August 2021 Newsletter

 

Dear Friend of FOA,

 Over the past year and a half, all of us have been affected by Covid.  But at the end of July, FOA was affected in a way we had not yet experienced.  With the emergence of the Delta variant the Covid numbers began rising quickly.  Due to the decreased numbers in recent months, we had loosened up some of our policies about interaction with the community.  On Saturday, July 24th we had our first positive case of Covid.  By Monday the 26th we had 11 students and 5 staff members who were positive.  By the end of that week, we had a total of 17 of 30 students and 6 of 9 staff members positive with Covid.  We turned our gymnasium and a vacant staff house into quarantine buildings and our positive men settled in for 2 weeks of isolation.

 As I write this almost 3 weeks later, I am hopeful that we are on the back end of this outbreak. I am very thankful that at this point none of our staff or students have had to be hospitalized due to this virus.  I know there are many in our community who have had to be hospitalized and others who have lost their lives due to this virus.  I am thankful that no matter the individual experience God is faithful, and His comforting peace is available for all who would trust Him. 

For now, we will have to take some measures to limit our interaction with the community.  Please pray for wisdom as we seek to make decisions as a ministry that enables us to continue ministering to the men the Lord brings our way.  Over the past 3 weeks we have had to close our doors to new men until we knew it was safe for them to come.  With many men on our waiting list there is a great need for those dealing with drug and alcohol addictions.  We are beginning to bring men in again.  Please pray for the almost 60 men on our waiting list at this time.

During these difficult weeks, we were encouraged by the outpouring of support through local churches.  Thank you for your prayers, financial support and material donations that helped us through this time.  I was also very thankful for how our students banded together.  With only 13 students and 3 staff members who did not have Covid, there was a lot of work placed on these few.  Our men came together to help in ways they weren’t used to so we could get through this time.  Please continue to pray for us during these days and let us encourage one another.

Resting in God’s Grace,  

 Aaron Bonner