The first case of COVID-19 in Germany was confirmed on January 28. On March 14, our city’s Senate prohibited meetings of more than 50 people. 

For a few weeks, we watched as borders closed one by one. The U.S. embassy sent out notices asking its citizens to return. We watched the news as the virus started in the capital and spread to the other parts of the country first slowly, but then more quickly.

On March 23, we went into lockdown with each part of the U.K. enforcing their own rules. In Wales, we were only allowed to leave the house for essential food and medicine, to exercise once a day, or if we must go to work. 

Chiang Mai, as a whole, has done well in managing COVID-19 with 42 confirmed cases reported, and we see restrictions slightly lifting this month. The pandemic occurred during the annual Thai new year called Songkhran, and everyone honored the government’s requests to stay at home and not go out to celebrate.

“Confinement” to our houses in Spain only permits people to leave their living quarters to go straight to work and back, to the ATM machines, to buy food or medicine, or to walk their dogs close to home. As of today, the police have fined around 400 people across Spain for civil disobedience to their orders as they were unable to prove their reason for running around. 

SALUNGA, Pa. —  Dave Houser began his role as the discipleship coach for Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) on August 3, 2020. Houser’s first major project is launching a pilot program called Advance, which is a short-term, U.S.-based program for discipleship and mission training.

LANCASTER, Pa. — COVID-19 has forced many people to embrace new forms of resilience, often spurring on great creativity. Two Lancaster leaders serving the refugee and immigrant communities have been doing just that: Patience Buckwalter, executive director of the Grape Leaf Empowerment Center, and Krista Martin, Eastern Mennonite Missions’ (EMM) Kingdom Team director. 

NAIROBI, Kenya — As the world faced COVID-19, gathering food for Ramadan celebrations was difficult in places like Nairobi. Many workplaces shut down due to COVID-19, and as a result, many Kenyans lost their income, facing significant food insecurity.

How can we engage and equip the thousands of church leaders in Africa who have little or no biblical training? How does the church multiply and grow under these circumstances?

In January 2016, I returned to Prague after a year in the U.S. to find Petra, a young woman new to our church, leading a Bible study and mentoring three to four young women.