“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
We are in the midst of what feels like a dream. A pandemic has covered the world. People are out of work, business are shut down, sports events are not taking place, schools are closed, people are wearing masks and are taking every precaution possible. It feel exactly like the board game 'Pandemic' for those who know what that is.
Here in Guatemala, the president has instituted a curfew from 4:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. This means that everyone needs to be in their homes during this time. If you are out of your home without a legitimate reason (medical, food delivery service, or law enforcement) then you are arrested and put in prison for 15-30 days. The curfew started Sunday afternoon and is currently in effect for eight days. During the day only essential business's are open. The airport is shut down. Schools are closed. No public transportation. No religious gatherings or Easter or Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations. The government has put into effect all these measures to do their best to not have the virus spread here. As of the time I am writing this update, Guatemala has 21 confirmed cases.
The first two pictures below are images down our street of what it looks like after curfew has started. Sunday afternoon, most of the street dogs were quiet, you couldn't hear any music ,and there was a eery silence with a slight breeze. The next two photos are from Antigua and Guatemala city during the curfew.
This shut down country wide is needed to stop the spread of the virus, but many, many people are struggling. Many Guatemalans live day to day with income and expenses and without jobs right now, there are so many who are living in fear, chaos, and not knowing where they are going to get their next meal. This also hurts the economy, especially the Antigua area. Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Antigua is the largest Easter celebration in the world. People come from all over to participate in the festivities. Businesses, restaurants, hotels, and other companies make a large chunk of their income during the month leading up to Easter and now don't have that opportunity. Please pray for Guatemala and the people.
Obviously our program also has been shut down during this time and so we have been using this time to get a bunch of cleaning, organizing, and other odds and ends done. Here we are on our roof cleaning the stools for the program. Sammy loves to help :)
Earlier this month we were able to celebrate my (Andi's) birthday with some peanut butter pie and found a place to go mini-golfing. Sammy also enjoyed the Nutella that I received as a gift :)
We've also started to rework some of the schedule for the rest of the year for the program. Here are some photos from the beginning of March.
The kids are learning the Books of the Bible in this game.
We have been praying for you and are continually thankful for your support and prayers.
Please let us know the ways we can be praying for you.
There is a hashtag going around here #QuedateEnCasa which means stay at home. Please do your part to help limit the spread of this virus. Continue to reach out to friends and family by calling or video chat to check in on them. Many people are struggling and being stuck at home makes things worse. Also continue to remind people of the Lord's faithfulness. Send people encouraging notes and pray for them. Use this as an opportunity to share with people about God's love for them.
We hope you are encouraged today and take time to look around at the ways God has blessed you.
Love from Guatemala,
Andi, Shauna, and Sammy
If you have any questions or want to know more about our ministry and what we are doing in Guatemala send us an email at abrubaker@pushtherock.org or
If you feel God is calling you to support us financially you can go to pushtherock.org/donate and find Andi Brubaker on the drop down menu. Dios le bendiga.
