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Hi everyone,
We continue to follow the COVID-19 news from around the world and pray this finds you and your family well. We are doing fine here with no cases that we know of in the area around Bongolo. There is minimal testing outside of the capital but we are not seeing anyone with symptoms consistent with the virus here at the hospital yet.
Here are some ways you can be praying for us:
- We continue to be thankful for this time to prepare. We have converted the old eye clinic to an isolation ward, a patient kitchen into a decontamination space with a shower for those that may have to work on that ward, and we are collecting masks and other protective equipment. We are also thankful that we have not had to use any of this yet. Please continue to pray that living in an isolated corner of Africa may be to our advantage and we don’t see many cases here. For more information check out the latest story on our website.
- The capital city is closed, this means we are not traveling up there for any reason but it also means that we are not getting patients from there either. Please pray for the financial situation of the hospital. We don’t usually have a lot of reserves anyway but with a significant drop off in patients we have a significant drop off in income. Pray for wisdom for the committee that makes decisions for the hospital, they are meeting much more often with all the changes happening around here and will be making some difficult decisions in the future if this continues for too long.
- There are two things we can be really thankful for in hindsight. First, the insurance company did not pay us and we stopped taking insurance for two months. This meant we charged the non-insured prices and our monthly income increased. Second, the insurance company finally did pay us so we got a large payment into our hospital checking account. At the time it was a huge request that they pay us, but God in his timing knew when we should stop taking insurance and when they would pay us to be ready for all that is happening now. God’s timing is always perfect and this has been a good reminder for us.
- Please pray for our team as everything feels uncertain. From time to time we receive emails from the US Embassy that there are flights leaving to get Americans back home. The last email we received said there would be one more flight before the airports open up commercially. We are praying as team leaders for our team and I know individual families are praying about whether to take this flight. Would it lessen the burden on the team or increase it? Would it be safer for their health or their families? When would they be able to return? These are just a few of the questions we are all wrestling with. Several families are scheduled to take home assignments over the next few months and there is also the feeling that if we don’t go now, when can we go? Jeff and I are scheduled to head home in July. We are anticipating being delayed but we just don’t know. As of now we are not planning on taking the next Embassy arranged flight. Our whole team needs wisdom and clear leading on this.
We are so thankful that we have partners around the world lifting us up in prayer. It means so much!
Jeff and Amy
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