Coping with the Coronavirus in Europe, Africa, and America

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“GOD HAS GIVEN HIS PEOPLE A MANDATE TO CARE FOR THE POOR. IT’S JUST NOT CONTINGENT UPON PERSONAL RISK.” —P. 46 AND AMERICA AND AFRICA, EUROPE, IN CORONAVIRUS COPING THE WITH EARNING YOUR TRUST, EVERY DAY. 05.09.20

VOLUME 35

NUMBER 9

FEATURES 05.09.20 VOLUME 35 NUMBER 9

46 FIRST TO HURT, LAST TO RECOVER As a pandemic continues, poverty-fighting ministries struggle to meet needs. But many persevere, trusting God to provide by Charissa Koh

40 52 58 WITNESSING IN PLACE NEW YORK’S DUNKIRK MOMENT HOW TO LEARN ABOUT CHINA Coronavirus lockdowns have radically On one April night, hospitals from A 52-book guide during changed the nature of missions overseas, Maryland to Massachusetts sent a fleet of coronavirus time but cut-off-from-home missionaries helicopters to help evacuate New York by Marvin Olasky say they still have work to do COVID-19 patients needing oxygen by Mindy Belz by Emily Belz

ROGER NOMER/GENESIS PHOTOS 05.09.20 WORLD DEPARTMENTS 05.09.20 VOLUME 35 NUMBER 9

5 MAILBAG 8 NOTES FROM THE CEO

JESUS’ DISCIPLES AT THE WEDDING BANQUET IN THE CHOSEN

Dispatches Culture Notebook

13 NEWS ANALYSIS 23 MOVIES & TV 65 HEALTH Double trouble for the The Chosen, Jump Shot, Christians working in South: The coronavirus The Windermere hospice find opportuni- has complicated recov- Children, Mrs. America THE CHOSEN ties to serve patients, ery efforts after deadly families, and churches Easter storms 28 BOOKS GIVES US THE in their valley of Books that look at the suffering 16 HUMAN RACE deep divisions facing APOSTLES our nation WE’VE HEARD 67 RELIGION 17 QUOTABLES 30 CHILDREN’S BOOKS ABOUT BUT 68 SPORTS 18 QUICK TAKES 32 Q&A RARELY SEEN. Mollie Hemingway Voices

ON THE COVER: COMMUNITY 36 MUSIC 10 Joel Belz CHAIRPERSON GONZAGA YIGA Marx and Marks, Taylor 20 Janie B. Cheaney ADVISES RESIDENTS OF KAMPALA, and Taylor: new albums 38 Mindy Belz UGANDA, ON HOW TO CURB THE CORONAVIRUS; PHOTO BY BADRU from artists with famil- 70 Andrée Seu Peterson KATUMBA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES iar music names 72 Marvin Olasky

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20200325_Ad-page-SE2.indd 1 4/17/20 10:55 AM BIBLICALLY OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM THAT INFORMS, EDUCATES, AND INSPIRES

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MARCH MADNESS treatments. Andrée Seu Peterson’s RICK FLANDERS ON WNG.ORG observation, that sometimes we need Joe Biden’s crony capitalism is just a to lose things to realize how miracu- little to the right of Bernie Sanders’ lous life normally is, rings true in a so-called democratic socialism. To see beautiful way. how far left they are, consider how Sanders has had plenty of nice things KATHY PETERSON/GRANT, NEB. to say about the world’s worst dicta- That’s me exactly. I once had an excel- tors but only scorn for corporations. lent memory and consequently some pretty bad study habits. Since then I’ve had a few medical mishaps that COVID-19 CALLING make easy memorizing impossible. MARCH 28, P. 11—KIM MILHOAN/KIHEI, HAWAII As an anesthesiologist and a pastor’s wife, I understand that we must bal- A DISEASE LIKE NO OTHER ance the cost of public health deci- MARCH 28, P. 46—STEVEN TROYER/ sions against the value of human life. MARCH MADNESS MILLERSBURG, OHIO These analyses seem callous. But I This article on the Hansen’s disease pray that as more data become avail- I enjoy your colony at Carville is so pertinent. It able we will discuss not just the eco- magazine because could be part of a 10th-grade biology nomic costs of our interventions, but or eighth-grade American history the spiritual, psychological, and social you are conservative class. Paul Brand played a key role in costs as well. but not Republican. Carville’s history, and his book has Most political breathtaking perspectives on how the SAM LOCHINGER ON WNG.ORG body declares its Designer. We are to live sacrificially, just as Jesus commentators don’t was obedient to the sacrifice set understand, but you before Him. The Lord can use even do understand, that SPLIT DECISIONS this pandemic for His glory, and I pray MARCH 28, P. 8—ANNE LIVINGSTON ON WNG.ORG to that end. it is not Trump or Thank you for the reminder that God Biden or Sanders, integrated His creation at every level not Clinton or and for addressing the economic real- A PLEA FOR BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS ity of abortion. We divide money and MARCH 28, P. 20—MELISSA SMITH ON FACEBOOK Obama, or any morality at our peril. I would love a return to beautiful politician we need, things in every area of society. I’ve but God. never understood why we spend GOING AFTER THE GIGS money propagating ugliness when MARCH 28, P. 40— MARCH 28, P. 52—KRISTOPHER MARKS ON things could be beautiful instead. FAITH MARSHALL/DACULA, GA. FACEBOOK Californians now find themselves vic- JOANNE SHANNON ON FACEBOOK timized by the ultra-liberal propo- The destruction of beauty is all around nents of big government they elected. us. In music, for example, conserva- tories encourage composition students to compose music that produces STEALING MCMILLIONS LETTERS AND COMMENTS angst in the listener. MARCH 28, P. 27—ROGER AGNESS ON FACEBOOK EMAIL [email protected] I remember when McDonald’s ran that MAIL WORLD Mailbag, PO Box 20002, Asheville, NC 28802-9998 promotion. No purchase was required, THE FORGETFUL LIFE WEBSITE wng.org so I would hit the drive-thru hoping FACEBOOK facebook.com/WNGdotorg MARCH 28, P. 72—CHARIS CROWLEY JOHANSEN TWITTER @WNGdotorg to obtain the winning piece. Never ON FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM instagram.com/WNGdotorg happened. I have lived through 10 years of extreme PLEASE INCLUDE FULL NAME AND ADDRESS. LETTERS MAY BE EDITED TO YIELD memory loss related to anti-epileptic BREVITY AND CLARITY. READ MORE MAILBAG LETTERS AT WNG.ORG

05.09.20 WORLD 5 THE OTHER PANDEMIC…

Right now, the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a horrible tragedy—a ecting millions. However, there is another pandemic unfolding that is a much bigger threat to humanity—a ecting billions.

People are rightly concerned about the current COVID-19 global crisis. Millions of people are being impacted. However, prior to COVID-19, humanity was already facing a pandemic even more devastating—impacting billions of people. Like COVID-19, this other pandemic has been spreading rapidly and is now harming every nation on the planet. is disaster is like a virus, in that it has appeared magnitude of this disaster. is overview is limited, in that Go to sexualholocaust.org to: very suddenly and has swept across all the nations of the it addresses the severity and magnitude of the problem, but world, creating indescribable chaos and su ering in its wake. does not prescribe a solution. We cannot solve any problem 1) Purchase e Sexual Holocaust: Unlike COVID-19, very few people are aware of this other until we rst understand the nature of the problem and A Global Crisis for $7; pandemic. e other pandemic is not a natural disaster—it its magnitude. erefore, our rst goal must be to “sound is a man-made tragedy. It stems from the consequences of the alarm.” is message must get out to as many people 2) Download a free PDF of e the sexual revolution and the new “anything-goes” sexuality. as possible, as soon as possible. We ask that all responsible Sexual Holocaust; It is the Sexual Holocaust. Year in and year out, the sexual individuals help us sound the alarm. holocaust is creating billions of victims. 3) Download a brief synopsis; e Sexual Holocaust: A Global Crisis was written for the Billions? Yes, we are talking about billions of sexual holocaust broadest possible audience. We seek to warn all people, 4) Watch a free 5-minute video victims. In this generation, over a billion people have e Sexual Holocaust: A Global Crisis including Muslims, Jews, and atheists. As with COVID-19, introducing the nature of this become addicted to pornography. During this time, over a By Bridgette Heap and Dr. John Sanford we have an obligation to warn everybody of this rapidly crisis. billion people have been infected with one or more sexually- escalating tragedy. Even as we try to reach the broadest transmitted diseases. Likewise, there have been over a billion audience possible, as Christian authors we feel compelled Bulk orders are available through people who have been sexually used or abused. During to introduce the essential spiritual dimension to the sexual sexualholocaust.org for a this time, over a billion in utero lives have been aborted. holocaust, and the minimal necessity of a personal and discounted rate. During this time over a billion people have been emotionally caring God. erefore, we show how anything-goes sexuality devastated. ere have been over a billion broken marriages is harming humanity on every level—physical, emotional, e Sexual Holocaust: A Global and families in our generation. Almost every family on the social, and also spiritual. Crisis can also be ordered at planet now includes one or more individuals who are victims Amazon for $10. of the sexual holocaust. We are talking about a humanitarian crisis of the highest conceivable magnitude. Much (perhaps We urge Christian readers to examine Ezekiel 33:1-11 and most) of humanity is now being seriously harmed by the Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, to better understand the sexual holocaust. urgency of what is now unfolding. is issue is way too big Please visit for any of us—let us all pray that many Christian pastors, sexualholocaust.org e short book, e Sexual Holocaust: A Global Crisis, is an councilors, psychologists, physicians, educators, authors, for more information and overview which describes the harmful consequences of the politicians, o cials, parents, and victims come together to sexual revolution and zooms out to discover the incredible sound the warning and begin the healing. resources.

SH_World Mag-Double Page AD-2.indd All Pages 4/17/20 12:17 PM THE OTHER PANDEMIC…

SH_World Mag-Double Page AD-2.indd All Pages 4/17/20 12:17 PM TWO ISSUES AGO Notes from the CEO KEVIN MARTIN I FIRST RAISED THE POSSIBILITY WE MIGHT NOT PRINT, BUT GOD HAS SEEN FIT TO ALLOW US TO STAY ON SCHEDULE.

