Greetings brethren! Happy Sabbath from Lagos!

Travel Update:

This week has been pretty full overall – as our schedule has been filled with visits to a number of the brethren here in Nigeria – particularly some of those that are a bit more far flung on the outskirts of Lago. As a result of the traffic in Lagos, you can spend close to 6 hours in a car round trip to make one visit, even if that person is not very far away. Earlier this week, we visited a woman named Mrs. Alilabor, who is a long time member of the Church of God. She began in Worldwide back in 1973, and was baptized in 1978. She attends in the Lagos congregation, and has been a valuable bridge between the older generations and the younger. As it is for us in the States, it is so encouraging to see a person who has been faithful to God for so many years, and continues to be faithful. She was a kind and hospitable host, and it was a pleasure to get to know her and her son. Additionally – we had an opportunity to spend some time with the Aninye family this week. They are the parents of a young man here in Lagos that I baptized in 2016. Mr. Aninye has recently retired, and grew tired of the noise and chaos of Lagos (23 million people) and decided to retire in neighboring Ogun state. Their home is modest and quiet, a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the New York of Nigeria. He has Mango, Orange, and some other assorted fruit trees growing in his front yard, Plantain and bananas in the side and rear of the house. We shared in a wonderful meal of beef and Jollof with Maltina, (Unfermented Malt) and had a wonderful conversation. It happened to be Nnamdi’s birthday as well – so he came with us to see his parents since they live a solid 2-3 hour drive away, and it is difficult for them to make it into services with regularity as a result of the community being largely cut off.

You could see how easily entire groups of people could be cut off from goods, services as a result of roads and infrastructure. There was a stretch of road that we had to get out and walk for a bit so Dimeji could navigate the washed out road in his Camry. 4 Wheel Drive and high ground clearance would almost be a necessity here if you had to get some place.

Wednesday we flew to Benin City, and met with the brethren there for a bible study and Q and A. We talked a lot about the changes taking place in the United States, they had many questions about LGBTQ, and the political and legal ramifications. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria – and it was difficult for them to understand how it all played out in the U.S.

We met with the local deacon Mr. Raphael Nduka and his daughters Eugene and Joy for dinner that evening, and enjoyed some Pepper Soup and nice conversation. The following day we would fly out, but before that, Mr. Moody and I baptized Uyi Onaiwu, a young man I met at Camp back in 2016. It’s been wonderful to have the chance to get to know him and to be here for this most important of occasions.

Today has largely been a rest day, before we fly to Owerri for the Sabbath tomorrow. It gives us a chance to catch up on some emails, and get some things that needed to get done back home, but has also been an opportunity to catch back up on the state of things at home.

COVID-19

As many of you have seen on the news, the Coronavirus has begun to spread quite quickly on the West Coast with the epicenter of the disease outbreak in the U.S. taking hold in the Seattle metro area. The Seattle congregation has cancelled services this Sabbath, and unfortunately had to cancel the Puget Sound Women’s Weekend as well as a result of recommendations by the King County Health department. Seattle has experienced a significant uptick in diagnosed cases over the past couple of days, growing exponentially – and they have recommended that all gatherings be cancelled to prevent potential spread as much of the recent transmission has been community origin.

Marion County has not experienced the level of spread that Seattle has, though it is quite likely that it is only a matter of time before it does. We will monitor the cases closely – to this point there are a couple of known cases locally, and individuals who are being monitored in and around Marion County, but there has not been the instances of community spread like what is being seen in Seattle, so far.

We certainly want to be circumspect and wise, but we also don’t want to overreact and panic. Watching CNN, the level of coverage makes it look like we’re dealing with Ebola and a 70-90% mortality rate. We are dealing with a virus that has symptoms similar to the common cold, and a mortality rate of 2-3%. It does appear to adversely impact those who are older, or those that are immunocompromised with a much higher mortality rate (12-15%) – but for the sake of perspective – there were far more people who died of influenza today than of coronavirus.

That doesn’t mean that we wink at it, or that we somehow minimize it – it does have the potential for significant impact, but it means that we want to put it in a proper perspective.

COVID-19 is a coronavirus. Coronaviruses are responsible for the common cold, as well as MERS and SARS, and now this latest outbreak. There is no vaccine or cure for COVID-19 at this time, so preventing transmission is the best form of treatment. If contracted, supportive therapies are needed – lots of fluids, rest, and in severe cases—hospitalization and more intensive support therapies.

A number of doctors have spoken out and said the number of infected are likely much higher than what they have diagnosed, (which would mean the mortality rate is actually much lower) because so many individuals can get the virus and be largely asymptomatic.

The symptoms have been described as a cough, fever, and shortness of breath – sometimes with a runny nose, but not always. Those who have had it and recovered have described it as a lot like the common cold, one individual even said that they likely would have gone to work if they didn’t know they had coronavirus because the symptoms weren’t that bad. Others have a more severe response – large scale mucus production in the lungs, which causes acute pneumonia, which if left untreated can be fatal.

COVID-19 is an enveloped virus, which means that it has a phospholipid bi-layer which surrounds it – similar to a layer of grease that protects it from water. That phospholipid bi-layer is susceptible however to standard soap, which disrupts the layer and kills the virus. Scrubbing your hands regularly with soap for 20 minutes is incredibly effective against the virus. Additionally – hand sanitizer and other cleansers have been shown to be effective, but soap and proper hygiene is a strong tool against transmission. Parents it is very important to emphasize these hygiene principles as well as proper handwashing with your children.

Health department officials are suggesting people maintain a 2 meter personal ‘bubble’ when gathered with other individuals, and because the virus is not truly airborne, instead transmitted by aerosolized droplets, properly covering coughs, and sneezes is absolutely essential, and ensuring that you properly wash or sanitize regularly.

Frequent handwashing, sanitizing, and avoiding exposing individuals if you have any symptoms will go a long way toward protecting others.

Principles of Quarantine:

God instructed ancient Israel in the principles of quarantine and hygiene 5000 years ago. Those who became sick were to be separated from the rest of the camp. If they had a discharge, skin infection, or the like, they were to be separated for a time until they had recovered. This prevented these things from spreading throughout the entire camp.

These principles are just as valid today as they were then. The principles of hygiene, burying your waste, washing your hands, even clean and unclean meats prevented many of these diseases from impacting the congregation of Israel.

These principles helped our congregation recently with the outbreak of Pertussis that we experienced by limiting the number of cases.

In that vein – I’m going to ask once again if you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, particularly fever, but cough and runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, etc… to please avoid attending services for a time until you are at least 5-7 days without symptoms. The exact period that you are contagious with COVID-19 is unknown, but it is believed to be most contagious while you are symptomatic. Waiting for a time after symptoms dissipate, while still maintaining hygiene principles is the best way to ensure that it does not spread further.

If you need anointing – please contact one of our deacons or our deaconesses. They have anointed cloths, and can drop off or mail as needed.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. It’s something worth taking note of – but God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and a sound mind – it’s worth taking note, but it’s not something to panic over. We take the necessary precautions, and do what God instructed us to do, seek medical attention if needed, and we’ll do just fine.  

We will continue to monitor the health statistics from Marion County, and will adjust our plan should conditions on the ground change. Thanks for your patience and for your consideration for others. Look forward to seeing you all soon.

With Love,
Ben