Phase 2.5

The DR was supposed to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 yesterday. Instead, here we sit on day 93 having failed to meet whatever would have triggered the transition. The government will reevaluate things early next week. In the meantime, authorities will be cracking down on mask and curfew violations. If we're indeed able to move into Phase 3 next Tuesday, it will be short-lived so as not to push back the scheduled start of Phase 4, July 1. Phase 4 includes most of the hospitality/tourism sector, and there are presidential elections scheduled for July 5.  

The drawbacks of remaining in Phase 2 are minimal, although it does mean that churches can still only hold activities one day/week. Phase 3 will up that to three days/week, thus enabling our church planting pastors, national pastors, deaconesses, and seminary students to resume things like midweek Bible/deaconess/catechism classes and women's/children's/youth activities. 

A bright spot since my last post is the aforementioned curfew, which is now at 8 pm, every day! On Sunday, I had to consciously think through how to leave the house knowing it'd be dark when I got home (i.e. leaving a light on), since I hadn't been past my front gate after 7 pm for weeks. 

Personally, I'm just over here slowly and safely expanding my world, which looks like...

...the culmination of a project I'd been working on with fellow missionary Sarah Kanoy as part of a workgroup on Connecting with Contributors Remotely. We shared best practices for communicating the content of a typical day/week, since I don't know a single missionary who hasn't been asked that! When life gets a bit more "typical," I'll do it MissionaryMAC-style. 

...a socially distanced birthday party for a friend from church... 

...to which I brought a brownies (a new recipe with chickpeas as the base, but you'd never know!). 

...celebrating THREE extra hours of being able to freely move about on a Sunday night. When the power goes out, though, you eat dessert first so the ice cream doesn't melt. 

...checking to see how my homemade aromatherapy play-doh is faring. Still as soft as ever and subtly infused with lavender!

Until next time, blessings!