This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope (Lamentations 3:21).

Like almost everyone in the world, we ended March 2020 in social quarantine.

I confess, staying at home with so many things to do around here has not been easy but we praise God that we are well and healthy and because he has provided everything we need. We praise God because his grace and favour has been with us.

Here in Venezuela the rules have been very strict. You can only leave your home to buy food or complete an urgent task. We’ve heard that starting this week, our ID numbers will be used to keep a tab on outing frequency.

If someone is caught on the streets after 5pm, they are arrested and even beaten. The country is practically at a stand-still. Almost nothing works and you cannot enter or leave any state because the borders are closed. Even the gas stations are closed.

Churches are also forbidden to open and carry out any activity. This rule resulted in an arrest last week of one of our church pastors who was praying with some brothers in the temple. Thank God, he was released the same day.

Information on the progress of COVID-19 is very scarce here. The media (TV and radio) divulge virtually nothing but today we’ve heard that there are 135 confirmed cases and seven dead.

We are taking advantage of these days at home to cry out to the Lord for mercy and for a spiritual awakening not only for those in Venezuela but throughout the world including everyone in the CV family.

We have become connected with pastors and churches through social networks in an extensive, deep and sincere outcry and believe that at the end we will find a more strengthened and united Church.

In the midst of all this, last week the United States announced that it is offering $15 million USD for information that leads to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, who has been heavily accused of drug trafficking. In today’s newspaper we learn that if Maduro resigns, the US will withdraw its sanctions against Venezuela. So it looks like we are headed for a transitional government, with elections for a new president to take place before year-end.

We are believing and praying that God will stop not only this virus in Venezuela but also the government and its dictatorship. We also pray that Venezuela and its people will be restored. In these difficult days we can pay attention to the lesson that Jeremiah brings us, and think about eternal hope and the promises of God.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

God is faithful and is behind the scenes of history, controlling everything. May our eyes now be focused on him and not on the circumstances that surround us. We pray that our thoughts are taken by the goodness of God and his promises that do not fail.