I will consider its themes in the upcoming weeks and months. I hope you will find it similarly helpful. Also accompanying this issue is an opportunity from our marketing department to give WORLD gift memberships to family members or friends. We pro- mote gift memberships every year around this time, but as with everything else, this year is different. Perhaps this is the best possible time to provide to The comfort of someone you know solidly Biblical, panic-free, street-level reporting on the the familiar coronavirus and other news stories. Our marketing team has made these mem- In uncertain times, we can be berships available at a really good price. grateful for tokens of normalcy I don’t have to tell you that there’s more to WORLD than what you read here, although if you give a gift mem- HAVE BEEN PLEASANTLY SURPRISED by the number of WORLD bership, I hope you’ll introduce friends members I’ve heard from who tell me about the sense of stabil- and family to everything WORLD. If ity that accompanies this magazine’s arrival in the mailbox. As you’re taking advantage of our daily our lives have become increasingly digital and “virtual,” with content online, you probably noticed everything from work and family visits to church services going that during this crisis, we’ve been doing online, it is comforting to have a physical product like a paper- more digital reporting than ever before. and-ink magazine arrive on schedule. Each weekday, The World and Every- I And while a few of you have said of the potential for a period thing in It continues to deliver, as does of all digital, all the time, “Bring it on!,” we have no plans to stop print- Listening In each weekend, and we’re ing WORLD Magazine unless this crisis prevents it. That still could currently in the middle of a second great happen, but we hope it won’t. It was two issues ago that I first raised season of The Olasky Interview. the possibility, but a full month since, God has seen fit to allow us to But right now, a physical paper-and- stay on schedule. ink magazine may be the greatest com- No question this crisis has changed our lives in ways big and small. fort money can buy. I hope you will I don’t mean to act as though the question of whether we print or we share WORLD with a friend. don’t is the biggest question in our lives these days. That question occupies my mind a good bit, as it should, but I’m certain it’s not among your greatest concerns. So to help you frame up those concerns in light of what Scripture says, we included inside the polybag liner a copy of John Piper’s book, Coronavirus and Christ. I found this book to be helpful in reframing the way I’ve been thinking about the events of the past few weeks, and EMAIL [email protected]

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THE VERY PATH BEING Voices JOEL BELZ PROPOSED TO “OPEN” OUR NATION FOR BUSINESS SMACKS OF SOCIALISM.

But why do we imagine that the best way to untangle the mess is to do the same thing over again? The second reason our freedoms will have a vastly different look is that even the free market will exert enormous pressure to reshape so much of what we do. This is much more nuanced than the matter of No path to normalcy government control. Now I’m talking about choices you and I will make, options you and I will select—all A “reopened” America won’t resulting in finished products quite different from be as we remember it what we were used to before the coronavirus moved in. Try this example—of epic proportions: ORMALCY. WHAT WOULD YOU TRADE to get Airlines around the world, according to the Federal it back? How deep into your pockets would Aviation Administration, were—prior to the virus— you dive to regain the life you had just three typically boarding about 6 million passengers every months ago? day. By early April, that figure had fallen by as much Forget it! It’s not only that, as North Car- as 80 to 90 percent, with big planes flying with mostly olina writer Thomas Wolfe said years ago, empty seats. But those empty seats weren’t the imme- “You can’t go home again.” It’s not just that diate result of government controls; indeed, govern- N the past is a superficially or nostalgically ment folks wanted them full! The seats were typically different place. The past, we are discovering during empty because hundreds of thousands of would-be this incredible “reopening” process, will prove to have passengers were making the decision not to fly. been profoundly different in the fundamentals. But After all, tell me that I’m free to fly but that I have we will not be returning to those fundamentals. to stay 6 feet away from every other human being, and Both our economy and our healthcare system, our I don’t have to be too smart to say no thanks for the president has assured us repeatedly, are unlike any- ticket—even if you gave it to me! The reverberations thing in human history. “And they are coming back,” of that conversation will echo back not just to the he repeats—“and quite quickly.” headquarters of that particular airline, but to Boeing I’m not so sure. For two reasons, the freedoms we aircraft factories in northwest Washington, and then inherit on the other side of this tragedy will be alto- to the nation’s capital where projected tax revenues gether different from what we experienced coming in. look skimpier every day. The first reason is that we have in such large mea- And that’s just one example. The stakes are similarly sure moved into a managed economy. high among the more than 2,000 assisted living cen- We have, in very short order, accepted some form ters throughout the nation. When you’re told on the of control by government at just about every level. one hand to get close to those oldsters but on the other For better or for worse, we are accepting the orders hand to keep your distance so you don’t kill them, you of our president, our governors, our mayors, and all have hard choices to make. And those hard choices kinds of consultants and bureaucrats in between. No are on every side. But that’s to discuss in this space need to recite here a list of all those decisions we used another time. to make for ourselves. All you need to turn away in Another example includes a quarter million local quiet terror is to count how many times various gov- churches that can’t help wondering what their freedom ernment entities now use the word “essential” to define will look like on the other side of the “reopening.” their jobs. That too is to be discussed in future issues, again and The very path being proposed to “open” our nation again. for business smacks of socialism. It supposes there are Whatever freedoms await us just the other side of people smart enough to lead us out of the fix we’re in. our government’s “reopening” will look unfamiliar. The “normal” we want to go back to isn’t there anymore.

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News Analysis Human Race Quotables Quick Takes

Double trouble for the South The coronavirus has complicated recovery efforts after deadly Easter storms

by Kim Henderson

UST BEFORE DEADLY TWIN TORNADOES surprised Seminary, Miss., Lydia Brooks CAREN DAVIS OF WILLIAMSBURG, made sure to snap an Easter afternoon photograph of her front yard. Dappled sun MISS., CALLS shone through the leaves of hundred-year-old live oaks, and a passel of kids smiled OUT TO A RELATIVE AS from an octagonal swing set built for 10. A pair of cowboy boots, caked with mud, SHE SEARCHES sat tossed aside in the grass. THROUGH HER HOME AFTER Moments later Brooks and her family huddled in a hallway of their home as THE APRIL 12 violent winds cracked the slab, swiping the 12-foot-tall mahogany front door from TORNADO. J its hinges and slinging glass shards across their backs. Outside, her prized live ROGELIO V. SOLIS/AP 05.09.20 WORLD 13 LIVE OAKS ARE UPROOTED AT THE BROOKS FAMILY HOME IN SEMINARY, MISS.

workers are handing out hotel keys. Organization spokesperson Annette Rowland said the group is learning to improvise: “We must ensure the safety of both our workforce and those we serve.” As COVID-19 mandates came down the pike in March, Red Cross leaders at the national level determined to prepare for the South’s spring disaster season by making agreements with hotel and feeding partners. In Mississippi, at least 32 families have sought refuge in one of those hotels, and volunteers are distributing meals to 114 participants three times a day. Collins, Miss., Fire Chief John Pope oaks landed on the family’s Ford Expe- “Some of our on-the-ground survey spent time on the night of April 14 mak- dition, and the tin remains of six chicken teams have been limited to one member ing a 120-mile haul for hand sanitizer. houses—along with a smattering of because of social distancing require- Supporters donated two 55-gallon odds-defying hens—blew from their ments.” drums of the disinfectant, and Pope neighbor’s pasture into theirs. Three of those survey teams arrived planned to bottle it for distribution Lydia Brooks and her husband, Dar- in Mississippi on April 13, verifying that among first responders and victims: rel, were among thousands of South- an EF4 tornado with peak intensity of “People may have prepared for the virus erners hit by the dual punch of a storm about 170 mph tracked through the state before, but when the tornado came surge on April 12 and continuing fallout for an estimated 68 miles. At least 2 through, they lost those resources.” from COVID-19. On March 28 Darrel lost miles wide, the tornado set a state In Lawrence County, Miss., Sheriff his oil field job. Now the 46-year-old is record, and recovery from it may be Ryan Everett helped with limited-atten- awaiting an insurance adjuster’s deci- notable as well. Pandemic precautions dance funeral plans for Deputy Robert sion to learn if he’s lost his home as well. are affecting all fronts. Ainsworth, who died along with his wife Until then, the threat of looters keeps The Red Cross is responding in Mis- when a tornado destroyed their mobile them living in what’s left of it. sissippi, but instead of opening shelters, home. “When I first heard about our Still, over the hum of a generator Lydia said they’re thankful: “Nobody was hurt. Material things can come and go.” The twisters killed 14 people in Mis- sissippi and wreaked havoc in several neighboring states, claiming at least 22 more lives. The National Weather Ser- vice (NWS) confirmed 56 tornadoes ripped through Texas, Louisiana, Mis- sissippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. The storms also inflicted other damage: Flooding in Marshall County, Ala., caused roads to wash out. An hour west, lightning struck the stee- ple of Shoal Creek Baptist Church at Priceville. A state line north, 2 inches of rain lashed Nashville, Tenn., followed by snow flurries two days later. Even so, Jennifer McNatt of the NWS’ Southern Bureau described the storm event as typical of springtime severe weather patterns, although she acknowl- edged assessing it has been different:

14 WORLD 05.09.20 LYDIA BROOKS governor’s order to shelter in place, I thought to myself, ‘Boy, we’d be in a Coronavirus bind if we had to bury an officer,’” the first-term sheriff said. “I had no idea I’d and Christ: be figuring it out. This is the last thing we can ever do for him. We won’t get a A Poem redo.” by John Piper And in an already shell-shocked economy, the South’s farmers took another direct hit, especially its poultry My God, my King, my Emperor, farmers. In Mississippi alone, chickens My all-designing Engineer, are a $2.9 billion business. Dave Nichols My Rider through the skies, with roar directs a community development group And speed and help, my Charioteer, in one of the hard-hit areas: “We have chicken houses with roofs off and some My Judge, my Advocate, Release, totally gone. One farmer lost 12 houses.” My Doom Averted and my Ransom Met, Nichols explained that a single house My Execution and my Peace, can maintain up to 15,000 broilers, so My Friend, my willing Surrogate, the impact of such a loss is large. He stressed that the shortfall will affect My wind-borne Life, my Health, my Death, more than chicken availability at gro- My Door to Paradise, my Gain, cery stores or Zaxby’s: “Poultry farmers My everlasting Lungs, my Breath, are buying feed, they’re buying fuel, My final Thorn, my End of pain, they’re employing laborers. That won’t happen with the chicken houses gone. What must you give or take, my God, You’ve heard of win-win situations? That we might live and never die, Well, this storm plus the virus is a lose- When we have died? What kiss or rod, lose.” My King, must your fierce love apply? As volunteers arrive to help with massive cleanup efforts, Christian lead- A thousand days and nights pain free? ers like Tommy Broom of the Coving- A hundred years with solvent banks? ton-Jefferson Davis Baptist Association Touch down without a casualty— pass out masks and stress spacing Again! How many giving thanks? among volunteers. He said numbers are down because relief teams are often Or must it be catastrophe? made up of retirees, and “they’re kind A crash? A million rich made poor? of scared to get out right now, since A helpless child swept out to sea? they’re in that most vulnerable age A grief? A virus without cure? group.” Broom has led teams before, and he’s Whatever, O my God, my King, noticed this time, with the coronavirus Whatever you must give or take, on their radar, the volunteers who do Waste not, my Lord, this suffering, turn out seem to be quiet and serious. But come and shake this world awake. Just hours after the storm raged through, he set out with a few friends And then, this sleep of death behind, and some chainsaws to check out the Slay every dream that once enticed decimation left in its wake. Before long, With emptiness. Light every mind they were cutting through limbs and To see, alive, the worth of Christ: debris to get to a woman trapped inside her home. She was on oxygen, and the Our Life. Our Everlasting Health. electrical lines to power her equipment Our endless Waterfall were down. Of grace. Our faith’s Reward. Our Wealth. Broom admits that pandemic condi- Our Pleasure Infinite. Our All. tions make it a hard time to know how to be a good neighbor: “But in times of —John Piper’s most recent book is Coronavirus and Christ disaster, you just do what you have to do.”

