to our family abroad concerned about the coronavirus

I am so thankful for family that cares about us enough to call, email and message us with concern to ‘be safe.’ I know the news and our social media feeds alerts us about the spread of the virus here in Daegu, South Korea. As I wrote this letter to my family member, I thought maybe I could share it with you too. This is what I wrote and this is where I stand. Bottom line, we are safe and thankful for what we have. I appreciate you and your concern and I know that you care about us. I am so grateful. I even made a 1 minute video so you can see we are all living our life and we are just fine. Even if things change, I know where I stand and so please read on so you can see what I mean. Thank you. NOTE: These are my own thoughts and do not represent any official stance of the US Army.

Hi **** ! Good to hear from you. Yes I know there is a lot of news happening from Daegu. There is a church here (many Koreans call it a cult – I don’t really know) that on Wednesday 10 were confirmed had the virus who attended that church. The problem I am hearing is that they do not want to reveal where they have been because their goal is to infiltrate other churches and organizations so they are not easily sharing their whereabouts.

There is an app that Koreans use to get updates on the situation it is here  https://coronamap.live/ . You can click the United Kingdom flag to change it to English and you will see all the dots of cases here in Korea. The numbers of those confirmed infected has grown so fast and many are associated with that church. I heard there was a major funeral in which a few from China attended and now after they all went back to wherever they came from, they are testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. It is hard since many don’t know they have it because they might be symptom free for about 2 weeks in most cases. 

Anyway, the Army (the USAG Daegu Leadership Team) has been taking a lot of preventative measures since Wednesday when everyone found out. There was no school Thursday and Friday and many things have been closed on base like the day care center and sports activities. They have stocked up on food in our on post commissary and are reordering masks and hand sanitizers. But the main thing is they are directing Soldiers and strongly encouraging family members and civilians to avoid public places and gatherings off post (like grocery stores, restaurants, and yes churches).

The church I attend and serve in off post has decided to cancel their services for two weeks in an effort to support the containment of the virus. They are asking people to have family worship and/or enjoy this time as an opportunity to connect intimately with God directly from home. They plan to use other methods to reach out and encourage church members to continue to use preventative measures like washing their hands with soap and limiting exposure to persons who might be sick by not going out to public gatherings unless necessary while also recognizing that God sees us and is with us in this situation.

I know constant news coverage and our speculations may paint a different picture but in the grand scope of things we are definitely doing fine. We are listening to the guidance given by leadership and I am praying for them as they continue to make decisions. I also pray for those living in fear. I pray for those that have contracted the virus- that a cure is found and that this virus would be contained. This situation certainly gives us more opportunity to think about in what or in whom we ultimately place our trust and we can see how that is working out for us and the people around us. I wrote more about this yesterday here….  https://sejanashines.com/2020/02/21/coronavirus-in-daegu/ .

Thank you for reaching out to us and being concerned for us. I’ll send a photo soon- we are just at home enjoying free time.   Yesterday we watched a family movie together; today I’m trying to do my school work as I’m in an online class. Daniel still needed to go to work (he had mission essential activities that could not be delayed) but he is now wearing a mask whenever he goes out as we do live off post. Right now he is here at home playing on his #VR toy playing poker. The kids did their chores for the week and so they are doing what they love to do on Saturday- play video games. I am very thankful that we have all that we want and need. The Army Leadership team is keeping everyone informed via social media. I do recognize there are others though whose livelihood are impacted greatly by things shutting down off post such as some hospitals and businesses. I am thankful for the medical teams that continue to get up each day to go to work and serve others who are infected or other people that need medical care especially at this time. I am so thankful for them and their families. There is a lot to be grateful for even with these unknowns and these precautions. I am so thankful for all that we have been given and I do not take it lightly. Please share this with mom. I know she is worried. We are doing well. And please check out that blog post above- it explains even further why no matter what- I really am safe because I know where I am headed whenever it is my time to go. 
I love you.

– Sejana

Here is that blog, please check it out. https://sejanashines.com/2020/02/21/coronavirus-in-daegu/.

Looking for a Bible Study to watch and consider during this time? Try these: https://sejanashines.com/2020/03/07/bible-time-worship-every-episode-summary/