Friday 13 March

It’s Friday. Over the past few days we’ve been wondering what steps the Spanish government will take to respond to the rapid spread of the Corona Virus. We’ve been receiving daily emails from Manu’s school this week, assuring the parents that they are working with the kids to control the spread of germs through hand-washing and the use of anti-bacterial gel. They - and we - have been waiting for the government’s decision on school closures, which has seemed inevitable.

We’re surprised, frankly, that the school has stayed open as long as it has and even considered keeping Manu home despite the lack of official decision. Then last night we had heard that all schools will be closed from Monday. Manu headed in this morning to collect her books and learn how the online platform will work, through which the kids will continue classes.

While Manu was at school, I met with Debbie about the training in spiritual direction we had planned to host. We took the difficult and yet only viable decision to postpone the program. It will mean a lot of people having to cancel flights and risk losing money and it feels disappointing and sad; we’ve been working towards this for months. The only thing to do is choose to trust in the only One who is not surprised by this pandemic, and the only One who can ultimately work goodness out of the chaos. As John Lennon said, if it’s not okay then it’s not the end.

Later in the afternoon, I have an online call with someone in Serbia whom I see monthly for spiritual direction. We talk a bit about the virus, but it’s certainly not the main topic of our conversation. I think to myself how fortunate I am that, if push comes to shove, much of my work can take place online. Who knows, maybe even more people will appreciate someone to chat through how they are feeling in the face of these unusual days.

When Manu gets home from school, we prepare for our usual Sabbath meal with friends, aware that it might be the last one in a while. We don’t hug as we usually do, but still set the table together, stand at the grill, check phones periodically and after the meal sit around the fire pit, talking about people we’re responsible for who are stranded in different nations, trying to get back to Spain or to their passport country. We talk about the closure of our local outreach centre, and how the food bank will manage to support the immigrant families who depend on this help to feed their families. I find myself super-conscious of every sniff and sneeze, suddenly we are more aware of our desire to protect one another.

That night we hear that from 8am on Monday, the Spanish government is implementing a State of Alert. We’ve been watching the news from Italy and this move is not unexpected. Nobody is completely sure of what it will mean, but it looks like rationing of essentials is likely, as well as restrictions on moving around. All this is mulling around in my mind as I go to sleep.