Life Interrupted Part 3: A Fell Spring

I am aware, by the calendar on the computer, of passing time, but the similarity of the days has not been terribly inspiring to sit down and write a blog entry. That is not to say, that our situation here is intolerable in any way. To the contrary, it is idyllic in many ways. Rebecca and I have also been very intentional about setting up a daily rhythm to make this time in isolation as life-giving as possible.

There is actually a lot of marrow to suck from life at Charter Hall. Rebecca and I both get up just before 7am. We have coffee then she goes for a long walk to pray. I prefer to run, and take a gentle run while listening to the Daily Audio Bible for about an hour. We come back and make breakfast for the kids. At 8:30 am our day starts.

Oren in 'school'.

David and Oren are now 'in school'. Which is not unlike a regular school day in many respects, except it is all online. They go to their computers and open Google Classrooms and follow each class's daily assignments in the order of schedule for that day. They finish at about 3:30 pm so it is a full school day. Oren is able to do this almost entirely independently (except when we need to scan or photograph certain assignments. David on the other hand basically needs an executive secretary (Rebecca) by his side at all times. This is partly because of his lack of executive skills at this point in his development, but just as much because teachers at St. Cons are very new to online teaching and create many challenges in trying to access and complete work. (Ex: No, a pdf is not an editable document).

View from the dock.

For the most part, there are no sessions in real-time as our children are 7 hours behind Tanzania time. But each of them has had occasional sessions with teachers who are willing to meet with them in the evening (their time).

Rebecca and I are also trying to keep up with MCC work. I am able to do that for most of the day, but it is far more challenging for Rebecca when 'homeschooling' and keeping David focused. This was especially true in the past week as we had several important meetings with our country rep. Sharon who is currently in Alberta, Canada, as well as with our team in East Africa, and our Area Directors there as well. We have a narrow window of time when we can all meet together on Zoom. It is about 9 am our time.

Needless to say there has been a scramble at the local and global levels as MCC manages the health and economic fall-out of the pandemic. All of the health and education partners I oversee have had to suspend project activities, but are also needing to send in their year-end reports. At the same time, MCC is dealing with the grim reality that the severe economic downturn in the US and Canada will have significant consequences for the main income streams of the organization. That is: thrift shops, church giving, private donation, and large fundraising events, (especially this year which is MCCs Centennial). With all of these income streams in jeopardy for the foreseeable future, we are already testing 15% and 25% budget reduction scenarios for our program in the coming year. It is hard to believe that this was not imaginable even a month ago.

All that to say, there is work to keep us both busy, although I definitely have more time for it. Working remotely from our country program is a bit of a challenge as far as communication, but for the most part, our work with partners does not require much face-to-face time for the time being. (There is a nagging feeling in the back of our minds about when we will be able to return. We have tickets booked for early August but do not know what the reality will be then. For the time being Tanzania has suspended ALL international travel in and out of the country. So we would not be able to go there foreseeable future even if we wanted to.

When we are not in a school/workday, we do try to take full advantage of the place we are in. Nature walks are the easiest diversion, and at low tide, David loves to take daily walks on the rocky beaches looking for old fishing lures and bobbers among the flotsam and jetsom that washes along the marshy and rocky shoreline. We have been enjoying watching the sputtering beginnings of spring, with many perennials now in bloom including daffodils, wild violets, dandelions, and tulips. Leaves are budding on trees. The temperature is not at all stable with some days approaching freezing while others have been as high as 80F. On some of the warmer less gusty days, we have even taken out the canoes. One can almost feel that this is a kind of self-imposed 'Waldenesque' retreat for the purpose of spiritual renewal. But we cannot retreat from the slow drumbeat of tragic news, coming from the urban centers on the East Coast. I feel guilty imagining the nightmarish reality of health professionals in New York, some close friends, who are risking their lives to try to save others or at least those who are dying alone. And yet, we are told (even by them) that the best thing we can do is to stay home and stay healthy. Don't risk making it worse.

Our daily routine also includes times of family exercise, which seem a necessity. Besides my morning run, we also to 40 minutes of high, or low-intensity interval training (HIIT, LIIT) using a youtube video. It keeps us from going stir crazy on cold rainy days. We have also done multiple puzzles while listening to Harry Potter (again), built models, played games, and done a number of crafts. (But screen time still remains the favorite pastime of the kids when they are not under adult supervision.)

church

We also have been able to participate in our church  (North Baltimore Mennonite) via Zoom. This has been a blessing during Holy Week. It is amazing to see over 100 people participating live. I am hearing more and more prayers for those suffering with coronavirus, but the community feels good.

Our family celebrated Maundy Thursday with a family foot-washing ceremony and a communion meal. Then we shared in a Tenebrae service with our church via Zoom. We listened to a Good Friday service put on the Facebook page of our church in Tanzania. On Saturday we dyed some Easter eggs and made Easter baskets by cutting up cereal boxes into strips and weaving them together. It was a good activity as a family.

Easter Sunday was quite special because we got up very early to be able to have a meeting with our small group who are currently spread in: Australia, Tanzania, Germany, the US, and Canada. There is about a 15 hour time difference between all of us so we were able to catch the Australian family just before bedtime. It was fantastic to see everyone together on Zoom and we had a nice time of sharing that seemed way too short. We followed this with an Easter Sunday service at our church.

Somehow, all of these Zoom calls and contact with our parents by Skype in the past 2 weeks has made us feel we are not really isolated.

I have thought about ways to be intentional about using this time for some spiritual growth. One way has been to think carefully about reading. I do listen to a part of the Bible every day that is part of a one-year reading. I have also decided to listen to an audio version of the Lord of the Rings because it seems like the right kind of story to hear right now. A story about a long hard journey, with much wisdom about enduring suffering and still seeing what is fair. I hope to be able to keep that perspective for the many days we are likely to be isolated from each other.

Other Photos from the past week: