Hello, everyone!
Wow - what a strange time we are living in. We have been staying home since about March 20th when the governor of Jalisco asked everyone to do so for 5 days, and then extended and extended that request.
It is very hard to say how Mexico is or will be impacted by this epidemic because getting a test for coronavirus is either completely unavailable or prohibitively expensive. As of a few days ago, only about 12,000 tests had been done in the whole country. Even with such limited testing, the cases are starting to rise faster - the curve is starting to get steeper. We are praying that the disaster will be mitigated - perhaps because of the heat, the virus will die faster - but it will take probably a month or so to find out. The peso is also devaluing rapidly, so no matter how the sickness unfolds, the economic situation in Mexico will probably be very hard for a while.
In our state, the governor has taken stronger measures than in some other states, so our cases are rising slower, they think. One measure is that there are now checkpoints to turn people back if they try to leave to go, for example, to the beach for vacation or any other "non-essential" activity.
How has this impacted us? We missed the wedding of the couple we counseled, Karla and Gil, suspended churches services and Bible studies, and have had to go without our household helpers Nayeli and Maria Jose, which is sad for all of us. On the positive side, we have been forced to figure out how to make videos of somewhat-watchable quality and have been uploading Sunday messages to our church community. It is not as satisfying as live-streaming a whole service would be, but our Internet connection and that of our parishioner's is not up to that kind of task. It is definitely harder to stay connected with our congregation, especially those who don't have reliable phone access.
Since the long-term plan for the Bible school includes a lot of online content, making the videos is a great step for us. Josh has made it is his mission to be in charge of them and make sure they're quality. Plus, with more time at home it's slightly easier to put in the time to make and edit the videos. (I say slightly because trying to make our base more sustainable also takes a lot of time.) One encouraging thing is that the videos are getting hundreds of views - which is many more people than we usually speak
If you speak Spanish, check out our videos here: https://www.facebook.com/IBFjalisco/
Another new season is upon us as we have released our associate Porfirio "Chino" Juarez and his family from his position in our ministry. Over a year ago, he injured his shoulder and could not do any physical labor - which was the bulk of his weekday work at our base. We continued having him on the payroll throughout his surgery and physical therapy, but he still has not been cleared for physical labor, so we felt it was time to allow him to look for something else.
We are very pleased to announce he and his family will move to a nearby town to continue ministering full time with our friends the Cookes who run a foster home with, currently, 10 children. This is the same home we have brought missions teams to and Josh built an aquaponics system for. Chino and his wife Ale for the past few years have gone there to minister counseling and academic support once a month, so it is a natural fit for them to become house parents as all the kids already know and love them. Their presence as parents in the "transition house" for kids that are over 18 and looking to launch their lives will open up spaces in the main house for more children in need. What a blessing!
We know this is a hard season for everyone and we are praying that the global church in every country will be sanctified, regenerated, and burst forth in unity, love, and power to reach everyone in this dying world with the hope Christ offers.
Thank you for all of you who support us with your prayers and finances. We know it is a hard time financially for many people, so we are extra thankful for your sacrifices and understand completely if you can't make them anymore.
With love,
The Angels