We can all agree that 2020 was a crazy year, and for us personally, 2021 wasn’t looking any better with my dad’s death, an unexpected ice storm that affected my travel, getting back to life in Uganda amidst the pandemic, A LOT of house repairs needed, and ministry struggles. But things seemed to be settling down…

Just in time for another lockdown. While the U.S. and Europe has a large population of people who are vaccinated, there are many countries around the world that don’t have vaccines. In Uganda, we were watching as Kenya and other surrounding countries were struggling with the new Covid variant from India, but Uganda seemed to be okay. Uganda has been okay throughout the Covid situation with no real explanation.

But of course, this stronger variant inevitably arrived in an unvaccinated country and now is hitting Uganda pretty hard. With the hopes to reduce the impact on already full hospitals and very limited oxygen supplies, the President mandated another lockdown. No movement, except for cargo to transport food and supplies.

So, we are back to walking everywhere. The simple luxury of driving our own vehicle has been restricted. And this time it has hit me a bit harder. The freedom of being able to go pick up groceries, visit a friend, or go to the swimming pool now has become more complicated. Ministry has been put on hold because no one can move to see each other. And phone calls are just not the same. I thought surely, a year later, we would be in a better situation with Covid. And while other countries seem to be getting back to normal, there are many countries who are still dealing with this pandemic. Thus, I am struggling a bit more with this lockdown. I know many others are struggling as well, but not just because they can’t drive a car, but because the schools have been shut down for more than a year, people can’t take care of their families because they are unable to work, the transport of food is limited, sick people can’t easily get to town for the hospital so they are dying. It’s hard!

So please continue to pray for others. Please continue to watch the world to see how others are doing in this situation and pray for their leaders. Pray for vaccines to make it around the world. Pray that there aren’t any more unnecessary deaths because of the lack of medical supplies. Pray for a way out of this pandemic…for everyone.