Early Dismissal

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020 by Jonathan In Faith-Filled Friday 4 Comments

On Wednesday evening, March 11, our superintendent called the entire school together for a special assembly. Due to the spread of the coronavirus throughout the world and restricted travel happening as a result, the announcement was made that we would be closing school two weeks early. Thursday and Friday would be normal school days but then students would begin travel back to their host countries on Saturday with everyone gone by Tuesday.

By God’s grace, all our students made it back to where they needed to be, in spite of closing borders, canceled flights, and quarantine restrictions! This was truly a result of God answering the prayers of so many!

Like the rest of the world, Kenya now has many restrictions in place for travel and gathering together in large groups. There are still only seven confirmed cases in the country. Currently, we are not prevented from traveling to Nairobi and doing some shopping, but we are encouraged to only go if absolutely necessary. Fortunately we have most all we need right here – even plenty of toilet paper!

So what are we up to? We are now operating under the assumption that students will not be able to return for the beginning of third term on April 25. All of our time and resources have been focused on making it possible to allow our students to do school online beginning on April 27. By the end of next week teachers will have two weeks of online classes ready to go! It’s been amazing to watch this community mobilize to make sure the families we serve across Africa have the resources they need.

It is our hope to resume a normal third term on campus by the middle of May. But of course, we hold those plans loosely in the hands of God.

Family Focus

• Praise God for hundreds of students making it back to parents safely! We did have a group almost quarantined in a hotel apart from their family, but because one of the parents meeting them at the airport was a doctor, they let them go home to self-quarantine.
• Thankful for a community that cares for one another well and pulls together to get done what needs to be done.
• Hopeful for a possible coronavirus cure with anti-malarial treatment.
• Pray that all of us affected by this pandemic throughout the world would not only trust our Sovereign God, but consider the opportunities he has given us in the midst of it.
• Pray for Jonathan’s mom and Tiana as they drive from Phoenix to Iowa starting today. Henrik and Hannah will pick up Tiana on Sunday to continue on to Minneapolis. Tiana will move out of her dorm at BGU and plans eventually to move in with a classmate in Michigan to finish out her sophomore year online.

Foto Flashback