Social Media Fight

Tom & boys "camp" in backyard

Sometimes our life on the islands seems so different than life in America.  Differences in culture, values, history and technological advancement mean that some of the things people think about, argue about, struggle with are just different.  For example, childhood obesity is not an issue in the islands.  Kids simply don’t have the same access to things like fast food, high fat foods, sugary drinks, or unlimited sedentary activities like online gaming.  Another example would be gender issues, because of values and culture, gender issues are not a big topic of discussion on the islands.  Alternatively, Americans don’t give much thought to colonialism or issues surrounding polygamy, while these are always hot topics on the islands. 

But every so often we see similar situations pop up in both cultures, revealing the singular nature of humanity.  And it happened this week on an island group chat.

We have been much encouraged to see our island brothers and sisters getting creative during this COVID season and finding ways to use technology and social media to encourage and strengthen one another.  One of those ways was through a messaging group, allowing everyone to share prayers, verses, songs, pictures, videos and concerns.  They called the group, “Peace” and it has been wonderful to see the island family using this tool to encourage one another.  But this week a common problem of modern America overtook the Peace Chat- text fighting.

It all started with a well intentioned post with a link to a site that was meant to encourage. The problem is that it included some theological views that are not shared by everyone.  As soon as I saw the text, I wondered what the reaction would be.  Not long after, one brother sent a message. It was carefully worded, encouraging people to be careful and read everything in light of scripture.  I thought that might be the end of it and breathed a sigh of relief.  But then, the next day, another brother weighed in. This time with the sort of blunt and provocative sort of response we have all grown too used to on the internet.  He was picking a fight.  Sure enough, I checked my messages an hour later to see 50 new messages!  The Peace Chat had been taken over by a text fight.

Different thoughts went through my mind.  Should I get involved?  Should I contact the instigator or the administrator of the group?  In the end, I decided that in this case (being so far from the islands), the best action I could take was to pray; asking God to help the leaders to make wise decisions and to bring peace back to the Peace Chat.

Exploring local trails

So I watched. I saw one brother, through his posts, try to diffuse the argument.  Later the group administrator posted a gentle reminder to the group about what the purpose of the Peace Chat was for and asking to return to that purpose.  Finally, we got a personal phone message from her asking for prayer and explaining how she had worked behind the scenes to speak directly to the instigator of the fight and bring about some reconciliation.  Praise God! I don’t think anyone could have handled it better. 

So picking fights on social media is an island issue too!  I think it reveals something of our universal human nature.  No matter what culture we come from, it is always easier to say harsh, mean, provocative things when we don’t have to look into the face of the one who we are addressing.  Somehow that anonymity gives us license or boldness or a false sense of righteousness that we just don’t feel when face to face.  And let he who has never sent a text or posted a message that he regretted throw the first stone.  But thank God that we do not have to accept our darker nature, but with the help of a loving community and the Holy Spirit, we can find a better way, find reconciliation and encourage peace.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that it seems like the “Peace Chat” has moved on to more encouraging and unifying topics. Our colleagues on the small island are feeling much better and seem to be on the road to recovery now- thank you for praying! We have bought tickets to go to CA on June 6th. We’re excited to have a plan to spend time with Megan’s family (even if it ends up that they are the only people we see while we’re in CA).

PRAYERS REQUESTED
There is only one week left of the month of fasting on the islands. The month culminates in the biggest holiday of the year where islanders usually go around to greet as many people as possible and shake everyone’s hands. We are hoping that islanders will pass on this island tradition, but we’re not sure what they will do instead. Give the islands wisdom as they try to celebrate while hopefully preventing the unnecessary spread of COVID. We just had word today that our good friend Ma Imani’s daughter is sick with a fever, we don’t know if she has other COVID symptoms, but please pray for her healing and for the extended family as they are all in close contact on the big island.

It's Normal

Normal Visitors in Chad

When we went and lived in Chad in 2007, we had no running water and only enough electricity to charge our phones and laptop. When the sun went down, we went to bed. When the sun rose, we got up. We didn’t have a refrigerator, so a good chunk of each day was focused on getting and preparing the food that we would eat that day. Most of the people around us only knew their town and knew little of the greater world.

