My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
Psalm 18:2 NKJV
The day that we returned home from our shortened trip to Kenya we were met with the news of the COVID-19 virus and the beginning of the stay at home order. When we left for Kenya on March 8, we had no idea that the nation and the entire world would come to a halt. We were in Nairobi, Kenya and just two hours away from beginning our tour throughout the country to do ministry visits with our missionaries, doctors, nurses and other ministry workers. Marlene received a text from our daughter, Jessica, stating that the USA had closed travel from anyone coming from Europe. We immediately felt the Lord beginning to lead our hearts and minds to consider leaving Kenya soon. We had planned to be there for several weeks, but decided it would be best to leave. We made arrangements for a direct flight from Nairobi to JFK. We arrived on March 13 (Ned's 60th birthday, which lasted 31 hours in the flight through several time zones.)
We know that God was leading us and He truly was our help and strength and we thank Him for the provision that brought us back home safely to Indiana. The governor of Indiana instituted the CDC guidelines for social distancing and a statewide stay at home order. The offices of World Gospel Mission followed those recommendations and has remained closed with most employees working from home. We have continued our ministry responsibilities supporting missionaries, assisting some with difficult decisions of whether or not to come home. Also to help them cope with their situations that in some places have a much more restrictive stay at home order. We are finding all our people to be safe and doing as well as can be expected in these trying days and we ask that you join us in praying for them to remain healthy and safe in their respective countries.
As we have been house bound, like most of you have, and doing your best to social distance ourselves, (and now perhaps even wearing a mask), it seems there has been some time to pause, stop, and rest. Some thoughts that have come to the forefront are, the Lord has stopped our world and created a pause. In this pause where has God been in this time? What has God been saying to you? Where have you seen God at work? These questions we don't often ask, many times because we are so busy moving from one place to the next, one task to the next, but in the midst of this time we can reflect on these questions. The gift of Sabbath is a time to rest, a time to stop, a time to fully experience where God is at work and what He is doing in the world. This time is a chance we all may have a to listen to Jesus and hear His heart. It is time to read the Bible, to spend time in prayer, and to trust God even in the storms.
We have close friends that are sick and some are having big struggles with their illness. We continue to pray for the healing touch of God to be on them. We believe God is able and we invite you to join us in trusting in the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. As we approach this Holy Week, we know that it is one like no other in the lifetime of anyone reading this. Never has there been in our history this situation affecting the whole world at the same time. We know that we serve the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead to bring us the gift of Eternal Life through faith in His finished work on Calvary's Cross.
While we are home in Marion, IN we are thinking of each and everyone of you. We are praying the Lord will bless you greatly during this Easter Season. We pray that you will be safe, that you will be healthy, and that you will find the power of the risen Lord to be your strength and your salvation.
We love you all much and we thank you for your continued support for the ministry and for your prayers. We look forward to continuing to serve the Lord in support to all our missionaries serving around the world. We pray that your church, your family, and all you know will blessed abundantly.
Sincerely yours,
Ned and Marlene McGrady
World Gospel Mission
Box 948
Marion, IN 46952
765-664-7331
www.wgm.org/mcgrady
