Each month, Ruth Vincent would give us a report of Missionary News and Prayer requests. Here is her report (taken from different missionary partners) for you to savour and pray over.

Stand By Me Executive Director, Ahmad Ayoubi writes:-

With little access to water, soap, sanitiser, having no purchasing power to buy enough food and being unable to self isolate in fear of losing their fragile employment and income, our children and their families are at risk.

Sadly, Coronavirus has now reached rural parts of Ethiopia where we support 1,050 children and their families. The Ethiopian government has closed all schools in an attempt to minimise contagion and is encouraging self isolation. It is worth pausing our children’s education to protect their health but our children cannot afford to miss out on their lifeline of regular meals received at school. With their families too poor to provide adequate food at home, malnourishment and even starvation are a very real danger. 

To ensure that no child goes hungry, in faith we have sent money to Ethiopia for our staff to buy supplies and give out food parcels to every family in our care, starting with the most destitute and at risk. Each monthly food parcel costs £40 and will provide a family with essential food and soap to keep a family nourished and healthy while enabling them to remain isolated. We want to provide food parcels for as long as required and we are already planning similar efforts to support our projects in Colombia and Nepal. 

We would be so grateful for any contribution you can make towards a food parcel, bringing security and hope to a family in what can be a fearful time. We at Stand by Me are trusting in God and asking him to lead us to bring His light during this dark period. Your prayers would be much appreciated and we pray that you and your family will know God’s peace and protection.

Coronavirus Covid-19 is having an impact on us all wherever we live in the world. It is a challenge to us in the UK with the new stringent rules set out by the Government in order to protect us and ActionOverseas fully supports them and that we stay at home.

In this edition of Snippets we share with you some Covid 19 experiences from Africa, Asia and Europe.

Malawi and the Corona Virus Pandemic. A national response from the Malawi government to covid19 is now in effect and of course much of the people in our churches are fearing what will happen. With the first confirmed cases both in the capital and here in Blantyre much is being done with social distancing and hygiene practises particularly in the cities.

There are differences with the Malawi way of life as so many live day at a time and have no means to change that. Large groups are found in markets and people are out and about from first light. Many of the villagers we connect with can’t normally afford soap and clothes are usually washed against rocks. Villagers live in close proximity and many families sleep in one room. Even in the city there are densely populated township communities which makes distancing so difficult. For some, at this stage the news of this pandemic is being weighed against the annual impact of malaria and other disasters and poverty which they have lived with all of their lives. Specific measures for the Malawi situation are being considered. Donor nations have been responding and offering help despite the awful situations in their homelands.

Lockdown has not been imposed just yet as with some of our neighbouring countries and of course being a landlocked nation, we depend much on those countries.
 
For Sandra and me, we have taken the necessary steps as guided by government directives. This means focusing as much as possible on the work that can be done from home and our on-site office. We have cancelled our ministry trips for now and minimising travel as best as possible. One of Sandra’s great concerns is how to get the powdered milk for the baby feeding project to the Mum’s in their remote locations.

Our churches don’t have online access for keeping church members connected and the responsibility lies with the village church leader. These are early days and depending on how corona affects the remote areas will determine what changes will need to be worked out.

The Lord gave us a theme in our leaders meetings last year that we are in ‘a season of change’. We could never have imagined that globally we would face such a season! We continue to look for the best possible ways to encourage and support every Apostolic church across the warm heart of Africa. This week has been allocated for prayer and fasting across all the evangelical churches in Malawi.

Malawi and the Corona Virus Pandemic. A national response from the Malawi government to covid19 is now in effect and of course much of the people in our churches are fearing what will happen. With the first confirmed cases both in the capital and here in Blantyre much is being done with social distancing and hygiene practises particularly in the cities.

There are differences with the Malawi way of life as so many live day at a time and have no means to change that. Large groups are found in markets and people are out and about from first light. Many of the villagers we connect with can’t normally afford soap and clothes are usually washed against rocks. Villagers live in close proximity and many families sleep in one room. Even in the city there are densely populated township communities which makes distancing so difficult. For some, at this stage the news of this pandemic is being weighed against the annual impact of malaria and other disasters and poverty which they have lived with all of their lives. Specific measures for the Malawi situation are being considered. Donor nations have been responding and offering help despite the awful situations in their homelands.

Lockdown has not been imposed just yet as with some of our neighbouring countries and of course being a landlocked nation, we depend much on those countries.
 
For Sandra and me, we have taken the necessary steps as guided by government directives. This means focusing as much as possible on the work that can be done from home and our on-site office. We have cancelled our ministry trips for now and minimising travel as best as possible. One of Sandra’s great concerns is how to get the powdered milk for the baby feeding project to the Mum’s in their remote locations.

Our churches don’t have online access for keeping church members connected and the responsibility lies with the village church leader. These are early days and depending on how corona affects the remote areas will determine what changes will need to be worked out.

The Lord gave us a theme in our leaders meetings last year that we are in ‘a season of change’. We could never have imagined that globally we would face such a season! We continue to look for the best possible ways to encourage and support every Apostolic church across the warm heart of Africa. This week has been allocated for prayer and fasting across all the evangelical churches in Malawi.

Pastor Tariq and his wife Safina talk about the effects of Covid 19 on them as a family in Pakistan.

Missioner to Eastern Europe, Ps. Nigel Bainbridge talks about the importance of investing spiritually and financially in this time of Covid-19