By Sarah Hunnicutt, Global Strategy Missionary to Roatan, Honduras

We sent the students home with books and a hug, realizing we couldn’t continue life as if the virus was “out there.” With just an hour’s notice, we said our goodbyes, took a deep breath, and embarked on our new normal.

• Transition to online learning
• No face-to-face contact with students
• 6 p.m. curfew
• Banks, pharmacies, and grocery stores open three times a week between 3 and 6 p.m.
• Circulation allowed once weekly based on our ID numbers
• Masks and gloves required for entering buildings.

As I reflected on this rapidly changing world situation, I began to wonder, What does serving look like now? How do we stay aware, but not overwhelmed? How do I love my students and friends well over WhatsApp and spotty internet? How do I live in gratitude for the many blessings without ignoring the fact that the most marginalized are hurting even more now—that a lockdown means no food on the table? And the questions I ask most, How did we get here? How can we never let it happen again?

And in the middle of it all, I have to believe there is hope. There is still beauty. Love. Life. Humanity. Compassion. Community. There is newness on the other side. As we sit in the darkness buried by the uncertainty, we know there must be rain on its way. There must be sun even in the winter. There must be spring coming. Nothing lasts forever.

So we hope for that which we do not see. We hope for green shoots of life to burst forth when this dying time is over. As we die a thousand little daily deaths and witness thousands more take their last earthly gasps, may we see the life that is possible. May the losses not be in vain. May the future be brighter because we did not lose hope and we banded together in the darkness. May we plant and water seeds of compassion, friendship, and empathy. May the seeds of justice and love be planted deeply in our hearts. May we come out of this different, and may the difference start now.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33