No News Should be Good News!

We are doing well.   We've been in the house for 28 days and have been out once to the orphanage for a Wednesday night devotional before the lockdown started for the whole island.   We were confined to the house two weeks earlier due to our age but the real lockdown started for others on April 3rd and was supposed to continue until April 18.   However, on Monday the government put out an announcement that the date would be extended beyond April 18.   They said details of the restrictions would be given on Friday so we are still waiting to see what the decisions are past the 18th,   Many people are out and going even though the rules are to stay in unless it is necessary to go for food or medication,   One per household is supposed to go even then.   Gigi and her sister-in-law were able to cross into Dumaguete to the big grocery store yesterday.   Gigi's brother's wife has a badge showing she is a relief worker for the government.   They were welcomed in without a problem.  Gigi was going to explain that she needed to buy food for children at their orphanage if they had any difficulty getting in.   We got a new supply of food and water also, so we are set for another week or more until they go out again.

We feel tremendously blessed to have a nice place to live and everything delivered right to us.   We wake up about  6 a.m. with sunlight in our faces.   We can't close the curtains because of the window air conditioner or we might be able to sleep later.    The activity on the street starts early so the noise is beginning as people are setting up their shops to open, sweeping the sidewalks and chatting.   Motor scooters start up and down the street and go all day and until the curfew at 8 p.m.   Some go after that.


We are watering the plants early in the mornings, having breakfast and starting our work on the computer by 7:30 a.m.    It turns out to be a long day.  The skies are a beautiful blue with no rain in sight so the days are very hot.  There is a constant breeze but the air is still very hot until the sun goes down about 6 p.m.  

We have no phone service but we have no one to call anyway.   Our kids are busy at the orphanage but they check messages on Facebook often and if we needed them, they are 15 minutes away.   We mark off the days and enjoy the freedom to rest when we need to or go fix a meal when we get hungry.   My blood pressure is certainly low and I have not needed any medication.    The days are stress-free.

Our visitor's VISA has expired but the government states that there will be no penalty for anyone stuck here due to the restrictions.    Whenever the airport and/or ferry to Cebu opens again, we will make flight arrangements to return to Dallas and on to Houston.    If we learn more from the news on Friday, I will post another report to give more specific information. We expect it to continue until the end of April.   In the meantime, we are just taking one day at a time.

One year ago, Ron was recovering at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN from the robotic heart valve surgery.   This was the week he was still in the hospital and I was making the trip to be with him each day from the Compassion House where we were staying.    It was still very cold there this time last year.   Ron has been doing fine this entire year and we are grateful to get that surgery behind us.   He is supposed to go for a one-year check up but that will be delayed until we can get settled in TX again.

We pray for everyone in the U.S. and have great sympathy to all who lost loved ones to this horrible virus or continue to suffer with the illness.   We hope the number of illnesses and deaths will begin to decrease considerably and businesses can start up again, providing freedom to everyone's lives again.  I have hope and faith that things will be O.K.  Normal may not return for some time but everyone will be thankful for some relief from the restraint and concern.

God be with us all.