There is not much to post regarding our work in Nepal and Laos. The COVID-19 shutdown continues in both countries. Two of our girls in Nepal have been tested positive for the virus but they are young and not very sick. Some men in the Narayangarh church of Christ have the virus but we do not have any update on their conditions. Our workers are doing well in both locations.
In all locations, they continue their gardening programs, harvesting fresh vegetables to eat, planting corn and rice for future crops and daily living chores. The girls keep busy studying their school books, trying to keep up with their knowledge to be able to continue successfully when schools reopen. Some schools will take the combined totals of their exams instead of giving a final exam to promote girls to the next grade level. But, some will give a final exam when the school reopens and this is a concern for the girls who know they will face a test as soon as they return to school.
We see more and more businesses opening in the U.S. without requiring masks. Although less than half of the people in Georgia have been vaccinated, many of those remaining are young people and the virus does not seen to be spreading. I read that there are up to 16,000 new cases each day in the entire country, which sounds high, but is a very low number from what was reported only a few months ago.
We are beginning our weekend travels to churches that want to have a current report about our work. Many churches know enough from our reports to continue their support and say it is not necessary for us to travel to visit them. We have given up the Tiffin RV travel as it has become too difficult for Ron to maintain and drive since his back has been hurting a lot more this year. I got updated glasses so my vision at a distance is good and I can help with driving the car on trips that are more than just a few hours.
We piddle with growing some vegetables and are getting green beans, peppers and yellow squash. Ron has plants growing well to provide us with okra, spinach, zuchinni squash, and melons. Tomato plants have many green tomatoes so we will have ripe tomatoes soon.
Last week, our daughter, Leigh Ann, and Ellen Mao, a friend from San Jose, CA, visited for a few days. I asked Ellen if she had eaten fried green tomatoes and she said she loved them. I picked two of our green tomatoes and fried them for her and she really enjoyed them. Dip them in beaten egg and then in cornmeal and fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until crispy and enjoy!
We had a few hot days in the 90's but another cool front came through yesterday bringing early morning temperatures down to as low as 59 degrees. A tropical storm near Mexico expected to come up in the Gulf may bring us thunderstorms and heavy rain by Sunday or Monday. It is the season for hurricanes so we will follow their paths closely as Leigh Ann and Tatum are living in the Tampa/Clearwater, FL area now. There will be more tropical storms and typhoons in the Philippine islands so we will also track those storms, praying that everyone will be safe at Casa Esperanza of Angels' orphanage in Tanjay.
Although their island is not shutdown, Ronald and Gigi still cannot travel due to COVID-19 conditions in the rest of the Philippines. They have a few cases on their island and they limit the people who can come on campus to try to keep everyone safe.
We continue to send funds for workers to buy food for Christian families in Nepal and Laos. Many are beginning to suffer from lack of work and funds to feed themselves with the long shutdown of the countries. We are grateful for all the people who have donated to this relief work. Generous donations have fed a lot of poor people and we know they are very grateful.
Thank you for following my blog, keeping up with our work and our lives. We are grateful for friends, family and supporters wherever you live. May you stay safe, healthy and blessed by God.
