April 27, 2009

Dear All,

Just a short note to give you a front line update on swine flu here in Mexico. The state of San Luis Potosi, where I live, has the second most cases of and deaths due to swine flu, though most are near the state capital, which is six hours away.

There has been one death in Tamazunchale, an hour from me. A few folks in Chapulhuacanito, where Sister Raquel serves, have come down with a terrible flu, but they do not know if it is swine flu.

Schools are closed until Wednesday May 6 in most of the country, and the General Assembly of the Mexican Church has recommended the cessation of public worship and activities in the churches in the Mexico City area and in the state of San Luis Potosi. This morning I went to Huitzitilingo for a meeting and had planned to stay for the week to do a number of training events. However, the leadership of the presbytery decided it was best that I go back to my home in Frijolillo until the sixth to avoid unnecessary possibilities of infection.

Not all of our churches will closed down, but next week’s “Week of the Christian Home” has been postponed in both Huitzitilingo and Chapulhuacanito. You don't see many folks with masks one, but Raquel greeted me with one when I picked her up in Chapulhuacanito for the meeting since folks in her church are falling ill.

I welcome the coming week as a sabbatical—time to complete projects, rest, and spend some extra time with the Lord, time I have been in desperate need of. I will not have email access and my cell phones won't work. I will send another email when I am able to get to the Internet.

Please pray for us. In a culture used to shaking hands with folks, the concept of not doing so is very foreign and hard to do. This is part of the reason I agree with the presbytery’s decision to not have me go about my work. It is easier to avoid the situation!

Pray too that we will can respond to this situation in a balanced way. The media coverage seems somewhat exaggerated, and listening to too much news can make one downright paranoid. But at the same time, sometimes it takes a slight case of paranoia to get folks to respond. Above all, pray as we learn to trust God in these challenging times. He is the author and keeper of our lives and in Him we will trust.

Thank you for your prayers. We will be in touch as we can.

Susie

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 275