Halloween 2020 - or is it April Fools?

 Our first day of the new regime.  We slept in, and then went about our day's activities.  It is an interesting thing...we have more than enough to keep us occupied - happily occupied.  We are living in this city that is so very charming that we have to keep pinching ourselves.  We are serving with young missionaries that we love, and we adore the young adults that have come into our lives.  We are comfortably esconced in this lovely little apartment, where we thoroughly enjoy the ever-changing sky and we delight in the many beautiful and varied sights 30 minutes in any direction from here.

But life right now is unsettling.

This evening as we listened to the mission zoom meeting, one of our YSAs forwarded the latest press report from the government.  As of Wednesday night at midnight, we are going into a lockdown similar to the one experienced in March.  It will last until December 1.    The numbers show that in March one person in every 2300 in England had the virus.  By October 1 the number was 1 in 200.  As of today it is 1 in 100.  

Obviously, one of the chief worries is that the health care system will soon be entirely overwhelmed.  So the restrictions will be similar but more rigid to what we just began today.  Absolutely no households mixing indoors.  Besides manufacturing and construction businesses most other businesses will close and people will work from home.  Overnight stays away from home will only permitted for work, and travel within the UK is discouraged.  International travel will be banned (I wonder if that includes us).

Places of worship will be open only for private prayer but services will be banned.  Funerals will be limited to close family only.  Restaurants will only be open for takeout orders and they must be delivered.  Grocery and pharmacy stores will be open.  It is hoped that by December 1, we will return to the restrictions that we started today....pretty strict but not quite as bad as the total lockdown that we will be entering.

Why do I feel so suddenly adrift?  We have lived with uncertainty since March, like most of the world has done.  This new measure will save lives and protect many people from disaster.  Truthfully, it will probably protect us.  

We have so many YSAs who are so young and who are experiencing much anxiety.  I would like to help them, comfort them, strengthen them against the upheavals of these stressful days.  We would so much like to help the young missionaries, but we know they are well-plugged in to the mission and receive almost daily communications from Dave and Deb.

Tonight, Dave was eloquent as he expressed to the mission "Our mission motto is We thrive on Opposition.  Whenever there are challenges, there will be a never ending flow of grace from the Savior."

I believe that with all my heart.  I need to keep my heart and my mind ready to receive.

Tomorrow is another "Why I Believe" live fireside from the England London Mission.  It will be mostly young people bearing testimony and performing musical numbers.  It will be excellent.

Our only option is to move forward in faith - whatever that looks like.  The Lord brought us back to England, I am certain.  We will pray and wait and see what the future holds. We will help whenever and wherever we are able, and look forward to a day in the future when (from a safe vantage point) we will be able to look back on all this time with some sense of understanding.

Our nod to Halloween. We wore masks (and a scary windswept hairdo) to the local mall, and we met a furry little black cat on the way there.



Comments

Erin said…
I love the mission motto. It reminds me of what President Nelson said in the women’s session of conference: “ let us not just endure this current season. Let us embrace the future with faith! Turbulent times are opportunities for us to thrive spiritually. They are times when our influence can be much more penetrating than in calmer times.”

The Lord will do wonders among you! Love you!
November 1, 2020 at 11:42 PM
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