Light through Loss during Coronavirus

"Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life" (ancient hymn)

The triumphant victory, eternal hope and glory of Easter Sunday last month underscored for me (Eric) how much I miss corporate worship. I imagine that first Easter Sunday morning was a bit like mine: on the one hand we are like the women who first encountered hope beyond hope; on the other hand we are his disciples scattered like sheep in want of their Shepherd.  I long to worship together with Christ's body and feast together on Him.

We've experienced a few losses over the past month, but we are also seeing some light at the end of the tunnel! A week after Easter Sunday, we received the following sequence of news of acute "loss" within days of each other. This felt to me like we were under attack from the enemy!

1. My closest Digital Bible Library colleague for the past two years or so was let go from our team. That has certainly impacted our capacity as a team (now of only two programmers) to do all we were planning to do this year and next. Please pray for him and our team to make adjustments.
2. Soon afterwards, I received news that project funding had been significantly reduced due to the impact of COVID19, which will result in a $500/mo loss for us. Thankfully, that loss represents supplemental income that we were already hoping would be replaced through increased financial partners. Please pray that the Lord would use this loss to help us find more financial partners.
3. Also that week, we heard that my local Dallas manager had to take a leave of absence to recover from mild to moderate burn out. Please pray for renewal for him and for his language software teams to make needed adjustments.

1. We've been able to formalize a small prayer group who can stay engaged in praying for us. This has enabled us to more rapidly share requests for specific things like the ones we've encountered above. Praise God!
2. I've been able to connect more personally with several of our existing or potential financial partners. We've already received some extra gifts from existing partners, and we've received some new partners who have indicated they'd like to give at least on an occasional basis! Praise God!
3. The giving in preference for our Wycliffe ministry in April was strong and above average! Praise God!
4. Software development efforts press onward. We're involved in good discussions that will help us decide how to move onward and upward. Praise God!