even as time goes on, the islands gut response to the virus is to deny its presence.  This has been the policy for these first weeks.  In order to maintain this stance, no one has been tested for the virus so that the island government can continue to proclaim that there are no cases of coronavirus these, even as some people exhibit suspicious symptoms.

During this time the grand mufti (the head religious leader for the nation) died with pulmonary issues.  One would imagine the immediate conclusion would be that he died of the coronavirus, but islanders and the island media did not even ask the question, for to suspect such a thing would reflect badly on the country, the religion, and the grand mufti himself.  For an honor and shame culture, denial was clearly the best way to save face.

Wait, snow! I thought this was spring?

This past week the neighboring French island got involved.  French culture, valuing the truth above honor, started publicly announcing that illegal immigrants from Clove island were testing positive for the virus. Then a French doctor claimed she had seen a scan that showed that the grand mufti died of coronavirus.  While the French may think that getting the truth out there would help, these news stories did nothing to help prepare the islands for the pandemic. The island government sees these claims as public shaming. Instead of making the islands come to terms with the reality of COVID, in order to save face the island government had to deny the allegations, claim a French smear campaign, offer to send masks to the French island and to continue their policy of not testing.  The general populace seem to be in agreement with the government.  “France was always trying to cause trouble.”

The latest development was just today. A famous island singer has publicly announced that he believes that he had the virus and that his wife is now suffering from it. He told the world that his wife’s scans indicate COVID.  He was careful to not mention the government and he told people not to panic or make things political (basically attempting to thread the needle of not shaming while getting the truth out there).  Shortly after his announcement, he was arrested by the gendarmerie for disturbing the public order. Thankfully he was released later in the day and we’ll see in the coming days how the government will respond.

The islands are not the only culture out there working from an honor and shame framework.  And it can be difficult to understand the motivators behind an honor and shame culture if you have not experienced it. It is easy to condemn it.  Yet, in times like these, condemnation is not helpful.  You have to find ways to confront difficult realities without adding unnecessary shame.  You can acknowledge and applaud even minimal efforts (bestowing honor), so that when you encourage continued and greater action it doesn’t come across as shaming.  If the islands are going to move forward, then it is not a time for judgment, but a time for cooperation and figuring out how to work together.  Hopefully, the government can find a way to do a 180 without losing face because otherwise the denial campaign will continue. In the meantime, we hope islanders can start to see the need for social distancing and good health practices. We continue to pray.

Testing fun

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Before we left the islands, our team made a video about handwashing and COVID prevention in the local language— it has gotten lots of views and has been shared across the islands! We’ve even had it forwarded to us by islanders. The kids’ standardized testing went fine this past week (won’t get results for awhile). The kids were excited by both another winter day playing in the snow and some nice spring days to relearn riding bikes and playing outside (only in New England do you get both days in one week). We had some good virtual meetings reconnecting this week. We’re also learning to make videos so that we can post more information about the islands and share with people even though we can’t see them in person.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our island NGO has begun stay-at-home orders, but islanders are still out and about. Pray that our colleagues could be a good example and that islanders could understand the need to limit interactions. Pray for truth to be heard and accepted. Megan’s dad tested negative for COVID but has continued to not feel well. Pray for his healing as they continue to do tests this week to determine what is going on. Pray for us as we consider when we should plan on traveling to CA.

Staying in Touch with Islanders

Tom on phone

This morning as I was working with our youngest on his handwriting, (Thankfully, our kids are not new to the world of homeschool.) suddenly I was getting a call. It was from the islands!  One of our island friends from the English Club wanted to video chat.  So for the next 10 minutes we talked in a mixture of broken English and the local island language, catching up on each other’s news.  There was nothing remarkable to report, but just the fact that we were having the interaction made me marvel at how things have changed!

When we first lived on the islands, once a week we spent an hour at a little internet cafe to send/receive our email and post our blog with one small picture.  It usually took the entire hour to complete those two tasks.  A lot has changed in the last ten years. Technology has moved fast.  Now the islands has a 4.5G network, and though it is expensive, the connection is relatively strong making global communication a real possibility.

