As I write this, we are in quarantine. Yes, that is correct- things changed quickly in less than a 12 hour span.
After nearly 30 hours of travelling, we arrived at Craiova late at night on August 13 (which happened to be my birthday). We were tired and exhausted from the travelling, but I was in good spirits because of making it to Romania. This was a significant miracle in and of itself because the US Covid-19 caseload was continuing to rise due to the Delta Variant spike. Because of this, Romania changed the US from a “green” country to a “yellow” country while we were receiving training at Adventures in Missions at Launch. This placed our country on a higher alert status for Covid as we were planning to travel. Yet mid flight as we were transiting between the US and Romania, our country was changed to “red”. This meant that if we flew out a day later, we would have faced additional regulations that would likely have forced us to quarantine on arrival. We are thankful that we were able to arrive on time and make the drive to Craiova before travel from America to Romania was severely restricted.
However, after settling into our lodging, things did not seem quite right. A few people from the squad began to report having a fever, and blog posts the next day (see https://johncarothers.theworldrace.org/post/quarantined-in-craiova and https://isaakandmadisongoodmanson.theworldrace.org/post/early-morning-fever-update-and-prayer-requests-from-romania) confirmed that more symptoms manifested themselves overnight. The next day, we were greeted by a sudden announcement that everyone was to move into different rooms by teams and that a 14 day quarantine was starting. Multiple people tested positive for Covid-19. Wow. This was a stunning turn of events that I was not expecting.
And just like that, our ministry strategy turned from hitting the ground running in Romania with a brief orientation to a much slower paced 2 week isolation period of orientation, preparation, and rest. We are going through multiple Zoom meetings over the course of the Quarantine to get ready for the ministry and learn about additional missions opportunities. Meanwhile, we have also pressed in as a small group interceding for the town and praying for the people of Romania. We have also gotten to know each other intimately and play some wild games of UNO together (and UNO is a very popular game on the World Race). It’s also been a good time to get much needed rest. Resting is super important, and it’s giving my body a chance to adjust to the new time zone and fight off the virus. I also recently sprained my ankle a few weeks back, and the time is giving it a chance to heal before big ministry days with lots of walking. I can already tell that it’s a ton better compared to when I left home near the beginning of the month.
Thank you again for praying over us (M Squad), and please continue to reach out / keep in touch. Those who are sick are beginning to recover at the moment, which is a big praise. Praise the Lord! And we look forward with healthy anticipation to serving in the city once Quarantine is up!
The view of the city that we are staying at- Craiova.
Derek and Emily Beaver shooting an awesome video!
Team Navigators at a table together for ministry orientation.
Driving through Romania’s capitol- Bucharest.
The Romanian countryside en route to Craiova!
I am reminded of Paul and the struggles he faced to spread the Word. God is giving you this time to rest and power up spiritually for the mission to come. Praying for your health and the health of your team. I am chuckling because I just thought about girding oneself in the armor of God and that probably includes a mask right now. Blessings from BE.
So sorry you are sick, Brett. Doesn’t sound like that is keeping you down. You have such a great attitude and I am excited to see what God is going to do after quarantine!
Praying for you all as you heal. Praying that you get rest, and continue growing as a group.
Thank you- and a lot of us learned about the struggles that Paul endured while in Quarantine. Definitely similar circumstances as we learn to do ministry while not able to go out temporarily.
Thank you- and I am glad to be better now! A few days were a challenge physically- but thankful to get the virus out of my system and recover during this time!
Thank you! And many of us were pressed and challenged while in Quarantine (especially in terms of personal walks). Thankful for the rest and for what God is teaching us!