05.09.20 WORLD 15 DISPATCHES Human Race RECOVERED U.K. resident Connie Titchen, age 106, has recovered from the coronavirus. Titchen, a great-grandmother of eight, was born in 1913 and lived through two World Wars. She was admitted to a Bir- mingham, England, hospital with what she thought was pneumonia and was soon diagnosed with COVID-19. After three weeks of fighting, her doctors said, Titchen was virus-free. Nurses lined the hall to clap as she was wheeled out to go home, according to media reports. Titchen said in a statement that she felt “very lucky” and was eager to see her family.

HALTED President Donald Trump says he will sign an executive order to block legal immi- gration into the United States temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The president tweeted that the suspension is needed for health reasons and “to protect the jobs” of Americans. He didn’t say how long the new restriction would last. Trump had already blocked travel from China, most of Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Iran, and the U.S. State Department has halted almost all visa processing for weeks during the pandemic.

TREES INFECTED WITH XYLELLA FASTIDIOSA IN SALENTO, ITALY ACCUSED The spy trial of Paul Whelan began in Moscow on April 13. The Russian gov- DISEASED ernment accused the former U.S. Marine of espionage after authorities found a A pandemic for trees USB flash drive in his apartment that they claim contained secret information. An insect-spread pathogen is killing trees Russian security arrested Whelan in and harming economies in Europe December 2018 and he has been in prison ever since. During these 16 months he has not been able to speak SPREADING DISEASE AMONG EUROPEAN olive trees could cost the to family or friends, U.S. Ambassador economy over 20 billion euros, according to a recent study. The John Sullivan said in an interview with disease is caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, believed to the BBC. The diplomat called it a trial be the most deadly plant pathogen in the world, and there is no cure. without any proof. Authorities have It showed up in an Italian olive orchard in 2013, but it also infects denied Sullivan permission to attend cherry, almond, and plum trees. Xylella makes it difficult for a tree court during Whelan’s trial or talk to to move water and nutrients, killing the tree. Sap-sucking insects the defendant. Whelan says he is inno- spread the pathogen, making it very hard to control. It recently cent and that a friend left the USB in his A showed up in olive trees in Spain and Greece and has spread quickly room. His lawyer argued for postponing up and down Italy. Farmers are fighting the disease by burning the trial, like many others during the infected trees, but the researchers say the only effective way of pandemic, saying Whelan’s case is stopping it will be producing a resistant tree. high-profile and should not be heard in a locked-down courtroom. That argu- ment failed to persuade the court.

16 WORLD 05.09.20 ITALY PHOTO PRESS/ZUMA PRESS/NEWSCOM DISPATCHES Quotables

“It brought tears to my eyes, just giving up on it.” DONNY SIRISAVATH, owner and chef of Khao Noodle Shop in Dallas, Texas, on being forced to close the restaurant on April 18 because of lost business due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“They didn’t fight for me to be told by white people which white person I can vote on.” Rap star KANYE WEST on his parents and their civil rights activism. He implied he will vote for Donald Trump in November.

“The number is down because we brought the number down. God did not do that, fate did not do that, destiny did not do that, a lot of pain and suffering did that.” New York Gov. ANDREW CUOMO on the reason for the plateau in the number of people being hospitalized because of COVID-19 in New York.

“People have been awakened. That’s for sure.” XIE YANYI, a human rights lawyer based in Beijing, on people in China whose family members died of COVID-19 suing the government for delaying action as the virus spread.

“There can’t be anything more horrendous.” University of Michigan football coach JIM HARBAUGH on “a society that aborts babies.” He said: “You see people taking more of a view of sanctity of life. And I hope that can continue. I hope that continues and not just in this time of crisis or pandemic.”

05.09.20 WORLD 17 DISPATCHES Quick Takes GETTING THEIR GOATS With 2 humans sheltering behind closed doors, a new creature has taken over the streets of one small Welsh town. According to a BBC report, a herd of Kashmiri goats has taken up residence in Llandudno, Wales, feasting on the town’s hedges and other garden plants. “They are curious, goats are, and I think they are wondering what’s going on like everybody else,” town Councillor Carol Marubbi told the BBC. “There isn’t anyone else around so they probably decided they may as well take over.” While the nearly 120 goats may be destroying the local landscape, Marubbi said the animals were providing free entertainment for residents of the town.

THE OLD IS NEW AGAIN A stark 3 uptick in unemployment claims in New Jersey has revealed the frailties of the state’s computer software. To fix the problems, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called on volunteer computer programmers to lend a hand fixing lines of code. One caveat: The programmers must know the ancient COBOL programming language. First developed in the 1950s, COBOL disappeared from most university syllabuses in the 1980s. But many government systems still depend on the decades-old programming language. After Murphy’s call, several older programmers volunteered to help.

A BLAST OF A PARTY Expectant 4 parents in Florida turned a celebra- AN ILL-ADVISED ATTACK tion into a conflagration by accidentally setting off a wildfire during a gender reveal party. Brevard County Fire Chief MARK ONE DOWN FOR THE CIVILIAN FLEET. While conducting main- Mark Schollmeyer said the 10-acre wild- tenance in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea, the crew fire near Grant-Valkaria, Fla., was caused of the RCGS Resolute spotted a Venezuelan Coast Guard vessel on when someone incorporated Tannerite March 30. According to the crew of the Portuguese-flagged but into a gender reveal party. Tannerite German-owned cruise ship, the Venezuelan littoral patrol boat targets are designed to explode when Naiguatá directed the cruise ship to follow it to a Venezuelan port. shot by a firearm. County fire crews were When the crew of the Resolute refused—citing their right to be in able to contain the blaze before the fire international waters—a crewman of the Venezuelan vessel used an could damage any structures. automatic rifle to fire warning shots. When that didn’t turn theRes - olute to port, the 262-foot Naiguatá attempted to ram the 409-foot AN OLD DOG’S NEW TRICK Officers Resolute. Designed for sailing through ice-covered waters, the Res- 5 with the Washington State Patrol olute took the blow well while the collision ruptured the hull of the engaged in a high-speed pursuit of a Naiguatá and sank it. Other coast guard boats rescued the crew of vehicle they say reached over 100 miles the Venezuelan vessel, while the Resolute sailed on to her next port. per hour on Interstate 5 in Seattle on March 30. Officers succeeded in stopping the car, and state Trooper Heather

18 WORLD 05.09.20 ILLUSTRATION BY KRIEG BARRIE 8

7 2

I THINK THEY 4 ARE WONDERING WHAT’S GOING ON LIKE EVERY Axtman got a surprise when she looked BODY ELSE. of reckless conduct—including the may- in the driver’s seat. According to Axt- or’s wife. She won’t be let off easy, man, the suspect was operating the Walker insisted. “My wife is an adult vehicle from behind a pit bull dog. The capable of making her own decisions,” man’s excuse: He was teaching his dog he said, “and in this instance she exhib- how to drive. “I wish I could make this ited a stunning lack of judgment.” up,” Axtman told CNN. “I’ve never heard this excuse.” Officers booked the 51-year- OFF-THE-WALL IDEA For 15 years, old man on charges including DUI and able to use discretion when dealing with 8 customers at a Tybee Island, Ga., took his dog to an animal shelter. children who get into accidents. bar have marked their patronage by scribbling a short note on a $1 bill and ALWAYS BY THE BOOK Police in NO SPECIAL TREATMENT An Illi- stapling it to the bar’s walls and ceilings. 6 Taiwan say they were merely fol- 7 nois mayor’s dragnet to crack down Now with the Sand Bar empty due to lowing procedure when they hooked a on violations of sheltering-in-place rules the coronavirus and employees on fur- 5-year-old boy up to a breathalyzer. turned up an unlikely scofflaw—the lough, owner Jennifer Knox developed Police in Taipei responded to the scene mayor’s wife. At an April 3 press con- a backup plan to pay her workers. At of an accident when the owner of a Tesla ference Mayor Brant Walker of Alton, the end of March, Knox began the pains- complained the boy crashed into his car Ill., pleaded with residents to stay home, taking process of removing the stapled on his bicycle. Following procedures saying he would send officers out to currency decor in order to distribute it that all motorists get their blood-alcohol enforce the coronavirus sheltering to her employees. “There’s money on levels checked after accidents—even orders. A few days later, a police raid the walls and we have time on our slow vehicles like bicycles—the police on Hiram’s Tavern caught revelers par- hands,” she told CNN. Knox and a few administered the breathalyzer to the tying after midnight. Police issued crim- volunteers spent over three days pulling boy. The boy passed. Police officials in inal complaints to everyone at the down $3,714 from the walls. Each of her Taipei said in the future officers will be gathering with a class A misdemeanor six employees received $600.

2: PRESS ASSOCIATION/AP; 3: ALAMY; 4: ISTOCK; 5: TWITTER; 6: CNA; 7: JOHN BADMAN/THE TELEGRAPH/AP; 05.09.20 WORLD 19 8: WTOC SCREEN CAPTURE THOSE OF US WHO ARE Voices JANIE B. CHEANEY STILL LOCKED DOWN SHOULD BE CONSIDERING OUR PRIORITIES.

Jesus, canny teacher that He is, starts where we are. This young man is all about proper behavior, and The One Thing Jesus knows the answer He’ll get after listing a selec- tion of rules from the Ten Commandments. Sure It’s not what the self-help enough: “I’ve followed these from my youth.” Many of gurus have been telling us us could nod right along with him. Don’t steal, lie, murder, or commit adultery: check. Honor our parents: check. (Don’t we salute them on Facebook every Moth- E APPEARED TO HAVE IT ALL: youth, wealth, er’s Day and Father’s Day?) standing, pedigree. Sincere and pious, too: “Well then,” says Jesus, “there is one thing you a credit to his nation. Still, he came looking lack.” and asking, “Good teacher, what must I do Here it is—the One Thing! Just imagine that young to inherit eternal life?” man leaning forward eagerly, ears quivering, heart This is the question of those who have it pounding, ready to catch the secret of the ages. all. The poor don’t ask Him this. Those anx- Are we listening, too? Because there really is One H ious about the crop or terrified they’ll lose Thing; it’s just not what the self-help gurus have been a child or beaten down by evil or disability—they’re telling us. Here it is: too beset by this life to spare much thought for the Turn your priorities upside-down. next. Only those who are comfortable in the world Radically reorient your desires. sense that there must be more to it. Only those who Give it all up. have all they need recognize that there’s a lot more to The One Thing can’t be added to anything we want. Hence the question. already have, whether it’s talent, health, wealth, or It’s a good question, too. As spiritual beings, we piety. It can only replace those things. It will have all, should recognize that there’s more to life than Having or nothing. There’s a reason why, when Jesus was It All. The problem is, this young man is looking to reeling off commandments, he chose from the “second add to what he already has. He’s looking for the one table”—the commandments that address our relation- thing that will make it all meaningful. ships with others. He purposefully left out the first That’s what everyone is looking for: the One Thing. one, about loving God with all that is in us. That’s One That’s the lure of online click bait: “This weird trick Thing, and there’s a catch: It’s the commandment that will double your dividends!” “Learn the secret that only Jesus could keep. will add years to your life!” It’s the promise that But that’s why He adds, without pausing for a launches a thousand self-help books: The Secret, The response, “Then come, and follow me.” Because only One-Minute Manager, Your Best Life Now. Even when He can lead us out of ourselves and into the glorious it comes in multiples (Seven Habits, 10 Rules), it’s still light of full surrender and inexpressible joy: the essence the One Thing. If we could only master the one thing, of eternal life. we could flood our lives with purpose and joy. And if The young man who had it all turned Him down. everyone joined in, what could follow but peace on What about us? Those of us who are still locked down earth and goodwill toward men? Self-help wouldn’t should be considering our priorities. Those of us who be self-help without the evangelical angle: Do this are delivering goods on the road or hurrying from one (manage your time, consume the perfect diet, wear hospital bed to another can still look for His steps your optimum colors, find your pressure points)and directly ahead of us. Those of us who have lost a job live! or a business find our lives upended, and what now? The One Thing is the same for all: Reorder your loves, and follow Me.