I can remember the first time we came back to the States after over two years on the islands (2011).  Not many islanders had smartphones (and we didn’t either!) and calling was so prohibitively expensive that it was almost a given that no one would call or expect us to call them in return.  I do remember one well-off friend spending the money to call us.  The phone call was short and consisted mostly of, “I’m fine. How are you?” before they hung up.  Not very satisfying. Ultimately we had to accept that being off-island meant not being in contact with our island friends.

Our second time coming back (2016), we were forced to join the smart phone world.  (The islands had not made the shift yet, but in the States it was already virtually impossible to buy a non-smart phone, unless you wanted a “senior phone” with giant buttons.)  A few of our more tech-savvy island friends were excited to send us emails or messages, usually just a single line or two saying hello. But again, most of our island friends were not contactable.

Brothers hang out with appropriate distance

These days most islanders in our city have a smartphone or have access to one via someone in their family.  Now, WhatsApp and Facebook messenger are very popular and widely used across the islands. So it means we get a lot more messages.  Most of them are just checking in on us.  “Are you okay?”  Many of them are afraid for us.  They hear about the coronavirus outbreak in the US and worry that we are in danger.  So we get a lot of good advice: “Stay inside.” “Don’t leave your house.” “Wash your hands.”  We thank them and tell them to do the same.

Money is still a limiting factor for keeping in touch.  We have many island friends who we would love to hear from, but our messages go unseen and unanswered, usually due to a lack of funds.  When a typical islander gets paid the equivalent of $5 a day, spending 20% of it on internet data is quite extravagant.  I’m pretty sure my video chat this morning was my friend taking advantage of a rich neighbor or relative’s wifi.  So while the possibility of communication is now there, with many of our island friends the separation remains. 

Thankfully we have teammates too.  When I couldn’t get in touch with my good island friend, I was still able to ask a teammate to check in on him.  For all the technology sometimes you still need someone there (in person) to make contact. Ultimately we know that there is only so much connection we can have from this great a distance. Islanders don’t have deep conversations over the phone, so anything beyond the superficial will have to wait until we are back there and can see people face to face.  Because even technology (as great as it is these days) has its limits.

Ready to hunt for some eggs

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We thank God for the wonderful reminders this past week and weekend of Easter for His unfailing love, how He meets us in our suffering, how His sacrifice covers all, and His new life provides us hope and redemption. We are thankful for our continued health and the ability to be in touch with loved ones over the holiday weekend. We know that on the islands small groups gathered together for the holiday weekend. Chat groups have also been formed so that the island brothers and sisters can encourage one another. We were able to have good meetings with a couple small groups this past week, sharing about what is happening on the islands. The technology is wonderful. The app is ready and out there ! The one that will make the first parts of the Word available to Clove Islanders in their own language. Pray that it would get lots of use!



PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for the islands—they continue to say there are zero cases of COVID but no testing is being done and this past week the head religious leader for the entire country died from pulmonary complications with no mention of COVID among the island press. The funeral had all the islands’ head officials together (not practicing social distancing) for the funeral, though they did try to limit the number of mourners. We continue to pray. Our kids will do their standardized testing requirements this week. Usually we would have someone else proctor them, so pray that even with their mom and dad administering them that they’d be able to keep focused and get them done. Tom’s seeker group is supposed to be making contact this week with the island brother with whom Tom connected them. Pray for that growing relationship.

Ignorance is Bliss?

Daily walks help cabin fever!

Several weeks ago when the coronavirus was just starting to spread to different countries, I remember a colleague on the islands commenting that we’d probably never know if COVID came to the islands because islanders would start dying, but no one would question it. Since then COVID 19 has become a global pandemic and even the islands (as isolated as they may be) are not oblivious to what is going on.

