親愛的代禱夥伴：
新冠肺炎病毒的疫情從一月底在武漢封城後，就開始帶給南非衝擊。首先是疫症防護的口罩被買空，被寄回中國。那時，大家都為武漢的疫情禱告。中國春節過後，從二月開始，華人開始從中國返回，疫情擴散成為隱憂；所以，領事館的疫情防控通知要求在南非的華人減少與華人聚集和來往。接著在二月七日南非衛生部發佈通知，要求從中國或其他已出現新冠肺炎病毒疫情的國家返回南非的人員，居家隔離十四天。群聚感染的風險，直接影響到教會的聚會安排。我們立即通告教會會眾若是剛從中國返回，必需在隔離後才能參加聚會。為減低感染風險，教會小組的查經聚會暫停，主日崇拜後的愛宴也暫停。另外，教會為參加聚會的會眾準備口罩和消毒液，入會場時要消毒，戴口罩並隔一公尺就座。有的弟兄姐妹認為這樣做法太過緊張，信心不足；也有的弟兄姐妹因為擔心感染就不來聚會。所以，我們就必需用愛心和耐心去幫助不同看法的人，讓他們看見重點是在防疫，並能接納彼此的不同，能夠在主裡合一。感謝神，看見弟兄姐妹們都能接受勸導，沒有批評論斷或爭論，都照著防疫的規定去做。感謝神，二月份南非沒有疫情發生。
三月五日南非通報有第一起新冠肺炎病毒的疫症，由一位遊意大利的男子帶入。感謝神，疫病不是從中國傳入，就減少了因為疫症引來仇華的的心態，隔離境外防疫的行動轉為抗疫的行動。教會因為抗疫減少群聚感染的可能性，所以改在網路上聚會，主日崇拜時我們就在教會微信群上主持，讓弟兄姐妹收聽，按著程序進行敬拜。因為受網路速度的限制，我們只能用音頻播送。感謝神，我們已經在網路上敬拜了三次，果效還不錯，弟兄姐妹都按時來到群組中敬拜。聚會的形式不同，但大家都能同心敬拜，頌讚上帝的恩典。願疫情可以早日被控制，聚會可以恢復。
南非目前是非洲大陸確診新冠肺炎病毒疫例最多的國家，三月廿六日確診疫例已達927宗。南非從那天開始鎖國。為了阻止病毒的迅速蔓延，南非從3月26日至4月16日實施21天的全民「待在家中」全國封鎖。目前（3月30日）已升到1327宗確診疫例。南非疫情的隱憂是，疫症在環境衛生極差的貧民社區中爆發，加上南非有數十萬染上愛滋病和肺結核病的病人，他們容易被感染而且死亡率高，南非可能死亡的人數會快速上升，南非目前只有四千台呼吸器，不足以應付大面積感染的疫情。南非政府已經宣佈要在全國各個社區中派出測疫小組巡防家庭來控制疫情，但疫情走向是個未知數。目前德國、英國、美國都在釐定在這幾個星期撤僑。請為南非禱告，求主幫助南非，使疫情得以控制。
請你為這些事情代禱：
- 請為南非抗新冠肺炎病毒疫症的工作代禱，求主幫助南非人民配合政府，同心抗疫。
- 感謝神保守我們在全球疫情擴散的非常時期身體都健康。
- 請為我們各教會的事工代禱，因為防疫，現在各教會主日崇拜只能在網路上運作。求主賜我們智慧如何支持並鼓勵弟兄姐妹繼續成長。
- 求主幫助各教會弟兄姐妹做好防疫的工作。
您的同工
克達、雅麗
二零二零年三月
下載 PDF 格式 （中文）
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Dear Prayer Partners,
Since the lockdown of Wuhan in January, South Africa has been on edge. First was the total wipeout of masks by Chinese who snapped them up to send home. We were all fervently praying for those in the crisis. After the Chinese New Year holiday, people began to return to South Africa. There was a real concern of widespread infection. As a result, the Chinese Embassy issued a stern warning for Chinese in South Africa to avoid social gathering. On February 7th, South Africa’s Health Department imposed a 14-day self-quarantine requirement for those who returned from China and other affected countries. As a precaution, we informed all our church members that whoever returned from China should abide by the law and refrain from attending church for 14 days. We suspended all weekday small group meetings and love feast on Sundays. The church provided sanitizers and masks for everyone who came to Sunday worship. There were some that thought the measures were overboard and lack of faith; and there were some who thought that it was not enough and decided stop coming to church. It was a good lesson for us to accept and consider different perspectives, and be united in love and patience to hold on to a common goal to overcome the pandemic. We thank God! There were no arguments or judgmental comments among our brothers and sisters, and everyone was willing to adhere to the government’s regulations. It was safe sailing in February!
South Africa reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 5th. It was brought in by someone who had recently returned from Italy. Thank God! It was not from China and did not give xenophobia any foothold. South Africa soon switched from a preventive mode to a combative mode. We also made use of the internet and have been conducting our worship services in our WeChat groups. Due to our unstable internet connection, we were only able to provide audio sessions. We are grateful that the last three times were carried out smoothly, and brothers and sisters were diligently joining in on time. Even though it is a different approach, everyone worships in one heart and one soul, praising and thanking our Lord! May the pandemic be brought under control soon, and we can get back to normal.
At the moment, South Africa has the hardest hit in the continent; confirmed cases climbed to 927 on March 26th. In order to contain the virus, a national lockdown was enforced from March 26th to April 16th. Today’s (March 31st) figure reached 1,327. The most vulnerable areas are poor townships. Coupled with the co-morbidity of TB and HIV, there is a real potential of high mortality. There are only 4,000 ventilators in the country, totally inadequate in handling a large scale of infection. The government is implementing a mobile testing program that will have field workers going door-to-door to screen and test people in different hotspots. Germany, UK and the US are arranging repatriation flights for their citizens in a matter of weeks. Please pray for South Africa that all the measures are effective in bringing the pandemic under control.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for South Africa’s effort against COVID-19 and the people’s cooperation in complying with all the drastic measures.
- We thank the Lord in keeping us healthy during this time.
- Please pray for our churches and our on-line worship services. May the Lord grant us wisdom in caring and encouraging our brothers and sisters’ spiritual growth.
- Please pray for our brothers and sisters’ diligence in personal safety and hygiene.
In His service,
Ko-Ta & Christina
