When Delron checked in for a doctor’s appointment recently, the receptionist asked a standard question, “Have you been out of the country in the past thirty days?” She had no idea how ironic that question was in that she was not aware that he had retired from his position as director of the missions School at Charis Bible College in order to focus more on international ministry but that the COVID-19 pandemic forced Teach All Nations to make some major adjustments to our extensive overseas ministry plans for the year. When he responded to her with a chuckle, “I haven’t even been out of the county, much less the country!” Delron didn’t elaborate that he returned from Liberia just a day before international travel was banned and that we had had to cancel all our spring and summer travel – Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines.
Since we have not been able to travel outside of the country, we have been working with the pastors that we would have been visiting, helping fund their food distribution outreaches to the desperate people in their communities. As serious as the conditions have been here in the US, they are nothing compared to how gravely people around the world are affected. Since most of the world lives on a day-to-day budget, if they don’t work today, they won’t eat tomorrow. We have heard from every corner of the world that people have been saying that they would rather go to work and take their chances of catching the virus than to stay at home and face certain starvation. One example of how critically the lockdowns have impacted these people is the story of one Indian man who took a job burying the bodies of the COVID victims in order to earn money to keep his family alive. He soon found that he was infected with the disease and died as a result. Although this is the only report of an actual death that we have received, we have been able to help families in India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Honduras, the Congo, Liberia, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Uganda, Nepal, and even here in the US who are living without income for their daily sustenance.
We have received so many reports that the recipients couldn’t control their tears of joy when they received their packets of rice, beans, oil, and soap. Many of the people that we reached out to say that they were scared that they might soon die and had essentially lost all hope because they had only a handful of food in their homes and no way of getting any help. They all sent their blessing to all the Teach All Nations family who reached out to them. They want you to know that they are praying for you and praise the Lord for your help.
We genuinely appreciate everyone who has continued to support our mission work even though you know that we are stranded at home and haven’t been able to travel; however, we do want to mention one donor in particular. We are certain that you’ll enjoy the note that he included with his gift:
Please be advised:
- I washed my hands before writing the check.
- I did not sneeze or cough while writing the check.
- I did not a need to use toilet paper while writing the check.
- I did not lick the envelope to seal the letter; rather, I used tap water.
However, I would recommend that, after you handle the check, you wash your hands (using soap) for twenty seconds, rinse well, and dry. Now feel free to touch your face!