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ME7EML2_World.indd 1 4/7/20 10:06 AM “The mixture of street-level reporting and history-retelling are fantastic and illustrate the movement perfectly.”

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Movies & TV Books Children’s Books Q&A Music

AN ADAPTATION WORTH WATCHING The Chosen is a smart, entertaining take on the Gospels

by Megan Basham

F THE CHOSEN IS ANYTHING TO GO BY, writer/director Dallas Jenkins seems to have inherited the ability of his father, novelist Jerry B. Jenkins, to hook an audience. I’ve seen dozens of Biblical adaptations over the years, and I can count on one hand the number of times I felt I could give one an unqualified recommendation—not just for its spiritual value, but its entertainment value as well. An indie production that owes its existence to crowdfunding, The Chosen impresses on both counts. I It’s important to note the long-form series isn’t a straight retelling of the

VIDANGEL 05.09.20 WORLD 23 CULTURE Movies & TV how deceitful our hearts are, so it’s unlikely He would have asked the Phar- isee what he believed in those words. But this feels more like rare careless- ness than intentional mischaracteriza- Gospels, like Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s miniseries. It takes creative license tion, especially since the rest of the by asking intelligent questions, then imagining stories that might answer them. scene is so earnest in capturing the spirit For example, what might cause a hot-tempered, blue-collar guy like Peter to of John, Chapter 3. It would take a Phar- go fishing at night? He needs to pay off a debt, perhaps. Why is Matthew willing isaical spirit indeed to impugn the whole to become a pariah in his community for the sake of a few denarii? Maybe he has over a minor quibble. an Asperger’s-like disorder that makes social connections difficult but mathemat- The Chosen’s pilot made a fair bit of ical calculations easy. news a couple of years ago when Jenkins It’s a fascinating interpretation that dovetails perfectly with what we do know first released it. If you’ve already viewed of Matthew’s meticulous nature. that, I’d recommend you watch further. Pastors and Bible teachers frequently remind us that most of the disciples were While that episode is by no means bad, rough tradesmen. Yet whenever we see a movie or television show about them, it’s the weakest of the series, which gets they walk through their scenes full of wide-eyed, almost adolescent naiveté. They stronger as it goes. certainly never seem like the kind of guys to start a bar fight or make crude jokes after a hard day of manual labor. While keeping the language clean, The Chosen nonetheless gives us the apostles we’ve heard about but rarely seen. For that matter, it gives us a Jesus we’ve heard about but rarely seen: Rather than the bland, distant mystic, here we have a loving, earthy Savior who delights in the company of His followers. It’s a dicey prospect: inventing back- stories and side plots for Bible characters without undermining the source material. That Jenkins and his team navigate these hazardous waters without wrecking their ship on the rocks of con- tradiction, as so many big studio and network productions have, is thanks to a deep theological understanding of the New Testament. The series doesn’t just check off events as they occur chrono- logically. It uses creative camera shots, Put simply, The Chosen is one of the flashbacks, and quick references to the most engaging Bible-inspired produc- Old Testament to make a holistic case tions I’ve seen. It’s surprisingly funny for Jesus as the Messiah. and relatable, so we continue watching None of this is to suggest the show episode after episode not because we is perfect. Sets and costumes occasion- PUT SIMPLY, feel obligated to support it as dutiful ally show evidence of budget con- THE CHOSEN IS Christians, but because it’s compelling straints. A few of the actors overplay and hard to stop. their roles (though it’s near miraculous ONE OF THE MOST VidAngel made The Chosen avail- how good the cast of mostly unknowns ENGAGING BIBLE- able for viewing on its streaming plat- is overall). And every once in a while, INSPIRED form, or you can watch it through a the script invents dialogue for Jesus that free dedicated app on iPhone or isn’t as careful as it should be. The PRODUCTIONS Android, as I did. Jenkins does pop up moment He asks Nicodemus what his I’VE SEEN. now and then to appeal for contribu- heart is telling him is probably the worst tions to film more episodes. To that I’ll offender. Jesus knew better than anyone only say that when I was done viewing, I donated, eager to see what he and his team do with Season 2.

24 WORLD 05.09.20 VIDANGEL “BASKETBALL WAS HIS GAME. BUT BASKETBALL WAS NOT HIS LIFE.”

ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION INNOVATION Loop holes Jump Shot explores a sport-changing move by Bob Brown by Marty VanDriel

The new sci-fi TV series Tales From the Loop lands on the mystery spectrum ONCE A GENERATION, AN ATHLETE CHANGES a sport with an unex- somewhere between The Twilight Zone pected innovation. Steph Curry didn’t invent the 3-point shot, but and Lost. Nudity and sexual content in his accuracy and range changed basketball. two of the first season’s eight episodes Who first transitioned from the easily blocked two-handed set (Nos. 3 and 6), as well as intermittent shot to the jump shot, now a staple of modern basketball? The new explicit language, are troubling. It’s too documentary Jump Shot, which Curry produced, examines the life bad, for the stories nail some keen

and innovations of Kenny Sailors. insights into human fallenness. Steph on Kenny Curry Sailors and his legacy outside of basketball. Sailors grew up in Hillsdale, Wyo., in the 1930s. His older broth- The Loop is the nickname for an er’s 6-foot-5-inch height made baskets impossible for the 5-foot-7-inch underground facility in Ohio designed, younger brother. Sailors’ first jump shot was a revelation: “I jumped according to its director, to “unlock and up high enough, out of my dribble, brought the ball up right over explore the mysteries of the universe.” my head, and I let it go. And the thing went in!” Everyone in the area is connected to the Seeing current professionals watch footage of Sailors sprinting Loop—working there or related to some- the floor, dribbling, and firing a modern one who is. jump shot is fascinating. They seem In the second episode, two teen boys amazed that someone playing in the switch bodies. It begins as seemingly 1940s was so far ahead of his time. TOP MOVIES harmless but leads to worsening compli- Sailors won a championship with the WATCHED cations. In the third episode, a teen girl University of Wyoming in 1943, served AT HOME and boy make time stand still for every- in the Marines during World War II, then one else so they can prolong the thrill of played in the fledgling NBA a few sea- Star Wars Episode IX new love. But what happens when they sons. He moved to Alaska and became Sonic the Hedgehog get to know each other? In the sixth epi- an inspirational high-school teacher and sode, a man enters a parallel reality girls’ basketball coach, a renowned Dolittle where he competes with his alter ego for hunting guide, and a faithful husband Bad Boys for Life a gay lover’s affections. and father. But all folks wanted to ask Jumanji: The Next Level Although they sanction un-Biblical about was his jump shot. Interviewed The Call of the Wild relationships, these episodes percep- in his 90s, he seemed at peace: “It’s nice Little Women tively critique popularly idealized notions to know who you are, and where you’re Birds of Prey of romance—straight and gay: Selfish- going when you leave this world.” ness pervades every heart. Jump Shot is available at www.jump- 1917 Am I a fan of the show? Cautiously, shotmovie.com, and I can recommend —FOR THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 11, ACCORDING TO DIGITAL ENTERTAIN yes. But if I were in the loop, I’d tell the it as enjoyable fare for all ages. MENT GROUP show’s creative team that their clever tales can do without the explicit content.

TALES FROM THE LOOP: AMAZON STUDIOS; JUMP SHOT: RALPH SMYTH ENTERTAINMENT 05.09.20 WORLD 25

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Capitol Capitol PARI DUKOVIC/FX PARI Mrs. America Mrs. ’s creators made no made creators ’s Mrs. America Mrs. Even halfway perceptive viewers will viewers perceptive halfway Even Schlafly’s family members have made made have members family Schlafly’s comes when disconnect the real But Steinem shuns positions of power, power, of positions shuns Steinem slaps gamely by contrast, Schlafly, just a few weeks ago, a U.S. military com military a U.S. ago, weeks a few just recommending a report issued mission the draft. for eligible making women way in what themselves ask to have overblown. were concerns Schlafly’s and compelling, Complex a singular conceal the charisma of can’t of millionstens to voice gave who figure women. American voiceless of fist, sweeping aside any upstart house upstart any aside sweeping fist, position. her usurp try to might who wife callously she and grasping, Ambitious of the refuge as about feminism jokes her unmar of earshot spinsters—within ignoring the sister, ried, middle-aged produces. pain the remark of eyes wide clear it who them or anyone to consult effort as produc even But well. Schlafly knew their suit to a fictional Schlafly craft ers shine inconsistencies ends, desired laughable bit seems a it wit, To through. as children six with woman a depict to her husband’s to icy and unresponsive affection. warn dire Schlafly’s at sneers show the will movement the feminist that ings women society of a genderless to lead are boys moment, this At foxholes. in and using sports competing in women’s A and restrooms. rooms their locker the males-only that ruled judge Texas And, unconstitutional. is draft military willowy loveliness of a Hollywood star a Hollywood of loveliness willowy to era the of icon only the also she’s let, the average for concern real show sup are titans ideological these women in their be representing to posed Hill clashes. rais than cause the about more caring let doesn’t She profile. ing her personal engaging her from deter schedule a busy her mother, young an anonymous with hear to empathy wrinkling with brow an having shame over the woman’s of resists Steinem especially, abortion. Most for even looks, on her good capitalizing the movement. of the sake fund show fashion a for swimsuit a on (which her organization She rules raiser. her name after tries to one point she at self) iron manicured a perfectly with

295% The year-over-year increase in book sales for the period of March 2-April 12. - chett Gloria

CATE BLANCHETT CATE

casting a dynamic performer to to performer a dynamic casting (rated TV-MA for language). for TV-MA (rated ’s slanted’s storytelling by Megan Basham Megan by APPEAL Phyllis Schlafly Phyllis 05.09.20 Mrs. America Mrs. UNEXPECTED WORLD The show depicts the feminists as fiery, intellectual, intellectual, fiery, as the feminists depicts The show The show, which currently ranks as one of Rotten Rotten of one as ranks currently which show, The can’t conceal the charisma conceal of can’t T’S A CURIOUS THING: CURIOUS A T’S Rights Amendment and its eventual defeat, thanks to to thanks defeat, eventual its and Amendment Rights of homemakers. and her army Schlafly as Byrne Rose their crusade. in glamorous and even the boasts only She not attractive. is especially Steinem is supposed to be unflattering, it can still create a power still create it can be unflattering, to is supposed Blan Cate winner Oscar with the case Such is lure. ful FX hit the in Schlafly Phyllis icon conservative playing drama the Equal the rise of follows popular, most Tomatoes’ play a larger-than-life personality. Even if the portrayal portrayal if the Even personality. a larger-than-life play Movies & TV & Movies Mrs. America Mrs.

