Joel and Andi McMartin
  • Home
  • About
  • Give
  • Photos
  • Subscribe
  • Contact


What the Virus Means for us

March 26, 2020 by Joel and Andi

  • Just want everyone to know we are doing well

First of all we are doing well as whole. Senegal’s cases of the virus for the moment are lower and there hasn’t been any deaths yet. However that hasn’t stoped the fear from seeping in. We live in a country where sickness and death are a normal part of life, but the fears for outside countries are contageous and have been caught here as well.

  • Pray for our poor countries as this panic will hit them hard

The effects of this crisis haven’t hit Senegal until recently, but they are starting to hit. Here are some implications we have seen…

  • Schools have been closed and it is unsure at what point they will be reopened. It probably doesn’t quite have the same effect here as it does in other places as kids are still out playing the in streets in some areas.
  • Churches are canceled, but each family is encouraged to worship and read God’s word together at home at the same time we would normally be at church.
  • All travel is stopped in and out of Senegal. So this means that trips are no longer possible to some of our missionaries in other countries in West Africa for the moment. It also means that most of our missionaries can’t get out for the time being until restrictions are lifted.
  • Just yesturday a ban on travel to other regions was added, meaning that we can no longer visit people in other towns even in the same country. We are looking for ways to continue our visits with people remotely.
  • The economic struggles hit quicker here. People can’t stock up here and many live day by day so when they don’t have a job they don’t have food to eat. And by this I mean literally no food to eat. This is going to be a big concern. I am certain that lots of food items will disappear completely and not come back for months, but am not sure what those items will be.
  • It is hard to study language when you are limited in who you can connect with, so it wil be a struggle for our folks to keep momentum going during this time. We are constantly discussing strategies for engaging language learning and other ministries.
  • There has been an increase of fear towards white people. We haven’t expereinced this personally but other have had people calling out “corona” to them when walking down the street.
  • We were planning to come back to the US in July. We are still hopeful that we should be able to travel at that point but are prepared to stay longer if we have to.

We are taking things one day at a time and trusting the Lord with each day. We are aware that things could get a lot worse for us here, but thankful it isn’t yet. The good new is that we have more time to complete some updates. So you will be hearing more from me soon.

  • We will keep you up to date as things progress here
  • In the mean time we are together as a family making the most of this time together.
  • And trying to continue what we can of our minsitry.

Filed Under: Updates and News

More Posts:

« When Life Gets Crazy
New Realities »

Comments

  1. Cathy Harveu says

    April 1, 2020 at 2:33 am

    Thank you for the update. It blows my mind how this virus has traveled around so quickly. It seems like almost all regions have been touched.

    We are praying for all as the fear of this virus will result in people turning to the Lord. He is our peace especially in the storm.

    May God use you in mighty ways in our ministry.

  2. Elisabeth Schafer says

    March 26, 2020 at 5:41 pm

    Thanks for the update. Praying for your health and safety.

Trackbacks

  1. Missionaries and COVID-19 – Missionary Blog Watch says:
    April 7, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    […] What the Virus Means for us (Senegal) – A country with fewer cases, but COVID-19 is already changing missionary life. […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Archive

  • September 2022 (3)
  • June 2022 (1)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • November 2021 (1)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • March 2021 (1)
  • February 2021 (1)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • November 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (4)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • January 2020 (3)
  • October 2019 (3)
  • September 2019 (3)
  • August 2019 (3)
  • May 2019 (3)
  • April 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (2)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (2)
  • November 2018 (4)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • September 2018 (4)
  • August 2018 (5)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (3)
  • February 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (2)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (5)
  • April 2017 (4)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • January 2017 (4)
  • December 2016 (6)
  • October 2016 (5)
  • September 2016 (8)
  • August 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (4)
  • May 2016 (1)
  • April 2016 (5)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (2)
  • October 2015 (3)
  • September 2015 (5)
  • August 2015 (4)
  • July 2015 (3)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • May 2015 (2)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (3)
  • February 2015 (4)
  • January 2015 (5)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (5)
  • May 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (4)
  • March 2014 (4)
  • February 2014 (6)
  • January 2014 (5)
  • December 2013 (5)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (6)
  • September 2013 (5)
  • August 2013 (6)
  • July 2013 (5)
  • June 2013 (7)
  • May 2013 (5)
  • April 2013 (5)
  • March 2013 (5)
  • February 2013 (4)
  • January 2013 (6)
  • December 2012 (5)
  • November 2012 (7)
  • October 2012 (7)
  • September 2012 (5)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (7)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (6)
  • March 2012 (6)
  • February 2012 (7)
  • January 2012 (6)
  • December 2011 (6)
  • November 2011 (7)
  • October 2011 (12)
  • September 2011 (7)
  • August 2011 (3)
  • July 2011 (1)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (1)
  • April 2011 (2)
  • March 2011 (1)
  • February 2011 (2)

Browse posts by category

  • About
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Give
  • Photos
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

Disclaimer: This personal ministry website is provided by Ethnos360 as a courtesy to its members. Ethnos360 makes no warranty regarding the accuracy of the information on these pages. Opinions expressed are provided by members in good faith, but are entirely those of the member and do not necessarily represent policy, doctrinal position, or opinions of Ethnos360. If you encounter information that you consider questionable, please e-mail the Ethnos360 web team.

Joel and Andi McMartin

© Copyright 2025 Ethnos360. All rights reserved.

Log In

  • 