Pandemic

Even our remote little city in the Amazon is not immune to the disruption caused by the virus.

One of the things we really love about the good people here is that they know how to laugh at themselves and make the most of difficult situations. 

We enjoyed this meme going around:

(Translation: What the Amozonians look like after using masks for a week.)

And this video made by some fellows in our little city makes us giggle every time we see it. So sweet of them to take time to bring smiles to others, without worrying about some of the social sensitivities we might. (Translation--the last "trainee" here says "You can only use your elbow?")

We got another good laugh when some friends stopped by with a ruler to assure us they were keeping the social distancing recommendation. Many of our friends continued to check on us before the city started shutting down, closing schools and services and requesting citizens to stay indoors.

Our church closed all meetings and activities, so we had a very sweet Sunday sacrament gathering with just our family and the sister missionaries in our home.

We were especially sad that English class got cut short, our students stopped by to pick up certificates and say goodbye.

Not having church activities really opened up more time for us, which the girls were happy to use for sister time.
Redes are a happy place to quarantine!

 

The sister missionaries had been helping a family prepare for baptism. They needed to be married first, but with the church closed, they didn't have a place for the ceremony, so they created decorations and held the ceremony at our house.

Despite all the changes in the world, goodness continues!