At the end of 10 weeks of quarantine and some states just now starting to open some things back up, this article summed things up perfectly. 

May 22, 2020 View in browser   BY JAKE SHERMAN AND ANNA PALMER Presented by Listen to today's Audio Briefing DRIVING THE DAY HAS THERE EVER BEEN this much uncertainty 165 DAYS before a modern-day presidential election? UNEMPLOYMENT is nearly 15% , and even the president’s top advisers say they expect it to rise. … CITIES, STATES AND MUNICIPALITIES have suggested they may have to lay people off if Congress doesn’t pass a new economic stimulus package. … REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS are split on whether they need to pass more aid. Some of the president’s allies say more aid is plainly unnecessary. Others want to wait. Others are calling for a massive public works program. … … WE HAVE NO IDEA whether either party will be able to hold an in-person presidential nominating convention. … WE HAVE NO IDEA whether President DONALD TRUMP will agree to participate in the traditional presidential debates, or whether he’ll push for alternative arrangements. … … COVID-19 has killed nearly 100,000 people, and we have no idea whether the outbreak will spike again in the fall. … WE HAVE NO IDEA whether it will be safe to go to polling locations to vote in November. … OR IF KIDS will be going back to school … WE HAVE NO IDEA if the federal government will back some sort of plan to bolster remote voting. … WE HAVE NO IDEA if the United States Postal Service will be solvent. … WE HAVE NO IDEA if most Americans will view the election as legitimate. … THERE’S NO CLEAR FAVORITE to win the Senate. … A VACCINE could be on its way by the fall, but what’s Plan B if not? And I'll add, that for our family, WE HAVE NO IDEA when or if we will be able to get our Visas to go to China.  Things are so uncertain right now, especially because the Chinese government believes that it was foreigners that took Covid to China.  Not getting our visas and getting to post on time has a slew of negative impacts on an already difficult Covid situtation--it could delay us getting the kids to Beijing to start school on time (there are academic and social ramifications), it may mean that we're here in Virginia past 365 days which means we have to start paying VA taxes and won't receive Per Diem pay to help with the high cost of living here, and it may mean that we have to find housing outside of Oakwood and pay for it ourselves and will have to receive all of our personal effects.  It may also keep us from going out to UT as a family this summer (and doing work on our house that needs to get done), and it leaves packout and everything associated with preparing for Beijing up in the air.  This is hard for people that generally know months in advance where and when we're headed there.  I'm trying to exercise faith in Heavenly Father's plan, because I know that He knows what we need better than we do.  It's an exercise in patience and faith at the same time.

So many things are different with Covid.  Not only are schools closed, but restaurants, gyms, most doctors' offices, stores with "nonessential items," etc. are also closed.  The roads are so empty compared to what they used to be.  But also most noticeable to us is that churches are closed.  No weekly children or youth activities on Wednesday nights and no Sunday meetings.  Briant is zooming for his stake meetings on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings instead of meeting at the church, and then we have our own church here at home on Sundays.  We love the "half-dressed" look of the white shirt and tie with pajama bottoms.  :)

Every family has permission to administer the ordinance of the Sacrament at home if you have a priesthood holder (Priest or higher), so Bri and Thomas bless and pass the Sacrament for our family.  At first, some priesthood holders took the sacrament to single sisters or those without a priesthood holder in their home, but after a few weeks with the numbers of Covid cases going up here in Northern Virginia, it became apparent that it was a huge risk and we needed to play it safer and not take the sacrament into others' homes or give blessings.  Just recently, we received word that priesthood holders could use sound judgement on a case by case basis related to these issues and possibly start to administer the sacrament to others.

What has been sad is watching the canceling of church youth summer activities.  We just found out last week that for sure the Stake Youth Conference trip to Palmyra that was going to be over Savannah's birthday, was canceled.  And Stake girls camp that was a few days later is canceled as well.  And about a month ago, I got an email saying that Thomas' BYU AEFY week in Moab with his friend Justin M. was canceled, Savannah's week of BYU Author's Academy with her friend Zaya that was coming from Chile to join and be roommates was canceled (author Grace Lin who wrote the "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" series was going to be a keynote speaker!), and Rhea's gymnastics camp was canceled.  And other programs that I was looking into for the kids like possibly horse riding for Savannah, theater performance camp for Rhea, etc. are probably also out of the question now.