When we shared with people back home about our life in America, we were sometimes met with disbelief. People couldn’t imagine living like that, but whether or not our Chadian neighbors longed for a different life, in reality, most of them didn’t know any different. Maybe they longed to be a rich person in their town, but they didn’t know enough to long for life in a different place.  To people back in America, our life in Africa sounded like one grand adventure.  And early on it did feel like that, but soon enough, it became normal.  Even though it was not a life we had ever lived before going to Africa, our normal had shifted, but our new life was now normal. Just normal, daily life.

If something is normal then it’s not an object of fuss. It’s not worth wowing over or commenting on. It’s just normal. You only get upset with normal if you think you could be having it better. If you only have one frame of reference, then you don’t know or can’t imagine a better situation, and so normal stays good enough.  Islanders aren’t as isolated as Chadians. Islanders travel and those who have been exposed to different countries are often not very content with the “island normal”. They complain and compare the islands to the places they have been. They have tasted something different.  Their idea of normal changed.

Normal Visitors on the islands

 On the islands, life is not as extreme as Chad, but still our American friends and family sometimes utter their disbelief when we talk about regular water and electricity cuts, the tropical diseases or the supply shortages that happen on the islands. But those things are all pretty normal for us.  And as strange and exotic as international travel and touring around might be for some, for us, this is also normal.  But then COVID came and life became strange everywhere.  On a global scale, we saw normal disappear.  Let’s face it, life in the States right now is not normal— social distancing, no school for kids, masks and stay-at-home orders.  Tom and I can’t help but long for normal US life (pre-COVID)—the life that we’re used to enjoying when we come to visit. We content ourselves with less on the islands because that’s normal there, but we expect the US to be a reprieve from many of those daily hardships: restaurants, malls, and millions of leisure opportunities like hiking, movies, sports, and amusement parks; also family reunions, big church gatherings, worship services and youth groups.  We see these things as normal for our times in the States, and it’s been hard for us to adjust.

On the other hand, some people have asked us if our kids are similarly disappointed with our time in America, being forced to stay at their grandparents’ house and not see people. But our kids are more like those isolated villagers in Chad than we are, they don’t really know or remember anything different. We stepped foot on US soil in March and went straight into quarantine and its been years since we’ve done more than briefly visit, so our kids don’t really no anything better than this pandemic normal for the US.  It’s probably for the best. We know that they will firmly embrace a new freer normal once it is available to us, but for now they are content with the present normal.

New Normal- Bday visitor seated far away with mask

Tom and I have some experience adjusting to new normals.  Our kids do too.  And we know that finding new normals can be painful.  So here we are, the whole world, people around the globe, all in the same boat, all experiencing the pain of adjustment, all finding new routines. All taking our circumstances and trying to make it livable.  All choosing to struggle with or embrace new normals.  But remember…

Hang in there!  You will adjust! And eventually, what feels so strange and uncomfortable will just be, well, normal. I’ve heard many remark that they are discovering new normals. Families have found new routines and new ways of getting by.  Churches and businesses are finding ways to move forward.  It hasn’t been easy but since it is a shared experience around the globe, we can’t really complain. Everyone’s in the same boat. It’s a new normal everywhere.

Our birthday girl- making pie

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that our kids are doing well during these strange times. We are thankful for our daughter who turned 12 this past week and for the wonderful young lady she’s turning into. We had a good time celebrating with her and she had a fun time despite our restrictions. One island brother was feeling sick, requested prayer and got better. We are thankful for encouraging stories of healing.  


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Now three of our colleagues on the small island are sick with COVID-like symptoms, one of who is pregnant. Please pray for their quick recoveries. The stories of death and ill-equipped medical personnel continue to come from the islands. Continue to pray. On the French Island (the first in archipelago to be hit with the virus), our doctor friend reported this week that they are getting 100 new cases a day (where it was only 10 per day the week before). Pray for the overworked medical workers and their families. The French Island has much better testing and treatment capabilities so we imagine that what we see happening there will happen on the rest of the islands in the coming weeks. Please pray. We’re starting to think again about our plans for the coming months, pray that we would have good discernment of what to do when. Continue to pray for the islands during this month of fasting, when islanders tend to look to God more, may they truly seek and find.

Parting with Stuff

Back on the islands- bags lined up to give away

It was the final week before we were leaving for America—when COVID19 was still just a problem of a province in China and not something effecting the world— and we were packing the house up for our planned six months away.  Packing is always an opportunity for purging and so we found ourselves, giving, throwing, and lending many things away as our travel day approached.  Questions of what was essential and what was not were daily tasks.  What is worth keeping?  What do we not mind seeing others use?  What do we not mind lending to someone, knowing that the item might not come back to us in the same shape or even at all?  What was an investment (and so worth holding onto)?  What would give us a chance to be generous?

