July brought “baby steps” towards a “new normal” with the reopening of our church on Sunday mornings with all the safety measures in place. Karen, clad in mask and face shield, bravely invited just two of her ladies to meet with her once weekly for one on one tutoring in the church hall, safety measures also in place. George began to meet weekly in person instead of on zoom in the church garden with a small “steering committee” in regards to the church’s future (progress continues–please keep praying!). He and the local leaders from the Baptist churches in our part of Birmingham began to meet once again in the backyard of our home. We were able to visit an outdoor bird park for our wedding anniversary. We even ate out at our favourite Pakistani restaurant on the half price “Eat Out Help Out” deal the UK government sponsored. And we hosted a going away drop in style party in our church garden for our colleagues as well as said our final sad goodbyes with delayed Canada Day celebration BBQ in our own backyard later that week.
When schools resumed on September 4th, Karen began to consider inviting more ladies to come back to class and adding another class time. Her ladies’ exercise group started to get excited about the prospect of getting fit together again. But then the “R rate” soared! Almost 7,000 tested positive today (Sept 25)! Hospital admissions are rising. 34 more deaths today. Already several schools have been closed down as students or staff have been diagnosed with Covid.
So instead of being able to take more baby steps, we have had to pull back and put on pause almost everything as the government placed Birmingham, among other communities throughout the UK, under new tighter restrictions. The prime minister warns that the new rules might last for as long as six months! At the current time, this means there is to be NO social interaction between members of different households and masks are now the law in most public places. Our church is still allowed to stay open since it has all the safety measures in place so is considered safe. We are thankful for this – especially for the sake of those who do not have internet in their homes, but also because it is an emotional boost for those of us who do attend to just be there in each other’s presence! One unsaved husband we are praying for, who would not watch the weekly church YouTube at home with his wife, is very happy to come back to the church with her and watch it with everyone there! Every Sunday as he leaves he says, “See you next week – if we are still here!” May God use this in his heart so he is ready if this should happen to him!
We admit we are feeling frustrated, upset, sad, anxious, and a myriad of other emotions, as you, in all likelihood do too! It is tempting to despair, feeling like “we can’t go through this again”! We thought it would be done by now! And what if “our luck runs out” this time and we (or our loved ones) catch the virus? Sleep is often disturbed. We anxiously do our necessary shopping and then hunker back down in the relative safety of our homes. We try not to think about it, but the fear is always lurking just under the surface of our emotions.
This is why we need to fill our minds with God’s words and remind ourselves that God can replace our fears with His peace as we place our trust daily, moment by moment, in Him (2 Timothy 1:7; Proverbs 29:25). George is currently going through the Psalms in his weekly messages for our church body. These can be found on YouTube under Stechford Baptist Church. He is still keeping quite busy with various zoom meetings and church recordings. Karen has cancelled all her outside activities for now in line with the government restrictions but feeling rather sad about it. Her ladies are not computer savvy (and neither is she!) so zoom tutoring is not really an option. Please pray for good communication via other social media and for God’s continuing work in their hearts.
Please pray for us as well, and let us know how we can pray for you. We are in this together, and together we will trust in God through to the end of these troubling times.
God bless you,
George and Karen King
