{"id":46403,"date":"2022-01-26T14:14:51","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T19:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/?p=46403"},"modified":"2022-01-26T15:28:11","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T20:28:11","slug":"blessings-in-the-time-of-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Blessings in the Time of COVID"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Anne Gregory serves with the Church of Christ in Thailand.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><u>Galatians 6:11, 14-18<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look how big these letters are when I write to you with my own hand!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u2014Galatians 6:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What will I say about the COVID years?\u00a0 Like most human beings, my first thoughts are negative.\u00a0 But there have been many blessings, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One is that every time I write something that resembles a letter, I find myself thinking about the Apostle Paul.\u00a0 Even though his eyesight was failing him, and some of his letters were written in prison, he always wrote words of blessing and hope, reminding his recipients that he prayed for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I have spent far too much time feeling sorry for myself and being afraid\u2014COVID or no COVID.&nbsp; These days I try to think more readily about my blessings.&nbsp; For example, I used to dream about being the preaching pastor of a big church\u2014no worries about building maintenance, budgets, or petty church politics.&nbsp; Just good old preaching, teaching, praying, and counseling.&nbsp; It has crept up on me that my work today is exactly that.&nbsp; As Co-Pastor for English-Language Ministries here at Wattana Church in Bangkok, I escape many ministerial headaches.&nbsp; After all, not much point in bringing complaints to the pastor of a language that many do not speak\u2014she doesn\u2019t have the power to alter church policy.&nbsp; The three main complaints that come to pastors anywhere in the world, simply do not come to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are those three most common complaints?\u00a0 <strong>1.<\/strong>\u00a0 Your sermons are too long, too short, too complex, or too elementary.\u00a0 2.\u00a0 You don\u2019t visit enough, or you don\u2019t visit the right people, or you visit too much and are never in the office.\u00a0 <strong>3.<\/strong>\u00a0 Your vacations are too long, too often, or inappropriate.\u00a0 <strong>4.<\/strong>\u00a0 (I did say there are only three, but there is another one that crops up here and there\u2026)\u00a0 You never choose the right music.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;There is also the matter of being a fully-ordained, native English speaker who speaks and writes Thai and understands a good deal about Thai culture.&nbsp; It is becoming clear to me that those who participate in our English-Language worship services, Bible studies, Care Groups, or service projects, are just so grateful that something like this ministry exists and is not limited to one foreign ethnic group or another.&nbsp; There are many English-speaking churches in Bangkok, but few that minister officially in both Thai and English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Once again, as I think about the Apostle Paul, I also marvel at how little he seemed to feel sorry for himself, in spite of all his arrests, beatings, shipwrecks, snakebites, and illnesses.\u00a0 My health was a question mark to me seven years ago when I began this journey as a Mission Co-Worker, and then a Mission Service Worker, here in Thailand.\u00a0 It is a bigger question mark now.\u00a0 That should come as no surprise, as many of my pastoral colleagues around the world struggle with health issues.\u00a0 Many of those health issues are stress-related.\u00a0 Some people might argue that, if we were really faithful followers of Jesus, we would be able to resolve our health problems through faith alone.\u00a0 But I am fairly sure all of us are simply flawed human beings, like every disciple who took up with Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Masks are still the law here, except in restaurants while you are eating.&nbsp; People are clamoring for their third COVID shot, and traffic is back to some of the most congested in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But.\u00a0 I am alive, I have my dream job, and even though complaining is one of my favorite hobbies, I am still learning that every day I have reasons to give thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All of you remain in my prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Anne Gregory serves with the Church of Christ in Thailand. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church\u2019s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/donate.globalministries.org\/pages\/donation-page-for-missionary-support?donateTarget=Anne%20Gregory,%20Global%20Service%20Co-worker%20(LTV)\"><em>Make a gift that supports the work of Anne Gregory<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anne Gregory serves with the Church of Christ in Thailand. Galatians 6:11, 14-18 Look how big these letters are when I write to you with my own hand!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u2014Galatians 6:11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What will I say about the COVID years?\u00a0 Like &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20221,"featured_media":38713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[],"topic":[20299,20271,20322,20428,20246],"region":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blessings in the Time of COVID - Global Ministries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blessings in the Time of COVID - Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anne Gregory serves with the Church of Christ in Thailand. Galatians 6:11, 14-18 Look how big these letters are when I write to you with my own hand!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u2014Galatians 6:11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What will I say about the COVID years?\u00a0 Like &hellip; Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-26T19:14:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-26T20:28:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Thailand-homepage-2021.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Global Ministries\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Global Ministries\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/\",\"name\":\"Blessings in the Time of COVID - Global Ministries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-26T19:14:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-26T20:28:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fd55f1d77b4604c30516841d557532c5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blessings in the Time of COVID\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/\",\"name\":\"Global Ministries\",\"description\":\"Global Ministries is a common missional witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. Global Ministries works with approximately 290 faith-based international partners in close to 90 countries. Our Vision: That all of God\u2019s people and creation share in God\u2019s abundant life.  Our Mission: To receive and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for justice, reconciliation, and peace.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fd55f1d77b4604c30516841d557532c5\",\"name\":\"Global Ministries\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85e0c009fc3e1326def9a9a5c747040b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85e0c009fc3e1326def9a9a5c747040b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Global Ministries\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/author\/global-ministries\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blessings in the Time of COVID - Global Ministries","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blessings in the Time of COVID - Global Ministries","og_description":"Anne Gregory serves with the Church of Christ in Thailand. Galatians 6:11, 14-18 Look how big these letters are when I write to you with my own hand!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u2014Galatians 6:11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What will I say about the COVID years?\u00a0 Like &hellip; Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/","og_site_name":"Global Ministries","article_published_time":"2022-01-26T19:14:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-26T20:28:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Thailand-homepage-2021.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Global Ministries","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Global Ministries","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/","url":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/","name":"Blessings in the Time of COVID - Global Ministries","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-26T19:14:51+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-26T20:28:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fd55f1d77b4604c30516841d557532c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/blessings-in-the-time-of-covid\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blessings in the Time of COVID"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/","name":"Global Ministries","description":"Global Ministries is a common missional witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. Global Ministries works with approximately 290 faith-based international partners in close to 90 countries. Our Vision: That all of God\u2019s people and creation share in God\u2019s abundant life.  Our Mission: To receive and share the Good News of Jesus Christ by joining with global and local partners to work for justice, reconciliation, and peace.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fd55f1d77b4604c30516841d557532c5","name":"Global Ministries","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85e0c009fc3e1326def9a9a5c747040b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/85e0c009fc3e1326def9a9a5c747040b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Global Ministries"},"url":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/author\/global-ministries\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46403"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46411,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46403\/revisions\/46411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46403"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=46403"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalministries.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=46403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}