Life continues as normally as possible, given the circumstances of COVID-19, and the fact that we are still in the mission residence in Toronto. We get up and check email and Facebook and so on. Sometimes we have a WhatsApp message from one of our friends in Malawi.
We try to get out for a walk of some kind during the day, for fresh air and exercise. The other day we went to the bank. I had been trying to get through on the phone and had spent well over an hour on hold, only to have my call "discontinued". When I got to the bank and explained my problem, they made a phone call and handed the phone to me. In a minute I heard the familiar dreaded Muzak. It was exactly what I had been listening to for so long at home. I decided to give up. At least at home I could sit in my comfortable chair to wait.
I am still working on prayer shawls. I will soon be finished with the third one since coming home to Canada. I will likely put them into our stash at church when we return to Woodstock.
That will be on May 4, if all goes as planned. Our friend Glynis has offered to drive us there, so we are thankful for that. It should be nice to get our house unpacked and be in our own surroundings again. I'm really looking forward to having our deck to sit on, when it's nice outside. And we will likely have some work to do on the yard and garden.
By the way, we have been hearing from our friend Lyca. She reported the other day that there are now 33 cases of COVID-19. Not sure whether that's in the whole country or just in Blantyre, but certainly it means that the numbers are increasing. She also reported that the needs in the prisons continue. It must be hard for her not to be able to visit, but we hope to be able to meet some of the needs anyway. Please pray that things will work out for that to happen.
In the meantime, we continue to miss Malawi and all of you as well. We hope that eventually we will get to see you in person, to catch up on what has been happening in your lives. As you can tell, not much is new or different in my life these days. Because of that, I think I will make this my last post. I will miss writing this every week! Hope you are all well, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Take care of yourselves, and feel free to contact me through email. Goodbye!
SO - will you miss the writing, or the "something to write about"? If it's just the writing, you can send me an email with any/all your thoughts any time. I will promise to read it!
I am curious what "meeting the needs in the prisons" might look like. What kind of needs are you referring to? Just curious what we should be specifically praying for.
I am also hoping to see you sometime soon. Maybe we'll have to do the new thing - a "porch visit" sometime.
Thanks for letting us come with you on your journey via your weekly reports. It's been quite a journey and I am privileged to have been able to join you in this…