The islands are part of an archipelago of four islands. Three are an independent country (that we call “the islands” on this blog). The fourth island is still culturally, historically and geographically connected to the islands but it is officially part of France, so we call it the “French Island”. Official word from the islands is that there are still no cases of coronavirus, despite the fact that the neighboring and closely connected French Island now has over 150 cases. Now, before you rejoice that the the islands have been spared, you should know that our reaction to this statistic is complete skepticism.

They aren’t testing anyone on the islands! The islands received a shipment of 20,000 tests last week but apparently the “official” word from the government is that there are no suspicious cases, so no one has been tested (as far as we’ve heard). Meanwhile our colleagues are hearing about people with flu symptoms and Tom just got a text from an island friend who says he has the “flu”. Rumors abound. Some say that the island hospitals don’t actually know how to administer the tests. Others think it is just a ploy of the government to try to act like the islands are beating the pandemic.

Island Funeral Procession

But it’s not just politics involved—there is also a mindset among islanders.  Islanders aren’t supposed to question or mourn death. At funerals I have seen grieving people berated and ordered to stop crying. Tears and sadness are not the “proper” response. Mourners are supposed to just accept that this death is what God wanted and move on. This blind acceptance of death also includes not questioning the cause of death. When I hear about a death, I usually ask, “What happened? Were they sick?” Sometimes there was a previously known disease but many times I’ll get vague responses, “He’d been sick for a few days,” or “She’d had some pain lately.” If I follow-up by asking if any tests will be done, I’m usually informed that nothing will be done and in fact the person is already buried. According to island faith, burial is supposed to happen the same day of death if at all possible. In the moments after death, the extended family is too busy preparing for the funeral and burial to worry about “why” the person died. Most islanders might even question what difference the “why” makes— it was just their time.

On Sunday morning, we were streaming a talk and at the end the speaker told everyone to not check the news too often.  Minute by minute updates just increase our stress and anxiety as we see the number of cases and deaths climb and feel helpless and overwhelmed.  Maybe the best idea would be to not check the news at all—but we know this is not wise. Of course, there is a big difference between not knowing the exact numbers and denying the virus is around at all!  Allowing islanders to think they are still safe may mean they don’t take the necessary precautions, which will undoubtedly make things so much worse in the long run.  We know that, if the virus were to hit the islands hard, the situation could be disastrous.  The biggest hospital on our island has sometimes run out of oxygen or sometimes lost power! Running ventilators for multiple patients when the number of ventilators in the whole country is probably quite limited, seems like it will be asking too much. 

Quarantine Over! They can sit with Grandpa!

The reality of the situation is scary.  It may be the islands will not acknowledge that they have a problem until it is much too late.  Then again, God may have mercy and due to their isolation and hot climate, the virus simply won’t spread as it has in so many other places.  We may never know what actually happens.  We may feel powerless in the face of it, but we can pray.  Let us not grow anxious or sink into resignation or despair. Let us pray deeply and with all our hearts and not lose hope!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We finished our 14 day self-quarantine with none of us getting sick at all! We are thankful for the protection of our health as we traveled and for ability to take on the shopping errands from Tom’s parents and the ability to live as one household with them.  Praise God for the creative use of technology that we are seeing with live streaming and zoom chats which help us to maintain community in these strange days. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Like everyone else, it is easy to get a little stir crazy. Pray for our kids as they deal with lots of disappointed expectations of what our time in the US was going to be like.  Pray for us as we try to make connections with the groups and people we were supposed to be visiting. We are going to participate in and share with a small group this week and have a few more meetings to share. Pray that we could get people excited and praying for the islands and let us know if you have a group that would like to connect with us online! Pray for the islands— There is an island brother on the big island who is experiencing persecution for not joining in the local prayers— they are threatening to kick him out. Also an island brother and his wife on the small island just had a difficult and scary miscarriage. Pray that others in the island family would be able to come around them with comfort and encouragement during these hard times. Pray that difficulties would not be discouragements but draw them closer to God. Our teammates (as foreigners) have been asked to register with the gendarmerie— this is not a normal request and we’re not sure the reasonings, so please pray for good relationships with those in authority.  Pray for our island family as they try to figure out what Holy Week might look like for them.