26 I CULTURE 731 The number of boys and girls who came to Lake Windermere after rescue from the Holocaust.

GRAPHIC CRIME

New PBS show Vienna Blood, BRINGING CHILDREN rated TV-14, offers psychological thrills set in Austria a cen- BACK TO LIFE tury ago. Police detective Poignant PBS films show efforts to help children Oskar Reinhardt (Jürgen traumatized by the Holocaust Maurer), a calm but driven professional, clashes initially by Sharon Dierberger with the deceptively young Dr. Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), a student of Freud FEW IMAGES FROM WORLD WAR II are as riding bikes in their underclothes re-cre- who seeks to understand the heart-wrenching as those of Jewish child ate what must have been sheer delight criminal mind—but it’s clear survivors of the Holocaust. A new PBS for these survivors. they need each other. movie, The Windermere Children, and The teacher and psychiatrist in The BBC-produced show an accompanying documentary, The charge, Oscar Friedmann, himself a sur- boasts lavish sets, immacu- Windermere Children: In Their Own vivor of Sachsenhausen concentration late costumes, and strong Words, tell the poignant, redemptive camp, never raises his voice. When the similarities to Sherlock. story of some of those youth. children frantically grab bread from the But graphic content shows It’s best to watch the movie first. It tables and dash to hide it, the doctor how much PBS has changed masterfully draws viewers back to orders more, saying, “Let them see it in recent years. August 1945, when the British govern- will never run out.” Viewers see glimpses of a ment, prodded by Jewish philanthropist He treats them with compassion but topless woman. An unmarried Leonard Montefiore, agrees to give ref- not coddling: “Don’t grab whatever you couple have intercourse. We uge to child survivors of the Nazi regime. want from the world because you think see an attempted rape. Other Three hundred of them arrive at a reha- your suffering entitles you. … Earn your visuals include depictions of bilitation camp near Lake Windermere place in the world.” electroshock therapy and in northwest England. Several Windermere practices sadistic murder scenes. Without oversentimentality, the film stemmed from Freudian psychology. Reinhardt and Liebermann captures the children’s gradual trans- Freud’s sister, on staff, used the new idea navigate the evidence to not- formation from fear and constant night- of art therapy to encourage the chil- quite-believable conclusions. mares to growing optimism and dren’s expression. Neither film promotes Both men display integrity personal development. psychotherapy, nor do they explore faith and an ironclad commitment Watching a child’s astonishment at deeply. to truth, no matter how under- having his own room, a bed with clean These two unrated productions not privileged the victims or how sheets, and limitless food reminds us of only provide powerful reminders of powerful the offenders. what deprivations the children endured. World War II realities and repercussions, —Sarah Erdős Scenes of a young boy flying barefoot but they exemplify the transformative through the woods with joyful abandon power of love, even for the most and others of children spontaneously wounded.

VIENNA BLOOD: MR-FILM/ENDOR PRODUCTIONS; THE WINDERMERE CHILDREN: HELEN SLOAN SMPSP 05.09.20 WORLD 27 CULTURE Books ica’s Debt Addiction and Investing in the Future (Oxford, 2019), recommends sharp rises in spending and taxation Bookmarks during the next few years and a leveling If the left off or smaller rises starting seven years later. Good luck with wins that: Anyone who Books that look at the deep tracks history and divisions facing our nation human nature, or at least politicians’ by Marvin Olasky nature, will be skeptical that bigger government now means smaller government later. I’VE BEEN READING “progressive” looks at our national divisions Yves Citton, in Mediarchy (Polity, Michael Lind’s The New Class so as to understand 2019), says government should fund War (Penguin Random the intellectual winds media, but at the same time have pro- House, 2020) explains why that will blow more ducers be “indepen- the conventional wisdom 20 intensively if we have dent of the political years ago about free trade a Biden presidency. pressures that gov- was wrong or misleading. He Two 2020 Prince- ernments controlling cites studies indicating ton University Press books offer prescrip- the state apparatus Chinese imports reduced tions for ways to circumvent what Hillary will inevitably exert.” U.S. inflation by about 0.1 Clinton called “the deplorables.” Donald How? Trust “collec- percent annually, lowered Kettl’s The Divided States of America tives of journalists, annual prices in the U.S. by 1 is faithful to its subtitle: Why Federalism thinkers, and artists.” percent to 2.5 percent, and Doesn’t Work. He has faith that central- Good luck with that. In Spiritual boosted GDP by almost 1 ization will work better. John Matsusa- Socialists (University of Pennsylvania, percent—but also led to the ka’s Let the People Rule recommends 2019), Vaneesa Cook says we should loss of 2 million jobs. Lind national referenda and ignores how they trust the religious left. She doesn’t rec- questions whether the inter- would enthrone big cities, big media, ognize that power-hungry Marxists have national trade trade-off— and corrupt ballot box stuffing. repeatedly seen these altruistic souls as slightly cheaper prices but “useful idiots” ripe for manipulation. loss of jobs—is worthwhile. Lind also offers a cultural Ezra Klein, in Why We’re Polarized critique, writing that in the (Simon & Schuster, 2020), points to A Biden administration would also bring mid-20th century a worker Republicans and recommends that we us more propaganda of the kind Brian “could leave the factory gate eliminate the Elec- Harrison boasts about in A Change Is for the safety of a world that toral College, recon- Gonna Come (Oxford, 2020). Harrison excluded the bosses, a world stitute the Supreme explains that he changed attitudes about of working-class neighbor- Court, and add sena- same-sex marriage by dropping “ratio- hoods, churches, clubs, and tors from Puerto Rico nal, rights-oriented taverns. Under technocratic and Washington, D.C. frames” and instead liberalism, however, the boss I have a better answer teaching liberals to class pursues the working for why we’re polar- “target the right emo- class after the workday has ized: Look at the tions” by emphasizing ended, trying to snatch the political movement since 2000, with slogans like “love is unhealthy steak or soda from Democrats moving far to the left and, love” and “all love is the worker’s plate, vilifying through their media allies, convincing equal.” The bad guys, the theology of the worker’s millions of Americans to join them. of course, are those church as a firing offense and Katherine Stewart scorns in The Power possibly an illegal hate crime Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous to be reported to the police.” Brookings Institution scholar William Rise of Religious Nationalism Gale, in Fiscal Therapy: Curing Amer- (Bloomsbury, 2020).

28 WORLD 05.09.20 with contrasting characters who face difficult circumstances, which they overcome. Passing the time This beautifully bound edition has Karen Four good reads amid social isolation Swallow Prior’s excellent introduction. Prior writes as an academic and a fan, by Susan Olasky which makes the introduction both insight- ful and readable. She probes into Austen’s Christian faith and her family life. Unlike current takes on Austen, Prior believes her faith was sincere and central. Prior explains many of the novel’s nuances, especially those that are difficult for the modern reader, such as inheritance rules. Notes sprinkled throughout the book define obscure terms. Book groups will find valuable Prior’s probing reflection questions at the end.

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson: Ex-cop and private investigator Jackson Brodie has a running silent conversation with his ex- girlfriend, who is also the mother of his sullen teenage son: “‘Must you always see the dark side of everything?’ Julia said. ‘Someone has to,’ Jackson said. ‘Yes, but does it have to be you?’” Caution: This novel contains plenty of darkness—sex trafficking and child sexual abuse (and profanity)—but Atkinson does not make evil appear good. Brodie may be flawed, but he’s also self-sacrificing with a protective desire to save vulnerable lost girls. Atkinson writes that Brodie “was the shepherd, he was the sheriff. The Lone Ranger. Or Tonto, perhaps.” But he’s a shepherd who hears Julia’s voice in his head, “You know tonto is Spanish for ‘stupid,’ don’t The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel: This third volume of you?” Mantel’s saga about Thomas Cromwell begins slowly as Mantel reminds readers of the history that led lowly Cromwell to his high position as Lord Privy Seal and Earl of Essex. As events lead inexo- Reading Buechner by Jeffrey Munroe: rably to their final conclusion, Mantel depicts nobles hungry for In the introduction, Munroe writes, “I write power and determined to bring Cromwell down. Their ultimate end: primarily for those unfamiliar with the to return England to the Roman church. Mantel chose to write about author I consider the greatest spiritual Cromwell because of the ambiguity—and there’s plenty of that in writer of our times.” He writes as a Buech- her portrayal of this complex man serving fickle Henry in turbulent ner fan: “Frederick Buechner changed my times. WORLD readers will appreciate Cromwell’s desire to protect life.” Buechner was a memoirist, and Part the gospel movement—while seeing how his desire for riches and 1 touches on his biography and how he power led to many compromises. Cautions: discussion of the king’s writes about his father’s suicide and his sex life and very infrequent obscenities. mother’s emotional distance—and how aspects of their personalities played out in his life and writings. Part 2 of the book Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (with Karen Swallow looks at Buechner the novelist. Part 3, at Prior): Jane Austen’s first novel tells the familiar story of two sisters his popular theological writings, and Part 4, at his sermons. Munroe writes well, and his admiration for Buechner is contagious.

05.09.20 WORLD 29 CULTURE Children’s Books Afterword Ties that bind Recent picture book releases by Mary Jackson

The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise: A hedgehog, bunny, and squirrel each in turn stumble upon a love letter. Thinking it was intended for them, each animal feels uniquely affirmed, and they spread their good cheer to others around them. The question of who the letter came from leads to a wonderful mix-up, uniting the animals and their separate In Finding Narnia (Roaring vignettes, but the answer is not what they expected. This lighthearted story echoes Brook Press, 2019), Caroline the proverbial truth that “kind words are like honey” and the sweetness often McAlister tells how the Lewis spills over to others. Set in early winter, the book’s charming characters and soft- brothers’ experiences and hued illustrations make for a delightful read-aloud. (Ages 4-8) connectedness provide the underpinnings for the classic series. The book follows Jack The Tale of the Tiger Slippers by Jan Brett: Throughout and his older brother Warnie years of toiling and eventual wealth, a Bengal tiger wears a from childhood to later life, pair of slippers his mother stitched for him. When his friends highlighting Narnian influ- mock him for wearing the old, raggedy slippers, he tries to ences such as the hand- get rid of them, but they always make their way back to him. carved wardrobe in their So he builds a special fountain in the garden to house the home, the lamp post, and slippers and serve as a reminder of his mother’s care and of his humble beginnings. their imaginary world called Brett’s retelling of the Persian folktale is visually stimulating with her signature Boxen. The book assumes its paneled style and vibrant illustrations portraying elegantly clad animals and lush readers are familiar with the vegetation. (Ages 4-8) Narnia series, and fans will not want to miss the end- notes that fill in details from Birdsong by Julie Flett: Katherena and her mother move from the brothers’ lives and work. family, friends, and a “city by the sea” to a rural home with one In On Wings of Words neighbor, an elderly woman named Agnes. As the seasons change, (Chronicle Books, 2020), Katherena befriends Agnes, sharing Cree words with her and an Jennifer Berne gives young appreciation for nature and art. She picks up drawing again for readers a biographical intro- the first time since the move. When Agnes’ health fails, Katherena duction to Emily Dickinson. sweetens her final bedridden days and realizes how enriched her life has been because As a child Emily relished the of their friendship. Flett incorporates her own Cree-Metis heritage and signature smallest details of nature, minimalistic illustrations, giving this book a unique quality. Its message of intergen- adored time with her brother erational relationship and shared passions provides enduring value. (Ages 4-8) and a small group of friends, and cherished books, which were a “sea of words” that fed Love and the Rocking Chair by Leo and Diane Dillon: An expec her imagination and spilled tant couple buys a rocking chair for their nursery. It is used to cradle into her poetry. Berne scatters a new baby and then for reading and playtime. The rocker is forgot- Dickinson’s lines and stanzas ten as the boy grows up and heads to college and his father becomes throughout the book while ill and dies. But when he marries, he and his wife move in with his delicate, surrealist-styled mother, and the rocker is put to use for a new generation. The cou- illustrations capture Dickin- ple’s little girl hopes one day she will rock her own children in the son’s imaginative inner life. chair. The Dillons, an award-winning author/illustrator duo, tell this story of inter- generational love in their final collaboration before Leo’s death in 2012.(Ages 3-5)

30 WORLD 05.09.20

Just days after his parents and sister were rescued from slavery, Bablu was born in freedom.

