Category: Mission Journal

For a week or ten days the government has been floating stories in the government press about enacting a state of emergency. I assumed they were preparing the populace for the notion. Now a couple hours ago, the prime minister announced (the prakah or regulation above) there was about a 0.1% chance of implementing the state of emergency. No reason given except a comment that a state of emergency is for only “when the situation is beyond our control.” I guess that means he feels things are under control. I’ve heard a couple officials in the US say that things were under control, too….

“WAITING.” I guess that’s what we are all doing these days, around the world. And it’s only just begun! With strengthened community quarantine rules prohibiting many from physically leaving their home, what’s in store for us? Have you thought about what it will be like two or three weeks or a month from now? Because of the tensions, we could get on each other’s nerves. How long will this last? No one likes to wait. In the meantime, we get worried, anxious, fearful, impatient, and angry.

Let’s step back and get the right perspective. First of all, let’s be thankful. We have electricity, water, shelter, food—the basic necessities. We have each other online with phone calls, e-mail, texts, Zoom, Viber, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and so much more. Get into a daily routine. Keep God as part of your day. Spend time in His Word and talk about Him to your family. Keep exercising, studying, working, and most of all smiling. This too will pass.

A friend, with more time at home because of COVID-19, wrote:

“Always before I said I didn’t do a thorough cleaning of the house because I didn’t have time. Now I know that wasn’t true.”

There are currently about 15,000 foreigners basically trapped in Cambodia. They were here for vacations and business and other reasons, and while they were here their flights out were canceled as countries closed their borders and stopped flights because of the COVID-19 disease. Now they’re stuck here, away from home. This article today is about a petition to the UK government to help them get out of the Kingdom of Wonder.

The only way to stop the spread of COVID-19 infection is to stop contact among people. It may seem staying at home has no effect but it is the only way to prevent a full epidemic infection wherever you are.

Phnom Penh is slowly shutting down because of the COVID-19 disease, even without a lot of pressure from the government. Schools and museums and churches and beer gardens are officially closed but the hundreds of garment factories and the small shops can still operate. It’s the small mom-and-pop shops, though, that show things slowing down. More and more of them are shuttered every day, many as worried parents take their children to the supposed safety of remote villages in the provinces.

The closings mean loss of jobs and income, and that is starting to affect many people. Levels of fear and anxiety are rising. Fr. Kevin, our resident psychologist, has offered some links to sites that can help people deal with stress. Here is one resource we offered in the newsletter sent out today.

Our DDP office is closed and our education and job training students have been sent home but we have three young men who have multiple disabilities and are with us always because they have no homes to go to. Part of managing COVID-19 is making sure they are taken care of. Today I was at DDP when two houseparents were giving a drink to one of the youth.