We are soooo grateful for our local Bishop and leadership!  Without missing a beat, Bishop Jardin is leading the ward through emailed newsletters, along with the Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidents, and he's leading the youth through texts on the LDS living Circles app, zoom meetings with Thomas and other priests, and is still having Bishop Youth Discussion meetings and special firesides on Sundays a few times a month

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 I couldn't believe it yesterday when we got a call from Bro. Glenn in the bishopric saying that he was outside our building with a treat for after the Bishop's youth discussion.  The kids ran down to grab their treat and they waited to eat it until after the meeting!

As far as missionaries go, they are coming home from their foreign missions and are being reassigned stateside, after they wait to get the new assignment.  We just got to hear from two of our ward missionaries "report" to us after we got to hear from our two new sisters assigned to our ward that we haven't met yet.  Bless their hearts, I don't know how the missionaries aren't going crazy right now without being able to be in the streets finding people.  This is when it is really important to have member missionaries!  Elder Johnson served in Brazil and now he's getting reassigned to Salt Lake!

I think most members of the Church are seeing the hand of the Lord, as we are, in how He's been preparing us for Covid.  Just within the last few years, the Church has been pushing for and emphasizing a home-centered-church supported church, instead of church that's supported at home.  The emphasis on home centered learning has affected the quantity and quality of scripture study, and the wonderful discussions we have.  Church cut down from 3 hours to 2 hours to allow us more quality time teaching in our families.  Youth and children's programs have changed, the Come Follow Me home curriculum was introduced and in practice for a little over a year before Covid, and the rules changed for missionaries to allow them to call every week and on special occasions, not just two times a year on Mother's day and Christmas.  We can see how important this is right now with families needing to support their missionaries in the field during Covid.  And amazingly, seminary is all online, including their zoom meetings on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings.  Thomas misses being together with his friends in the morning, but we're grateful that he still has the gospel learning every day.   One night, Elder Hamilton, a general authority, joined in for Thomas' seminary zoom meeting!  He's Sister Keysor's (one of Thomas' teacher's) brother-in-law.  Pretty cool!Kristen M. and Rosalie K. were awesome teachers!  They were perfect for what Thomas needed his first year of early morning seminary.  After an email I sent months ago to tell them how much I appreciated them and their efforts to teach Thomas (especially because this might be his only year having "in person" seminary), Kristen replied:  "Such big things ahead for your dear family. The kids who are going over seas have been talking about it. They are such wonderful kids!  Truthfully I tell my husband often I am sad they won’t be here. My son is in the class and I love the influence these great kids have. I’m sad he won’t be able to associate with them through his high school years. Thomas is an absolute joy. He is going to do such wonderful things in life. I love his energy for life and learning all rolled in with goodness and a sense of humor. He is terrific."We're so grateful for all of the wonderful church members that have taught, helped, inspired, motivated, and loved our children while here in Falls Church!  There are so many selfless people in the "villages" that have helped raise our children, and we're grateful for their continued efforts despite the quarantine and not being able to meet!  The update from SLC most recently, is that each area can start to phase church meetings back in slowly as long as they are able to follow local and state Covid guidelines and are able to follow the appropriate CDC guidelines of social distancing.  Every stake will have to evaluate how that's possible to do in their area, if at all possible.  We're guessing it will be months before we're back to a normal 2-hour block with primary, sunday school, R.S., and Priesthood meetings.  This is a new thing for everyone...no one really knows how this will all play out.  But Elder Renlund shared:  

"Because of revelation, the senior leaders of the Church have never expressed fear as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected world populations.  There is not a hint of fear. Instead, we are asking: ‘How can we do things better? How can we improve? How can we bless our people?'  There is no fear.  He said it has been amazing to see the leaders of the Church “packed with full confidence that the Savior will get us through this. And the only concern is, ‘Are we going to learn what we need to learn?’”

To help pass the quarantine time, I bought all of the kids paint by number kits.  I ordered them online after looking at 4 different websites.  I thought I finally found a website that wasn't shipping from China, but I was wrong.  It took a month for them to get here!  We were so excited when they finally did though!  The girls were so excited about their projects, that Savannah ended up finishing hers after only 2 days, and Rhea's that was more detailed with a zillion colors took about 4 or 5 days.  Thomas' Africa scene is still in progress at this point...  ;)  They did a great job!  We'll get them framed to hang over their beds in China!