At IJM, we get to see light overcome darkness every day. Today, we want to share that with you.

Go to ijm.org/hope to watch Bablu’s birthday celebration! CULTURE Q&A

COMPLEX CONVERSATIONS Defending life and Donald Trump

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY IN HER MID-40S has emerged as a leading defender of Donald Trump on Fox News and a thoughtful analyst in MARVIN her role as senior editor of The Federalist, a well-read online mag- OLASKY azine. She earned a degree in economics at the University of Colorado INTERVIEWS and is a member of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Here are MOLLIE edited excerpts of our Q&A in Washington, D.C., on the morning HEMINGWAY after January’s March for Life.

Newspaper monopolies ruled most cities late in the 20th century,

32 WORLD 05.09.20 ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL HERTZBERG but you grew up in Denver, which had A lot of conservatives are frustrated by both The Rocky Mountain News and Roberts, but on social issues he’s been The Denver Post. I remember reading pretty good. He usually rules as a consti- both at a young age. They were different tutionalist. Kavanaugh clerked for enough that you could realize how what Anthony Kennedy, and when you read gets written depends not necessarily on Kavanaugh’s opinions during his 12 years what happened but the person writing THERE’S MORE on that federal court, you can almost see it. You would see differences in how they him writing to Anthony Kennedy. Now wrote about anything related to the sanc- OPENNESS TO he has replaced Kennedy, so there’s no tity of human life. The language they PEOPLE SAYING Kennedy to write for—but there is a Chief used was coded, intended to help one THEY’RE PRO-LIFE, Justice Roberts. side over another. I thought people should be fairer, so abortion coverage AND MANY You used to write more about theology, greatly influenced my going into jour- YOUNG WOMEN IN but now you’re writing more about nalism. WASHINGTON ARE. politics. Is that out of necessity? Abso- lutely necessity, and I don’t love it. But You’ve been both pro-life and realistic, everything we’re talking about has reli- so what do you think is the likelihood gious undertones, so it’s very important of a Roe v. Wade overturn? It’s difficult to me at The Federalist to show how to overturn Roe v. Wade in part because religious motivation is a part of every- in a way it has already been both over- thing we do, including education and turned and strengthened. People knew family life. the ruling was horribly thought-out, so those who care a lot about inventing a erously about purported ties to Russia? You’ve become a very strong defender right to abortion in the Constitution have When conservative Republicans did of Donald Trump. People have struggled already come up with other rulings that that about real ties in the 1950s, didn’t for four years to come to terms with how helped shore it up. If abortion law were liberals call that “McCarthy era” the Donald Trump could rise in the Repub- returned to the states, it would be healthy worst of times? It would be amusing if lican Party, much less become president. for people to engage in that process— people were self-aware enough to think A lot of people still cannot wrap their having a legislature of nine people is about it. Part of the reason the Russia heads around it. Trump voters need advo- obviously very corrosive to the body narrative got legs was that people were cacy and defense as they are almost politic—but a lot of states have abortion leaking classified information nonstop. unrepresented in much of our major laws that don’t protect women and chil- A lot of people worked together to set media. That means tens of millions of dren, so an end to Roe v. Wade is not up this false narrative. I hope we’ll get people have no voice, no representation, some magical cure. more information about that. nobody who even understands them or can explain what they’re thinking. Do young female reporters in the And Kavanaugh? You co-wrote Justice Washington media tend to be more or on Trial, a book on the hearing and the So you are representing them? If you less pro-abortion than their older court: How do you think he’ll rule on were to ask for my personal views on a counterparts? You don’t see the strident, some of the abortion cases coming up? lot of things, they might be more nuanced unnuanced take on abortion that you That is the million-dollar question. than I get to be on television. On televi- saw with some older women who became sion you have to pick one thing to say: It reporters because they were radical fem- Right. That’s why I’m asking you. Kava- makes for bad television unless you do inists. Since we know more about the naugh is extremely even-tempered. He that. I wish people got their news through science of unborn human life, it’s difficult has been consistent in his opinions for a reading long, comprehensive articles to be as extreme as some in the previous long time. He writes not in a flashy way where you can explore nuances, but most generation were. There’s more openness but in a very logical and reasoned way. people get their news through television, to people saying they’re pro-life, and He is conservative by nature: He doesn’t and so you have to work within those many young women in Washington are. want to do anything radical with the law. confines. He is an originalist and has been modest You’ve particularly covered two stories in his opinions related to abortion. He I like his judicial appointments and his during the past several years: the will go for the least change necessary pro-life statements, but I’m troubled Trump-Russia collusion narrative, while remaining faithful as an originalist. by his policy on refugees. With what which you early on showed was false, He likes to build coalitions. Trump policies do you disagree? Ref- and the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation ugee policy is very complicated, and I hearing. On the first, is it amusing that That team-building emphasis also don’t think it’s as easy as people at both Democrats have complained so vocif- seems to characterize John Roberts. extremes want to say, but that’s a

05.09.20 WORLD 33 CULTURE Q&A incredibly lovely people, and you meet them in their private lives and realize they’re much less that way. And Donald Trump in private—or so far as a reporter great example of something I am con- can understand how he is in private—is cerned about. We should be a country very similar to how he is publicly, except that welcomes refugees. I wish more was he’s deferential and gracious and polite being done on abortion. He has been the PEOPLE WHO VOTE and all these things you don’t see on stage most pro-life president we’ve had, but ARE MUCH SAVVIER where he’s being like a stand-up comic. it’s not enough. And I wish rhetorically THAN A LOT OF he would be a better role model. People What do you tell your two girls, 12 and learn how to treat each other by how PEOPLE GIVE THEM 10, about the president? They asked their leaders talk about each other. I wish CREDIT FOR: THEY why we would not let them watch him he respected human life more in his rhet- UNDERSTAND THAT on television—because I could not trust oric: Talking about terrorists or MS-13 as that he wouldn’t cuss in a speech or say animals is something I don’t like. I do like THE COURTS HAVE things that are inappropriate. But I have his criminal justice reform and am glad BECOME TOO been letting them—they’re interested he seems to be turning more attention to POWERFUL. in politics—see for themselves that he racial issues: He seems to want to get more says things we do not believe should be black votes, and that is affecting some of said. the ways he talks about racial issues. A complex figure? In 2016 people were How have your Trump views changed trying to compare him to King David, during the past four years? I worked which I just found so offensive. What we very hard in 2016 to understand how he really remember about King David is was gaining popularity. I was personally his repentance, and that is not some- very upset because I am so pro-life, and sexual conquests. I just was appalled. I thing you have seen from Donald Trump. wondered how could it be that the GOP couldn’t believe that this would even be He has publicly said he doesn’t need to was about to be taken over by someone happening. But he also has unbelievable apologize, he’s not a sinner. I pray that who wasn’t. The Susan B. Anthony List virtues that we hadn’t seen. He has a will- he would understand not just that he is was not going to endorse him unless he ingness to fight for some things. A lot of a sinner but he needs forgiveness and signed off on their demands. Trump politicians present on a public stage as receives forgiveness. wasn’t signing it, and they kept on saying we need to make a decision. Finally he returned the statement: He had signed it, strengthened it, and added to it. So pro-lifers took a huge risk and were nervous about it, but it worked out well.

Those wanting a change in federal judges also took a risk. They didn’t even have a contact in the Trump campaign at first. Then they worked with the campaign and realized at some point Trump was more serious about judges than many of the other campaigns are. That’s paid off very well for them. One in 4 Trump voters voted for him because of the Supreme Court vacancy. People who vote are much savvier than a lot of people give them credit for: They understand that the courts have become too powerful.

So President Trump has surpassed many conservative expectations. One of the things that was so hard for me in 2016 was him openly bragging about

34 WORLD 05.09.20 How do you findpeace when life turns upside down?

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- - - - - –era –era HANDOUT People People (Audio (Audio Limitless American American Soul Train , feels more diffuse, diffuse, more , feels , and people finally finally , and people Love Is Gone: The Lost Ses , Taylor thumbs through the through thumbs , Taylor (Fantasy). Following in the the in Following (Fantasy). Torch The James Taylor Quartet’s Quartet’s Taylor The James out. To stand however, not, do They “You’ve of Taylor—he James America’s Richard Marks, on the other hand, hand, other the on Marks, Richard collection, Marks new Now-Again’s has in mind an older vibe on older in mind an has Standard Simon Carly wife his first of footsteps circa and discovers Songbook American Great by relaxation of level an unprecedented and Ham Rogers of likes the meeting express, to getting and halfway merstein something minutes, uninterrupted 45 for than himself. other But it also shows more of Marks’ range, range, Marks’ of more also shows it But on side Al Green–like softer, a revealing and an appealing numbers the acoustic edge that on the cuts streak anti-purist none worth, it’s what For disco. toward Lionel Richie. them approach of On) Moving Get (We’re Ready disco toward edges Limited) Network a strings, Philly-soul with even But too. saxophone a punchy flute, freestyling “Boogie and trumpet, and a song titled the foursome the Night,” On Through drummer because short, mainly stops and hi-hat the off lays Illingworth Pat words, with on the six songs because, and Williams Natalie vocalists guest as on being heard insist Noel McKoy dressing. window than more cancel out the teamwork so would do the to essential aesthetic British, he’s though Taylor, vibe that in mind. has clearly fame— Man” and “Handy Got a Friend” songs on his new release, release, his new on songs he 56, at even that, reveal (BMG), link craftsman, a consummate remains sentiments recognizable ing universally of all with hooks irresistible instantly to the mecha of but none the efficiency, line. an assembly of nization, soul singer- overlooked but a funky was cancer in to succumbed who guitarist he recorded 1976, to 1968 From 2006. sin obscure but hard-hitting of string a Records Now-Again Then, in 2014, gles. called an album for them 21 of compiled Never Satisfied note. take to began the two-disc 1969-1977 sions: completist the usual does it indulging as demos). versions, (alternate excesses