Then there were our neighbors…not all of them, but certain ones…who know that this is a time to ask for stuff. They can feel pretty shameless to our Western sensibilities, but the questions started coming. Can I have this?  Would you give me that?  Could I borrow that for the time you are away?  The regular barrage of questions puts a strain on patience and makes us feel both generous and stingy at the same time.  There are things we want to give away, and do so willingly, but there are things we don’t want to give away, but it doesn’t stop neighbors from asking. 

Tom sorting thru garage in US

Case in point was the blender.  We’ve lived many years without a blender on the islands, but when Megan’s birthday rolled around, we decided this would be the year.  So the blender was new, in good condition, and a birthday present.  So of course, our neighbor wants to borrow it.  In that moment, it was simply too hard to be generous with it.  We know our neighbor and her household well.  We’ve given her gifts before only to see them broken and discarded in record time. We knew lending our nice new blender would be saying goodbye to it—that it would either not come back or it would come back broken—and so in a very island way we said no, which is to say that we didn’t give a direct “no” (since that is rude) but to gave an excuse that could be accepted as a gracious refusal. So we told her that while we were gone our landlady would be using our kitchen including many of our kitchen things (which is true, but didn’t include the blender).  Not our most generous moment, but imagine it may be understandable to some of you.

Fast forward to this week—sheltering in place, travel plans cancelled, looking for projects. How about we clean out all those boxes we stored in my parent’s garage before we traveled to Africa?  And so we pulled down boxes that have been on shelves for 13 years.  Inside we found memories—definitely worth keeping—but other things too.  Books, good books, useful to no one sitting in boxes.  Notebooks, filled with notes from college and seminary classes—why did we hold onto these?  Would we ever read them again?  Cassette tapes which have no cassette player to play them on. 

Why had we kept these things?  At the time it was just too hard to part with them.  At the time they seemed valuable—representing, money or time or effort.  But ten years later they represent wasted resources (books that have gone unread/unused) or wasted space (things to be thrown away or recycled).

Kids enjoying the spring flowers

Africa has certainly taught us to be more generous with our stuff.  We do not hold onto things as tightly as we used to, but at the same time, we still struggle with those attachments.  What is it that makes it so hard to let go of our stuff?  Is it wrong?  Is any of it our stuff anyway?  Hasn’t everything we have been given to us?  On the other hand, aren’t we meant to be good stewards and take good care of the things that have been given to us?  Lord, help us.  These are not easy questions to answer.

I can remember, when we first left for Africa, lending to loved ones all sorts of items—furniture, games, books, clothes—with a caveat that we might want them back some day—especially if the whole Africa thing didn’t work out.  Looking back, it seems like adding that caveat was a foolish thing to do.  Why didn’t we just give it all away? Somehow in the moment the stuff felt too precious. (By the way, if you have something that we lent you 12 years ago—we don’t want it back.  It’s yours.) 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The island government has finally officially recognized the presence of COVID on the islands. So far they have recognized 4 cases and 1 death.  The reality is probably far more. We are very thankful that it is now being talked about openly and that more measures are being taken. The island brothers and sisters continue to use the WhatsApp group to encourage each other and share prayer requests and we’re encouraged that more of the sharing is happening in the local language now (which makes it more accessible for most). We have been having a good time connecting with people online, including getting to participate in a few services this weekend. We are thankful for the technology. We are also thankful for some warmer weather that allowed us to get outside as a family.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
While we are thankful that the presence of COVID has been officially recognized on the islands, we also realize that the measures being taken are not enough to truly slow the spread. There is a curfew at night, but during the day many islanders are still leaving the houses and interacting with others. Our teammates report that across the street the neighborhood is still gathering all the children for their daily religious lessons. Pray for mercy. COVID doesn’t seem to be hitting Clove Island yet as hard as it is the big island. We have one colleague on the small island who is sick with a cough (as are most of her neighbors), pray for her quick healing and that she could be a light to others. Pray for island brothers and sisters that don’t have smart phones and are more isolated, that they would find encouragement at this time. We’re working on getting a big mailing out this week—pray that it would help people to learn more about what is happening on the islands and that interested people would follow-up with us. Pray for our daughter who turns 12 this week and that we would find good ways to celebrate her.

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.