From early 2020 until today, the world has been in a season of great challenge and change as COVID-19 surged right across the globe and left a permanent mark. Everyone, governments and individuals alike were taken by surprise. These two years of living with COVID-19, has put everyone under persistent pressure in the areas of mental, spiritual and personal health. Repeated lockdowns, isolation, border closures and deaths due to COVID-19 along with the emergence of new strains of the virus has led to a build up fatigue in people from across the globe in every age range and socio-economic background.
Many of CityLife’s field partners have lived on the frontline of this pandemic as they have worked tirelessly to meet the emergent needs of the people in their communities; infections, lack of appropriate medical supplies, deaths and an increased struggle to make ends meet. Their phones are constantly ringing at all hours of the day and night as desperate church members call them for help or to inform them that another friend has passed on into eternity. Then comes the funeral, where COVID positive family members of the deceased cling to them and weep on their shoulder in their grief. How do you cope and respond when a child in your congregation has lost both their parents to COVID-19? And then you find out that both you and your son have been infected…
Thankfully, by the grace of God, both our field partner and their son fully recovered.
The stress faced by our field partners in this season is immense, not only as they minister to the needs of their people and communities, but also for themselves as individuals and family members. Many of the stresses have resulted in a sleep deprivation and stress as they balance the needs of their congregation, their own family and their personal well-being. Many times self-care has taken a backseat as the needs are so overwhelming.
At CityLife, we are extremely blessed to have the professional resources of CityLife Community Care (CLCC) available to us particularly during these incredibly difficult times. In late August, we invited Jimmy Yeow from our CLCC team who specialises as a Master Instructor of Mental Health First Aid courses to facilitate a specialised online course for our field partners. This course provided a deeper understanding into what mental illness is and the signs, symptoms and risk factors to be aware of. It was a very interactive course which gave our partners opportunities to evaluate some different case scenarios as well as share some practical self-care strategies and resources that they could apply in their own lives and contexts. It was an opportunity for our field partners to connect with each other on a more personal level and receive personal prayer and encouragement. Together, we are stronger!
We thank God that throughout this season, our field partners have been protected, healed and sustained. And we would also like to thank you for your ongoing support and prayers for our field partners.
– World Impact