HIT MAKER Richard Marx has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. - MARX asked Shakespeare’s Juliet. “That which “That Juliet. Shakespeare’s asked 05.09.20 WORLD By the time that shifting tastes left him commercially him commercially left shifting tastes the time that By And vice versa. singer-song pop Marx is a platinum-selling Richard HAT’S IN A NAME?” A IN HAT’S distance dedication. But there was always more to Marx to more always was there But dedication. distance he went. as better and he got than treacle, Lionel approaching he was ’90s, and dry in the early high dozen And the sophistication. middlebrow of Richie levels writer best known for “Hold On to the Nights,” “Right “Right the Nights,” On to “Hold for known best writer late-’80s chart-topping, and “Angelia,” Waiting,” Here favorite whose listeners of beloved especially ballads the long- was countdowns Kasem’s Casey of segment we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” sweet.” smell as name would other any / By call a rose we will provide the statement in principle, enough True accidentally Marx who Richard of fans to comfort little James of or fans Marks Richard album by the new buy the James album by the new buy accidentally who Taylor Quartet. Taylor Music

36 familiar music names music familiar Orteza Arsenio by Taylor and Taylor albums artistsNew from with

CULTURE Marxand Marks, W Want Me Back”). He can still write ’em Encore too. Exhibit A: “This Man,” in which a Hearts husband realizes that, for his marriage’s sake, it’s high time his self- and soul centered secret sharer hit the road. Noteworthy new or recent releases Forever Amen by Steffany Gretz inger: The melodies bloom slowly, by Arsenio Orteza their petals pried gently apart by piano and numinous electronic mists amid which Gretzinger’s voice glows like the dawn. The lyrics begin and end in sim- No Risk No Reward by Isaac Carree: plicity, employing a language so pared In March, Charlie Peacock With a vocal range to rival Stevie Won- down and direct that one may as well released three digital der’s and naturally melismatic tenden- call it the tribute albums on the same label cies to rival Steve Arrington’s, Isaac that eloquence that adorned his releases Carree is one gospel singer who doesn’t pays to mystery. from 2019, Facebook Inc. need Auto-Tune. Still, he uses it, at least And the mystery is It’s apparently the same sometimes—in the spirit of “Is it Ella or the ultimate one, Facebook Inc. founded by is it Memorex?” it’s not always easy to namely, God’s Mark Zuckerberg. How tell. To be fair, he has been using treated becoming man, odd then that, like Pea- vocals off and on since his now 9-year- dying on a cross, and rising from the cock’s 2019 releases, the old debut, so it’s not as if he’s (just) dead (or, as the title of the only song new ones have received being trendy. And not only do the syn- not to use piano or synthesizers puts little if any publicity. What thetics tend to blend it, the “Center of All History”). Deeply good is yoking yourself to in with the electro- worshipful and with no trace of histri- the world’s largest social- funk, but they also onics, Gretzinger re-creates the still- networking service if that get subsumed by ness necessary for knowing that He is service can’t help you get lyrics of uncom- God—and invites her listeners to do the word out? monly literal family the same. And the word is worth friendliness. Seri- getting out. The sonic ously, the earnestness with which Carree details of the vocals-free pledges fealty to God and to his wife Aloha by Son Little: The song called East Village 3AM are a could make a grown man cry. “Mahalia” doesn’t seem to be about high-end headphones Mahalia Jackson, but who knows? The salesman’s dream. Distrib- lyrics in each of these gritty neo-soul uted across the left-right That’s What I Heard by Robert Cray nuggets cut across spectrum, they trip-hop Band: On Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm, multiple grains. their way through noctur- Cray contoured his vocals to the Hi There may be mis- nal soundscapes as evoc- Records–sounding pocket created by direction afoot as ative as the titles under Steve Jordan (drums), Leroy Hodges well in “Never Give which they’re grouped. (bass), and the Rev. Charles Hodges Up” (a nongospel And some of those titles (organ). This time he contours them to song that begins (“A Spy in London,” a Rounder Records–sounding pocket with “Hallelujah”), “Belladonna” (a “Midnight Shanghai,” created by Jordan, Richard Cousins love song that features a nondeadly “88 Tons of Awesome”) (bass), and Dover Weinberg (organ). In nightshade), and “3rd Eye Weeping” evoke quite a bit. layman’s terms, he’s sounding more (a self-assessment song that’s only mar- Peacock doesn’t sing rural than ever, not ginally more mystical than Third Eye on Behind the Board greasy enough for Blind). So consider Son Little a lyricist Volume One or Behind the Chitlin’ Circuit for whom wordplay is as important as the Board Volume Two but headed there, meaning and, for that matter, a musi- either. Over a dozen tal- with stops along the cian for whom rhythm is as important ented “featured” guests way for gospel (the as melody. Combine these character- handle that job. But all 22 Sensational Night- istics and you get R&B that’s only songs find him as adept ingales’ “Burying Ground”) and sweet semi-beholden to the past and only as ever at turning out soul music (the Impressions’ “You’ll almost too subtle for its own good. glossy, soulful pop.

05.09.20 WORLD 37 WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT Voices MINDY BELZ SHOPPING IN THE OPEN SUNSHINE THESE DAYS?

college. There volunteers regulate the flow of traffic, and vendors set up with lots of space between them. A limited number of shoppers enter, with only one shopper at a time approaching each table. Produce and other goods come bundled or wrapped in parcels, and shoppers are instructed to touch only what they aim to buy. Helping to keep it all moving and socially Innovation over distanced: no payment transactions. Purchases are on an honor system, no receipts even, and shoppers go irritation online later to pay. Sellers are happy because they are moving goods It’s a national emergency, so that otherwise would be going to waste. Buyers are be excellent to each other too. What’s not to like about shopping in the open sunshine these days? And the chance to recognize neighbors and friends behind fabric masks? UR NEW SOCIALLY DISTANCED Saturday I ran into a friend from church I’ve dearly missed. morning outdoor market has an alligator We both had tears running into our masks as we talked greeting shoppers. In better days he worked (6 feet apart), we were so glad to see each other. And, the pool as a floatie, but now the inflatable as she said, “I’m fine at home, but when I go out I’m reptile has been deployed in the war on coro- just overwhelmed by how everything has changed.” navirus. At full capacity, he’s precisely 6 feet Everything has changed. And the market—with its long, sporting a cheerful sign directing those friendly atmosphere and attention to details protect- O heading toward spring lettuce and turnips ing us from one another—is a reminder we can adapt, to stay at least that far apart. too. Everything about the new market is a compromise. I live in a city with a thriving local restaurant scene, It meets no one’s old expectations, yet surpasses the growth above the national average, and an economy new alternative: not having one at all. that depends in part on outside visitors—and small- I love the stories of people choosing innovation holder farmers nearby. All that has shut down with over irritation. The “rice ATMs” of Vietnam where the stay-at-home orders necessitated by the corona- volunteers squirt hand sanitizer before people fill their virus. bags. The Guardian Angels of New York, who ride the Further, Asheville, N.C., sits amid a region domi- subways handing out food, water, and care packages nated by national parks, government-owned forests, to the city’s homeless. And the Italians who borrow and mountains. Farmland is scarce, valuable, and the old Neapolitan custom, lowering food baskets from constantly sought after by outside developers. Close-in their quarantined balconies to the needy waiting in farmland partly helped by land conservancies is the the street below. lifeblood of a foodie town. Asheville has a top-rated These fit the times we are living through better culinary arts schools and five recently named James than the talk-show rabble rousers, more ably than the Beard chefs. Yet our city is small enough we count protesters in Wisconsin, Michigan, and elsewhere. I’m them as neighbors and friends. embarrassed for the well-turned middle-class Amer- So the COVID-19-era market is a small Band-Aid icans demanding their rights in a time of national over a gaping economic wound. But it’s also a larger- emergency. Keep your powder dry, folks, we are early than-life symbol of what local efforts can accomplish in this game. Local, state, and federal officials have in the face of a pandemic. The 100 or so farmers who their hands full, if you haven’t noticed, and each of us operate the city’s multiple tailgate markets quickly will have a gripe before it’s all over. adapted to comply with restrictions. They moved the Also, none of us are experts at this, and that’s why Saturday market, normally packed into several blocks, those of us who are well need all the kindness and to sprawling parking lots of a (closed) community cheer we can muster for the sick and needy. As the marquee at the empty Nitehawk Cinema in New York reads, “Be excellent to each other.”

38 WORLD 05.09.20 EMAIL [email protected] TWITTER @mcbelz OLOGIC HE A T L S D E E M

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REQUEST MORE INFORMATION: RTS.EDU/DEGREES/MACC WITNESSING IN PLACE Coronavirus lockdowns have radically changed the nature of missions overseas, but cut-off- from-home missionaries say they still have work to do BY MINDY BELZ illustration by Krieg Barrie

40 WORLD 05.09.20

N A WORLD TURNED upside down, Kristiina Day greets another morning by prepping to teach her students online at an international school in Madrid. Georgi Dugulescu dons protective gear, gloves, and a face shield before she heads out on food deliver- ies to elderly residents in Timisoara, Romania. Jennifer Myhre climbs into her car for the 8-mile drive to Bundibugyo Hos- pital, a commute that’s changed from routine to risky. She worries that she and her husband, both physicians, may be stopped by Ugandan police because a required “COVID-19 Medical” decal “How do we continue to call the North American church has yet to arrive. The couple carries with to care about the world?” said Matt Allison, director of oper- them written permission from local offi- ations at Serge, the Philadelphia-based missions organization cials for essential travel. the Myhres work with. “There are acute needs on the U.S. The whole globe is navigating life home front, to be sure, but they can become a tunnel that under the restrictions and threats of keeps us from seeing the rest of the world in this pandemic.” COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. But Monitoring the pandemic for Serge and other agencies missionaries who have accepted a calling to serve overseas— hit a crisis point when U.S. policies limiting travel began in seemingly accustomed to hardship duty—also are navigating March. First the State Department on March 14 authorized terrain that’s uniquely new. Most find themselves faced with departure for diplomatic personnel around the world due to Irandom shortages of everyday supplies and enduring severe the rapid spread of COVID-19. Then—as the number of con- restrictions like curfews and limits on movement, not to firmed cases in the United States quadrupled from 2,800 to mention the menace of the virus itself. over 10,000 in five days—officials raised to Level 4 a global At the same time, the support systems they count on back health advisory. It warned U.S. citizens against international home are strained. Mission administrators are working under travel and said Americans overseas “should arrange for imme- stay-at-home orders, churches no longer meet, and family diate return to the United States, unless they are prepared members themselves are at risk. Back in the States, college-age to remain abroad for an indefinite period.” dependents have no classes to go to or homes they can get The following week, the European Union closed its bor- to. Aging parents seem more vulnerable than ever and impos- ders, a closure now likely to extend at least through mid-May, sible to reach physically. Most organizations have canceled and possibly beyond. President Donald Trump banned Euro- short-term mission trips that provide needed help. Ongoing pean travel to the United States. fundraising in the face of a global economic shutdown is It was a “poignant moment” for many of the over 300 daunting. missionaries under Serge care, said Allison. Some workers

42 WORLD 05.09.20 SUMY SADURNI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES A RED CROSS VOLUNTEER TAKES THE TEMPERATURE OF A MAN BEFORE HE CAN ENTER A MARKET IN KAMPALA, UGANDA.

restrictions, SIM’s North Carolina headquarters received prayer requests and letters from 169 of its missionary families in at least 38 countries, she said. Many faced sudden separation from family members, including a handful who find themselves apart from spouses indefinitely. Others realized they had to leave the country where they serve without time to prepare or say goodbye. Altogether SIM workers faced a collective “heartbreak,” too, knowing that many around the world would be dying “without knowing the healing name of Jesus,” said Snyder. “Our greatest work is still ours every day—the work of prayer,” said SIM international director Joshua Bogunjoko in a letter to workers. “Prayer knows no boundary, no quarantine, no confinement.”

