Jeff Noyed, Director Oximeter
Having Covid-19/Thanksgiving
My wife, Krista, and I joined the ranks of 262,952 Minnesotans, 12 million people in the United States, and 55.6 Million worldwide that have been infected by Covid-19.
For many of you who found out that we had it and were praying we are deeply grateful.
For both of us extreme fatigue and a slight temperature occurred. Another sign for me was when we ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken from a popular restaurant and I couldn’t taste a thing.
We are both feeling much better after two weeks but still have some fatigue. Using the above oximeter really helped to monitor the blood oxygen level.
Current data from the John Hopkins corona virus research center estimates that Covid-19 related deaths are as follows: 1,377,000 Worldwide, 254,000 in the United States and 3,257 from Minnesota.
How do these numbers compare to the 1918 Spanish Flu? According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) there were 500 million confirmed cases in the world, nearly 3 million in the US and 125,000 in Minnesota. Further, 50 million people died worldwide, 675,000 in the U.S. and 7,260 in Minnesota.
Clearly the Spanish Flu was much more deadly and more people in the world were infected. However, in Minnesota twice as many people have been infected by Covid-19 than the Spanish Flu even though twice as many people died here of the Spanish Flu than of Covid-19. A special thanks is in order to Medical Community for their outstanding work in detecting, treating and coming up with a vaccine for Covid-19 and their ongoing critical work in vaccinating millions for the upcoming flu season!
Part of this Medical Community came to Jericho Road from the University of Minnesota Health Fairview to administer flu vaccinations in the coatroom of the Sanctuary while we distributed Thanksgiving Packages on Friday, November 20th both in the Fellowship Hall downstairs and outside near our garage.
As you can see from the above picture people wore masks and were kept six-feet apart while receiving a Turkey, Onions, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes in addition to other items received earlier in the line. All told there were 250 Thanksgiving Packages distributed, 40 - Flu Shots, and 3 - Hepatitis A shots. To God be the Glory for such a Glorious Day!
An insightful 100-page little book called Coronavirus and Christ by Pastor John Piper and distributed by Crossway is excellent to read as we put our trust in the “Solid Rock” - Jesus Christ - while going through either personal challenges or a pandemic like the Coronavirus: Covid-19.
A Special Thanks to those who gave $2,291.50 through GiveMN to Jericho Road. A $1,000 match will also be given making the total $3,291.50! Very Much Appreciated.
Pastor John Bohnsack
Development Director
The Lord Provides
On the Jericho Road Ministries (JRM) website, www.jerichoroad.us, your desktop computer will bring you to a menu list that includes Jericho Road Ministries Home. By clicking on that selection, it will bring you to the JRM website home page. On that home page, listed across the top of the page, there is an option titled donations. By clicking on donations, you can make an “online” donation to JRM. One such donation recently caught our eye, because the rather odd amount given was $224.08. Another anomaly was the lack of a last name, which we like to have in order to provide a letter of THANKS and a year-end donation summary for IRS deduction purposes. Fortunately there was an email address given, so our bookkeeper sent an email requesting the last name, which the donor provided almost immediately, along with this message (which is used by permission).
“While I am at it, I will also let you know that the donation was the result of my 9 year old daughter…… holding a lemonade stand for Minneapolis this summer! She wanted to raise money to help provide food and necessities for those who are in need in Minneapolis. It took us a little while to decide where to donate the money, but our church supports Jericho Road and it looks like a wonderful ministry, so we hope it can be of help as the months are getting colder and as COVID lingers.”
WOW! A 9 year old with a Good Samaritan heart for “those in need….in the coming months.” While we can, and do, commit to use such gifts to help folks in need, we obviously cannot tell what exact future family will be helped. What we can do is provide an example of the kind of situation where JRM has helped in the past.
Ethel (not her real name), an upper middle age grandmother, was just one of the hundreds who came asking for help. She had been working for many years as a nurse aide in a medical clinic. Due to the virus scourge she had been laid off from her full-time job! The $1,200+ government “Covid aid check” promised to most U.S. citizens had not yet arrived. As a result, she was pleading for food for herself, her daughter, and several grandchildren that she was caring for on an emergency basis. Her mid-twenties age daughter was along with her. The daughter lives with her because, due to a debilitating stroke, the daughter is unable to speak and is only marginally able to walk---with great difficulty. Several days supply of food was provided immediately and loaded into Ethel’s failing, barely running car. More food is available for her and her family if she needs it. With close contact and in- depth interviews limited as a result of Covid 19, our sharing of the message of God’s love and salvation has taken the form of tracts and/or Scripture verses included in many of the bags of groceries that we give out.
Our hope/goal is to help folks FROM CRISIS TO CHRIST-CENTERED HOPE AND RESTORATION! Your support, through your prayers and gifts, whether you are 9 or 99, makes it possible! THANK YOU !
