Additional COVID-19 Blessings

Jason Barnes, 39, is an emergency room doctor at Christus Spohn Hospital Beeville and Christus Spohn Hospital South.  During these days, he does not want to run the risk of exposing his wife, Jenna, and two young sons, Stiles and Bentley, to the Coronavirus so he has taken up residence in his boys’ treehouse in their backyard.  Dr. Barnes has been living like this for three weeks and is continuing to do so as to not expose his family to COVID-19.  Although he speaks at a distance, he is not having close contact at this time for his family’s protection.  Other medical personnel have rented RVs or trailers so as to help protect their families.

A college athlete, who broke his leg, will now have time to recover without missing out on tournaments, due to COVID-19.

Staci Spencer-Roth had back surgery to repair 3 herniated discs in her neck.  It is still very painful for her to wash and dry her hair.  Since the salons have closed, Staci was once again left to complete the task on her own.  Due to colleges having their students finish their course work at home, her daughter, Morgan, is now home and able to help.

Recently a caregiver at Thistleton Lodge Nursing Home realized that 94-year-old Ken had been sleeping with a framed picture of his wife every night.  The World War II veteran had been married to Ada for 75 years before her death.  As a surprise, the caregiver made a copy of the picture and had it made into a pillow with Ada’s image printed on it.  A small gesture made a big difference for Ken.

A high school robotics team, in Michigan, is using their 3-D printers to make face shields for their first responders.

The New England Patriots plane has been used to deliver over 1 million masks.

A retired paratrooper has been mowing the lawn for his neighbor who is deployed.

To show their appreciation, a family has gathered essential items and left them on their front porch with a sign that reads: “DELIVERY DRIVERS:  Take if you need it!  Thank you for your hard work.”

Due to the Coronavirus restrictions, a 94-year-old lady was celebrating her birthday, sitting alone in the garden area of The Alabama Oaks Senior Care Inn.  When a public utility worker found out it was her special day, he stood outside the fenced in yard and sang “Happy Birthday” to her.

The date had been added and highlighted on the calendar.  Marli Odgers, from Alabama, was scheduled to attend her Senior Prom on April 4, 2020.  Her dress and shoes had been purchased.  The long, anticipated day had arrived, but with the quarantine and school closures, the prom had been cancelled.  When Marli came downstairs that morning, she found a note from her dad.  “Today is prom.  One dance with Dad?  Will U go with me?”  That evening, Marli dressed for prom and was greeted by her father who was also dressed for the special occasion.  Songs were played as she and her dad danced together.  What a thoughtful way for a dad to honor a special daughter on what could have been a very disappointing day.

Tuesday night was to have been Senior Recognition Night for Ridge Point Panther softball pitcher, Maggie Darr, and five of her teammates.  Without the young women knowing, a parade had been planned in their honor at Camp Sienna, a sports complex where several had begun their softball playing days.  As the seniors arrived, they were pointed toward their own designated parking spot that had an enlarged picture of them on a stand.  As they stood at their spot, more than 70 cars paraded by with banners, signs, balloons, notes of encouragement, and lots of cheers.  Former teammates, current players, children, classmates, a former coach, family, a referee, and friends came out to honor, encourage, and support the Panther players.

As with other schools around the country, Poplar Springs High School in Graceville, Florida remains closed for the rest of the semester.  Principal Farica West, wanted to find a way to honor and celebrate the graduating seniors.  West reached out to the photographer who had taken the senior portraits and had him enlarge the pictures to poster size.  The graduates’ pictures are displayed on stands on both sides of the road leading into the school campus.

From Zoom meetings to phone calls to notes and letters and gifts, our grandchildren are being blessed and encouraged by their teachers, both at school and church.  Friday morning, our two youngest granddaughters were part of a drive by parade to see, wave to, and say hello to their preschool teachers.  The teachers had made signs, waved, and spoke with the children as they drove by.  There was even a bubble machine.  To the delight of our grandchildren, some bubbles even went inside the car!  What a blessing and wonderful reminder of the need and importance of community.

 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

“But be very  careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Joshua 22:5

You are my strength, I sing praise to you;

     you, God, are my fortress,

     my God on whom I can rely.

Psalm 59:17

This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Titus 3:8

COVID-19 Blessings Continue

With the quarantine continuing, it seems that more and more people are finding ways to help, encourage and bless others in the process.  People seem to be reaching out to friends and neighbors to help in any way possible.

Essential workers continue to volunteer for and put their lives on the line to provide services for others.

Austin ISD is sending out 110 of their school buses, equipped with Wi-Fi, to neighborhoods that have limited online access.

