Our team worshipped together Tuesday morning in the Bloedorn’s backyard overlooking the marsh and sparkling lake. As the wind gently rustled the shade trees, rays of sun danced on our faces. Our babies happily played on a blanket in the lush grass. In that moment, living in a remote part of Africa didn’t seem barren. We had everything. Our team barely made it back to Zambia before countries started closing their borders. But there we all were – together – and worshipping the Lord with one heart and one mind, far removed from the calamity sweeping the globe today.
But even in a remote village in Zambia we are feeling the effects of COVID-19. After a very long journey home from the U.S. we had to pack up and head to the capital city, Lusaka, for some urgent errands. During that time our founder, Philip Smethurst, released a video encouraging our missionaries to stock up on food and supplies during this crisis. We stayed in Lusaka for 5 days shopping for our team, ourselves, and the base.
As we ran errands we saw signs that the country was beginning to take precautions. They had hand sanitiser stations set up before entering stores and when we had to go to the immigration office an immigration officer wearing a mask stood out front and told me to go back in the car with the children and just let Jesse take care of our paperwork issue. President Lungu ordered for all schools to be closed even before the first case appeared. Before we left Lusaka, Zambia recorded its first confirmed cases from a Zambian family that had just returned from France. Another group brought the virus in from Pakistan. The total count for Zambia as of today has slowly climbed to 39 cases. We pray earnestly that God will protect the lives of villagers all over Zambia; we don’t want this to leave the city and appear in areas where people don’t have access to good medical care.
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Krenz Family Updates 