I remember when a friend in La Campa suggested in April that this crisis could continue until June or July and I said there was no way that could happen.
Well, here we are.
August 16th we passed the 5 month mark of COVID-19 in Honduras and now that September is here we are quickly closing in on the 6 month mark. Some things have improved for us while others remain much the same. Here is a quick summary.
The number of COVID-19 cases has been increasing recently but the number of hospitalizations declined slightly a couple of weeks ago and has been holding fairly steady. The fatality rate (deaths as a percentage of positive cases) remains at about 3% so the survival rate for those who catch the virus remains at about 97%.
Except for a very limited number of 2 passenger mototaxis in our area there is still no public transportation.
Mask usage is mandatory under threat of fines and/or jail time for multiple violations.
It was decided some time ago that no classes at any grade level would be held for the rest of 2020 so as much of that as possible is being done on-line.
September is a big month of celebrations in Honduras including Independence Day, Day of the Bible, Day of the Pastor, Children’s Day and many others. It is very disappointing to not hear the grade school and high school students practicing their drums in the afternoons in preparation for the big parade, and that there will be no celebrations to mark any of these events this year.
Last week a change was made allowing people to go out and shop on Saturday and Sunday. With this change we are now allowed to shop and move about based on the last digit of our ID cards once every 10 days instead of once every 14 days as it had been for the last couple of months. It was strange doing our shopping last Wednesday since we had gotten so used to every other Friday being our shopping day. Also last week the last checkpoint in the area was discontinued but we are still obligated to obey the travel restrictions put in place at the national level.
On August 17th the borders were reopened for tourists to return. A negative CV-19 test result no more than 72 hours old must be presented upon arrival and there are on-line forms that have to be filled out in advance of your arrival. With the negative test result no quarantine period for visitors is required.
Hotels are open but restaurants are still not open for dine in service. There are still many limitations in regards to church services and sizes of group gatherings permitted so we continue to be very limited in church based ministry activities. An interesting observation about the borders opening is that tourists can come and move about the country freely while we who live here are still quite restricted. If some of you wanted to come and see us Jean and I have to obtain special permission to travel with you. Taking all of this into account it is our opinion that it is not yet a good time for short term mission teams to return no matter how much we want to serve with you!
However, there are some limited opportunities for an individual or two to come and serve with us, so, if anyone is interested in coming to Honduras soon please contact us and we’ll work through all of the logistics and new requirements to make it happen. And we would certainly look forward to seeing you!
We’ve had tremendous favor to be able to travel back and forth to La Casa De Rubén as needed to minister and work there since mid-late May. Everyone at La Casa De Rubén has remained healthy and virus free. We have also been able to move about and minister to others locally through the distribution of much needed food bags.
Speaking of food bags and hunger relief we are happy to report that we have delivered over 500 food bags so far. This means that a little over 10,000 pounds of food has been given to hungry families along with 3,000 bars of soap for hands and clothes washing. But most importantly, every single person who receives a bag of food also is reminded of just how much God loves and cares for them. We can’t thank all of you enough who have donated sacrificially to make this possible.
On a personal note, while we have had our ups and downs, we are doing well overall. God has been faithful to provide for our needs and we have stayed healthy despite some people close to us testing positive for the virus. We are sad to report that so far two missionaries here in Honduras have gone home to be with the Lord due to COVID-19, one just the other day.
Please pray for us to stay strong mentally, emotionally and spiritually as we continue to endure the restrictions and the uncertainties which impact nearly every daily decision that we have to make. A good friend of ours recently remarked that 2 weeks is now considered long range planning. While quite true, sometimes 2 days seems like long range planning.
Currently our biggest personal complication is our residency status. Our 5 year period of temporary residency expired in May and we were unable to present our application for permanent residency in April because of the crisis.
The government office that handles this is still closed.
We have obtained tourist visas so we are in Honduras legally and we can renew these visas as many times as needed until our permanent residency is completed. Now that the borders are open again we can travel to and from Honduras without fines.
There remains one other related complication so it would be best for us to have our residency situation resolved completely before leaving the country so we are waiting as long as possible to plan a trip. In addition we are staying up to date on the U.S. news, remaining mindful of many other things in the lead up to the election in November and beyond that could make international travel for the later part of 2020 much more complicated.
So, that is as brief of an update as we know how to give considering all that is taking place in our world. Whether you are in the U.S. or in another part of Honduras we hope that we get to see you very soon. Thank you again for your prayers and support of us and our ministry here, including La Casa De Rubén. God bless, Dios le bendiga!