If you read the last blog post, you would know that our whole family was planning to go to Zambia. The tickets were bought, the passports were received, and God really laid everything out in a perfectly timed fashion. Then along came the Coronavirus and everything got canceled.

You may recognize that song from “The Lego Movie.” It’s just been reworked to be more timely and relevant.

Anyway, yes. Our trip to Zambia has been canceled. Zambia is really locking down the border and it’s just not feasible to travel, especially internationally, at this time. Ethiopian airlines is offering vouchers for airline tickets and so I took them up on that offer hoping that we’ll get to use the tickets later. The problem is that the mission in Zambia wanted us to come specifically during their slow season so that the planes wouldn’t be needed as much while they’re down for maintenance. So at this point they are no plans to go back anytime soon since we don’t know what timeline this apocalyptic toilet paper buying spree will end and we obviously can’t go to Africa if they don’t have any toilet paper. We may have to wait until April of next year.

To top things off, Ohio ordered all non-essential businesses to stay closed for two weeks. This means no work in the hangar so now I’m stuck in the same house with a woman who likes writing long lists of things for me to do.

“Honey,” I tell her, “I’m concerned about your health. You’re going to get carpal tunnel from all that writing. This list has to be five miles long.”

“Stop being dramatic.”

The order for non-essential businesses to close went into effect last night. Everyone rushed to their local stores and bought everything they could get their hands on. Hey! I got an idea! In order to avoid social contact, let’s all rush to the same location and then foam at the mouth and spit on each other while trying to buy toilet paper and bread. Seems counterintuitive. Besides, Wal-Mart is considered an essential business. It’s going to stay open. You could have just waited until this morning to go shopping. There was literally no reason to go shopping last night at Wal-Mart.

So that’s the craziness around here.

I don’t know why God laid out our trip to Zambia perfectly just to have it canceled. We’ll have to work through that disappointment. Maybe there’s something better planned. Or maybe bad stuff just happens sometimes. We’re praying that good comes from all of this, both in our family and yours.

From a little quarantined hamlet in Ohio,

Josh

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