Life Under Quarantine

On March 20 the quarantine hit our corner of the world.  We didn’t know if it was going to be for one or two weeks or for longer.  It soon became apparent that it was going to be for longer and that we were not going to be given any assurance that this was going to end any time soon.  In just a couple of days the student supervisors were to arrive followed by the new students for registration and orientation.  As they were in the process of preparing for travel, the flights and buses began to shut down.   They would not be able to travel after all. We would soon be moving to a Plan B which did not yet exist.

Mom

On March 21, I received a phone call that my mom was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Later we would learn that she had suffered another major heart attack.  In California, the quarantine had just begun in full force. My sister was not even allowed to accompany Mom in to the hospital.  No one was allowed in except patients.  So we all waited to hear what was happening with Mom.  Praise God, she stabilized and was able to go home.  Even now, at almost ninety-two years of age, Mom is a strong woman.  Here she is home and with my brother, Ben.

Classes take shape at IBP

I am still amazed at how our staff was able to create and implement this Plan B in just a matter of days. Everyone was so ready and willing to do whatever was necessary to see classes go forth, albeit, in a different manner. Classes would continue online! Even though this was definitely not what our students were planning on, almost all of them agreed to take on this new challenge. Even our professors who had not taught this way before, were willing to take advantage of the technology within their reach to teach their classes.

On April 6, classes began and the semester came together beautifully.  In a normal semester, we have daily chapel times, and Sunday evening services. We also have small “Intimacy with God” groups which meet weekly and focus on different themes that encourage spiritual growth. How would we do all of this with the students not here on campus?  On line, of course!  

Broadcasting live from IBP we were able to bring all of our students together on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons for times of worship and encouragement from the Bible.  Students and professors alike took part in both leading the rest of us in worship and sharing from God’s word. Even though we were apart from one another physically, it was so awesome to still be together during these special times.

We are nearing the end of this very unusual semester at IBP and we are still under quarantine.  We are so thankful that we were able to keep pressing on in the face of this craziness in which we are living. May all of the glory go to our God who “…has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). For “…we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved”  (Hebrews 10:39).