Four months after the start of the thing we are now calling CoVID-19,* I find myself wadding through the future of what is to be of my ministry. The very project I have been chasing/pursuing for the better part of two years. Countless meetings, site visits, fact-finding, negotiations, casting the vision, and a myriad of other things have seemingly halted in what felt like a blink of an eye. Of course human life and suffering matter soooo much more than what I am doing in Colombia. I get that, with a very clear smack of reality. I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I hurt when His creation, made in His image, is suffering.
During these days of an odd reality due to the pandemic, I found this well-known quote by former USA Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, “There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know, we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.”
Oh, how true that is where we stand today.
How appropriate... This was said years ago but I love where Rumsfeld’s mind was on this. We know that businesses are hurting, regardless of place due to the outbreak of COVID-19. We know that small businesses in Colombia are struggling and those business owners are fighting just to keep their business "in business." The crazy thing is just how lucky we are to have not just started our co-working space/incubator program by now. Our original start date was to be April 1st... I am left in awe at how God navigated us to this point. At the end of the day, I have to realize that there is so much out there that is bigger than me and our project. Our project doesn't even have 4 walls yet!
As I read about other businesses that are doing business as mission, I found an industry article talking about how the director of that industry association had received an appeal from a Freedom Business in India to encourage others to buy their product on-line. As well as, they also received a note from a person who works as an HR-disciple making person in a business in Cambodia. This lady is going to lose her visa and really needs to get back to the USA within 30-days due to new regulations connected to the virus. All of this was received in the same day! Hurting is blind to culture, color and any other bias we know.
I have had to change my daily routine to get out of the funk of not being able to start. To stop the "woe to me" syndrome. I need to focus on others in this time instead of my own (very minute/insignificant inconvenience), I have found a way for us to come to the aid of those businesses making a difference in their community. No, it isn't even hard. It is simply to pray.
Here are some ways we can PRAY:
For wisdom for all sized business owners who will ultimately need to make hard decisions in the near/long term.
For the employees being laid off or furloughed, who desperately need the jobs that business as missions companies are providing.
For innovative means providing capital.
For God’s people in the west who have expertise and can provide a helpline; that they will make themselves available and know where their help can be best applied.
For global leaders as well as church leaders to make God-driven decisions for the communities impacted.
That all believers will respond toward the most vulnerable in ways similar to how Christians responded in other pandemics. Check out this link.
Thank you for taking the time to read/interact with us on our blogs. A lot of this is a catharsis for us and we appreciate the feedback and comments we get from you all our audience. We love you all and hope that you are safe. Thank you for being a part of our journey.
-Dates according to an article published by ABC News entitled, "Timeline: How Coronavirus got started." (https://abcnews.go.com/Health/timeline-coronavirus-started/story?id=69435165)