Hi everyone,

We hope you and your family are doing well. In these COVID-19 times there’s as much uncertainty now as there was in the beginning of this year.

Back in February when we first heard about COVID-19 in Asia we knew there would be a major impact to the way our team would approach this year’s trip or if we could even go. Taiwan has been recognized globally for their quick government response, contact tracing, and low incidence of community spread. We held out hope that if this COVID-19 situation blew over, we would still be able to go this summer.

Unfortunately, late last month both school administrations officially canceled the summer sports programs. Schools in Taichung and all across Taiwan were shut down an additional 2 weeks in January and have strong government policies to keep community infections low. All students are required to wear face masks right now and sports camps are not appropriate right now after school ends.

Part of us mourned the news that we would not be able to go to Taiwan this summer. We were excited to continue building relationships with the students and churches in Taichung. We were also excited this year for our new teammates joining us, including L’s sister who was on the team.

The other part of us was relieved that after waiting all these months we have final word that we will not be going to Taiwan this summer. It would have been very difficult to prepare physically, spiritually, and build our team dynamics with the social distancing restrictions.

In terms of how we are doing in the States, we are adjusting to shelter-in-place policies. Both of us are blessed to have been able to work from home since the national emergency and shelter-in-place announcements.

Both of us are feeling the effects of longer hours and busier workloads. K is adjusting from doing all of her work face-to-face in the clinic to now doing telehealth 6-8 hours in front of the screen every day. The increase in screen time has caused tired eyes and headaches. L is finding his workload increasing and much more stressful for longer stretches of time.

Despite those difficulties, the prolonged time at home has allowed us to spend more time in prayer as we inquire of the Lord on what we should do next.

Thanks all for your continued support. Please let us know if any of you are in need and how we can help! We would love to hear from you.