Churches are continuing to find ways to encourage and minister.  Our Preschool Minister at Tallowood, Kasey Fagan, had several volunteers who made a special delivery on Friday.  They divided up areas of town and went to the home of each preschooler leaving a sack that included stickers, coloring pages, and a bottle of bubbles for each child.  A red rose was also given with an encouraging note to the moms attached:

Wednesday evening, residents from the Fairfield neighborhood parked in the lot of Memorial Hermann Hospital in CyFair.  They were joined by firemen and EMTs.  The people turned their radios to KSBJ where they gave a shoutout to the healthcare workers.  As the DJ played “Waymaker” by Michael W. Smith, the people clapped, cheered, and waved to the personnel.

Nicky Denza’s wife has already made and shipped over 1,100 masks.  She has used over 100 yards of material and countless spools of thread.  Mrs. Denza is making and shipping the masks and is not charging for them.  Mr. Denza said, “This is not about profit this is about survival.  God Bless Everyone.”

Our friend, Natalie Thannum, lives in Chicago.  She recently made masks, placed them in ziplock bags, and clipped them to a fence, along with a note that said, “Hey Neighbors!  I made some masks.  They are all disinfected and grab one if you need it.  XOXO Natalie!”

Greg Roberts lives in Dallas, Texas.  Last week he spent 12 hours, over a 2-day period, chalking 6 panels of detailed artwork on the sidewalk, depicting the Easter Story, for his neighbors and community to enjoy.

People are freely using the gifts and talents God has given them to bless, encourage, and comfort people during these days.

Recently, eight hospital doctors and nurses gathered on the roof of Jackson South Medical Center in Miami, Florida.  Appropriately spaced in a circle, they knelt in prayer before beginning their day.  Danny Rodriguez, senior ER tech responded, “This is how we started our morning today.  Our team said a prayer, asking God for guidance and protection while we are at work, and to keep us and our families safe.”

Teachers are learning different ways and methods to teach, instruct, and offer guidance for their students.  Computer programs are offered for instruction and assessment.  The efforts are working, but sometimes it’s just not the same as being in the classroom and having lessons clarified.  Rylee Anderson is a sixth-grader at Madison Middle School in Madison, South Dakota.  She was attempting the graphing unit, but it just wasn’t making sense.  After emailing her teacher, Chris Waba, for help, she was still not understanding.  Waba brought a chair, whiteboard, and markers, and sat outside of the Andersons glass front door and spent 15 minutes teaching Rylee until she understood the concept and could complete the assignment.

People continue to provide food, services, and prayers for the essential workers.

Bible study teachers/speakers are offering their materials for free, or at a discounted price, to encourage people to study God’s Word during these days.

A call went out from New York that they were in desperate need of protective gear for their police personnel.  A private plane from Raytheon flew in with 1,750 crime scene Tyvek suits on Tuesday and an additional 2,125 suits on Wednesday.

General Dynamics has provided 120,000 pairs of gloves along with 111 barrels of hand sanitizer.  Pernod and UPS have also been leaders in answering the calls for help.

People are placing bears and or hearts in their windows as an encouragement to those in their neighborhood.  As families go on walks, they search for the hearts and bears.

People being surprised with needed supplies that have been left on their doorsteps.

This past weekend, a student’s family had a meal delivered to their son’s teacher to thank and encourage him for his extra effort, work, and teaching during these days of quarantine.

Carnival Cruise Lines offered their fully staffed cruise ships to help with Covid-19 patients.

GM and Ford are continuing to make ventilators at their plants.

College students have made masks with clear materials around the mouth area in order to help with communication with the deaf and hearing impaired.

NHL and NBA players have written checks to cover the salary for the arena staff.

Earlier this month, Michael Che’s grandma died of COVID-19.  Che, the Saturday Night Live star, decided that in memory and honor of his grandma he would pay a month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the New York City Housing project where his grandma lived. 

Breweries are using supplies to make sanitizers.

People are reaching out to local restaurants by ordering take-out meals, in hopes of keeping them in business.

Some CEOs are forgoing their salary so their workers can be helped during these days.

The workers at Rosewood Retirement & Assisted Living Community, in Lafayette, Louisiana, planned a “We are in This Together Motorcade” for their residents.  The residents were seated in chairs that were spread out along the sidewalk in front of the facility.  At the planned time, the families began parading by in their cars with signs and well wishes to remind their family members of how much they were loved and missed.

Chefs in Las Vegas, Nevada, are donating their services and preparing 1,000 meals a day.

Janice Campbell, from Rosenberg, painted some kindness rocks to give to nurses in an ICU unit.  They were greatly appreciated.  Ms. Campbell was elated when she found out that the nurses decided to pay the blessing forward and give one of the reminder rocks to each patient that survived COVID-19.

Residents of Buckner’s Greenridge, in Austin, were pictured singing God’s praises while standing in their doorways on Easter Sunday.

So do not fear, for I am with you;

     do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

     I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4