Latest on the coronavirus lockdown

Yesterday was Day 60 of the coronavirus lockdown here in Rwanda. (Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 287, no deaths.)

Needless to say, our Memorial was held in lockdown, like the rest of the world, so it was not necessary to have all seven congregations in our Kingdom Hall meet together while across the street at the stadium the government held their special program on Genocide Memorial Day. Everything was completely shut down. It was kind of strange on the evening of Memorial sitting in front of a computer screen, by yourself, with just the bread and wine on the table. Have we ever experienced this before? I think not.

Last week the government relaxed the restrictions somewhat, allowing businesses to open with essential employees only, restaurants opening until 7:00 p.m., public transportation (but not motos) now operating with distance between passengers. The police will not stop you now, so you can go anywhere you want as long it's not outside the city. Face masks are required for everyone in public.

When you go to the market, there is a line to enter, with marked squares on the ground to stand on, placed apart at the appropriate distance.

Around our neighborhood (Kibagabaga), it's pretty strange seeing all these face masks. It's somewhat like a 21st-century Sci-Fi movie. (Oh, wait, we are in the 21st century.) One guy was wearing a dog muzzle, imagine that. Obviously, that's to prevent him biting someone. Which I feel like doing out of frustration, sometimes.

Stir crazy! That's how I would describe everyone's current feelings. You don't realize the psychological effect that staying at home all day, every day, has on a person. OK, for the first week or two it's kind of a novel thing, reading, watching movies, etc., but after that, it feels like being in...prison.

The situation with schools is that they will be closed until September. Prior to this, the Rwandan school system operated from February until November, with the major holiday period being December and January. But the government decided that this year, schools would switch to the traditional calendar adopted by Western countries, that is, September to June. The change would take place gradually over a few years. But the coronavirus situation has now forced schools to change immediately to the September-June calendar. This means that kids will have six months off from school (which has brought joy to their lives), although many schools are now struggling to initiate some kind of online instruction.

And because the branch has not yet given us permission to hold meetings at the Kingdom Hall or do any public preaching, it still feels like lockdown. Phone witnessing and letter writing are forms of preaching that are rare here...until now. The problem is that if you didn't have many phone contacts (like me), you're up a creek. Most of my Chinese contacts are on WeChat, which is a messaging app that is not recommended to use for preaching because it is monitored by the Chinese government. I can't see accompanying others by Zoom or phone on their Kinyarwanda return visits and Bible studies. So what is left? I did manage to write six handwritten Chinese letters during April. This was a first!

So, as they say in Kinyarwanda, "Komera!" (Be strong!) This is something we all need, that is, strength during this difficult time.