BRIEF SURVEY OF MISSION agencies shows they have had to make wider-ranging policies to protect workers in the field and at home. Serge postponed sched- A uled travel until at least the end of May and has canceled a companywide conference scheduled for Spain this summer, one that happens only every four years and involves all its teams. The group hopes to reschedule the gathering in 2021. The International Mission Board (IMB), the mission agency of the Southern Baptist Convention, has postponed all volunteer trips to support overseas outreach until June 30. Board leaders planned to review in May whether to postpone or cancel volunteer trips after that. The Richmond, Va.–based IMB also had to cancel an exten- sive outreach ministry involving 250 Southern Baptists who volunteered for teams serving the 2020 Olympic Games in “OUR GREATEST WORK IS STILL Tokyo this summer (now postponed until 2021). IMB President Paul Chitwood told supporters in a video OURS EVERY DAY—THE WORK message the board wants to protect the safety of its 3,700 OF PRAYER. PRAYER KNOWS NO overseas workers but also advance the gospel in difficult times. “As people fear death, the gospel rings true,” he said. BOUNDARY, NO QUARANTINE, Some missionaries say the decision to remain abroad was NO CONFINEMENT.” easy. “When the U.S. embassy warned us to go home, and our director graciously offered for us to go with a clear conscience, without hesitation I agreed to stay,” said Kristiina Day, who teaches English at Life International School in Madrid. “Leav- had health issues, expiring visas, or family events that called ing my students, my neighbors, my friends here during this for upcoming trips to the United States. Suddenly a trip time of need is unthinkable,” she told me by email. planned in a few months had to happen in just a few days. Raised in California, Day has worked since 2016 under “In those first weeks we had to deal person by person to sort TeachBeyond, a global education agency. Life International it out, there was no one-size-fits-all policy, and we wanted to is a Christian school in its third year of operation, and it draws be sure our people were where they needed to be,” Allison said. students mostly from evangelical families. Enrollment this Like Serge, most agencies WORLD contacted are reluctant year had doubled before Spain’s coronavirus outbreak forced to report specifics on missionaries due to security and privacy the school to close. concerns. But most indicated fewer than half their mission- Spain has had the highest number of reported coronavirus aries made hard decisions to return home, while most decided cases in Europe (at 174,000 by April 15). With 18,000 deaths, to remain abroad. it also has the world’s highest per capita death rate (390 per Some dilemmas, said SIM administrative assistant Susan 1 million people versus 79 per 1 million in the United States, Snyder, were formidable. During the first weeks of travel according to figures compiled by Worldometer).

05.09.20 WORLD 43 KRISTIINA DAY HARY KHANO, JANÉE ANGEL, AND THEIR DAUGHTERS

“By this point it’s almost impossible not to know someone outside families and a ban on travel, including car trips other affected,” said Day. Her pastor in Madrid is recovering from than to a doctor or for groceries. Those restrictions have been COVID-19, along with others in the church who are sick. Many extended into May. people connected to the school have symptoms, but everyone The Antwerp church has at least three members with the she knows has been able to recover at home. coronavirus, including a single mother and her 20-year-old Since the government in March closed schools and busi- daughter, as well as high-risk members who need help. Hary nesses, limiting activities to grocery shopping and doctor visits, delivers meals to those families, and church members try to Day has spent days in her flat alone. “I am still teaching online, share shopping errands. regularly meeting and praying with church friends, and finding The girls seize opportunities for tangible service and rare ways to brighten my neighbors’ days by leaving pictures and outings. When an assisted living center at the end of their street encouraging notes in the hallways,” she told me. “God has asked neighbors to deliver cards to elderly residents, the girls given me incredible peace and encouragement each day.” made paper hearts with Scripture verses, donned homemade Most countries hard hit by coronavirus have stricter social masks, and delivered them to post boxes in the center’s lobby. distancing policies than the United States, forcing mission- “We are learning just like you are how to do life in this aries to innovate their way—sometimes past language barri- new normal way,” said Janée. “And, remembering Romans ers—to virtual connections. 8, we see no comparison between the present hard time and Janée Angel, who with her husband helps to lead an the coming good times.” Arabic-speaking church in Belgium, now helps him hold Hectic days don’t diminish worries for family members online services in Arabic. She gives short daily talks online far away: “My dad has congestive heart failure and his kidneys for women in the church—“just a brief word of encourage- are failing. I’m an only child. My concern is if something ment”—in English, Dutch, and French. happened to him, I cannot get back to the States, I would be With prompting from the couple’s two daughters, a virtual quarantined, and I can’t be there to help my mom.” Sunday school class was added via Facebook. “Normally that class would have 5-10 kids, but online we have about 500-600 ANY OUTREACH GROUPS are learning to depend on people watching,” she said. locals with the departure of foreign nationals. Serve Angel, who serves with Decatur, Ga.–based Cooperative the City International, a not-for-profit organization Baptist Fellowship, is an Illinois native. She met her husband, M that grew out of an international church in Brussels, Syrian Hary Khano, on the mission field. In 2011 the couple is now sending its local teams of volunteers to help planted an Arabic-speaking church in Antwerp that has grown communities manage their coronavirus crisis. In Dublin that into three locations. means helping at mobile testing sites; in Paris, distributing Belgium has the 10th-largest number of coronavirus cases food to the homeless; and in Romania, where Georgi Dugulescu in the world and the third-highest per capita rate of cases, lives, it means mobilizing to help the elderly and others behind Spain and Italy. Deaths rose to more than 4,000 in confined to their homes. April even with stringent lockdown measures in place since Carlton Deal, the American founder, told volunteers in a March 17. Those measures include a ban on all gatherings letter, “The important thing is not to decrease our serving activ-

44 WORLD 05.09.20 HANDOUTS JENNIFER AND SCOTT MYHRE GEORGI DUGULESCU

“LEAVING MY STUDENTS, The Myhres in 1991 joined Serge (then World Harvest Mis- sion) and have served in hospitals in Kenya and Uganda, rais- MY NEIGHBORS, MY FRIENDS ing four children at Bundibugyo who currently live in the HERE DURING THIS TIME OF United States. Between 2007 and 2008 Bundibugyo became the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak that left 39 people dead, NEED IS UNTHINKABLE.” including one of the first Ugandan doctors the missionary couple helped to train. “For us, the feeling of being here alone and no escape route, of being on the front line of danger, of the potential ities, but actually seek to increase, in safe and creative ways.” that any human contact could be fatal, that is more like Ebola,” Life for many during the pandemic appears on hold, but Jennifer told me by email in April. not for front-line health workers like Scott and Jennifer Myhre. Then, they had no treatment for Ebola and as deaths The road they travel to Bundibugyo Hospital in Uganda’s mounted sent their children to live elsewhere. “It was a time northwest each morning is mostly empty. The wards upon of standing only on God’s mercy. And because our closest arrival are full. Babies are sick and some are dying. friend and colleague died, we knew that God’s mercy did not Absent an ability to test for COVID-19, doctors are on the equal our preferred outcome.” lookout for respiratory illnesses, which are prevalent, while In similar times now they work to maintain a familiar sense critical treatments for malaria, TB, malnutrition, and birth of purpose. The coronavirus threat is real, but in the meantime trauma must go on. malaria and other complications they see every day “will take Uganda had 55 COVID-19 cases on April 15, but African more lives than Ebola and COVID-19 combined in Africa this leaders, watching the exponential growth curve in more devel- month,” said Jennifer. oped countries, are taking drastic steps to enforce social dis- Uganda has a 7 p.m. pandemic curfew. The Myhres, who tancing. They know if the virus takes off, with only a handful serve as East Africa area directors of Serge missionaries in of ventilators and few other resources, it will be catastrophic. five countries, use evenings to connect with other teams and Police in Uganda enforce lockdown protocol, prohibit hosted a virtual Passover Seder meal with them in April. foreign travelers, even bar taxi rides and all but essential Researchers estimate 93 percent of the globe is living under businesses. President Yoweri Museveni gives nightly televised coronavirus-related restrictions, with 3 billion people living pep talks. In one, the 75-year-old leader demonstrates his in countries completely closed to foreigners. exercise routine, jogging laps in his office. “This pandemic is a unique equalizer,” said Serge’s Matt Morning staff meetings at Bundibugyo Hospital now take Allison. “People in rural Africa are practicing social distanc- place outdoors, with medical personnel standing apart as they ing, and people in New York City are practicing social dis- discuss the day’s caseload. Surgical masks are worn all day, tancing. It’s also a time for unique empathy. Our challenge in and when the Myhres leave the hospital, they place theirs on missions is to bridge cultural gaps in America, but our strug- top of the dashboard to be sanitized in the hot sun as they gle in America looks more like our struggles on the field right drive home, ready to be used again and again. now. We are all lamenting the same things.”

05.09.20 WORLD 45

FIRST

TO HURT,

LAST TO

RECOVER

As a pandemic continues, poverty- fighting ministries struggle to meet

needs, with decreasing donations

and fewer volunteers. But many persevere, trusting God to provide

BY CHARISSA KOH

PHOTO BY ROGER NOMER/GENESIS

CASIE AUGUSTINE, KITCHEN MANAGER AT WATERED GARDENS, TALKS WITH RESIDENTS WAITING TO ENTER FOR DINNER.

05.09.20 WORLD 47 Staff members at Watered Gardens homeless mission in Joplin, Mo., hung blue tarps between rows of cots, in case residents coughed during the night.

Thirty-eight black metal cots, topped “I feel that God has given His people a with blue blankets, lined the large room mandate to care for the poor. It’s just not where men can sleep. During the day, contingent upon personal risk.” The residents earned their stay in the mission’s challenges of staying open come with Worth Shop where they could grind cof- opportunity. Recently, the staff has found fee, break down donated items to recycle, the people they serve are becoming more ATERED GARDENS hasn’t yet or craft blankets out of plastic bags. receptive to the gospel. Whitford called suffered fewer donations since Forty people can fit in the Worth the pandemic “a new, fresh wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic, as Shop, but now only 10 work at a time, 6 the idea of your mortality.” someW nonprofits have. The shelter’s real feet from each other. Staff members take Just as many for-profit businesses problem is personnel: After the out- temperatures and use a questionnaire suffer during the COVID-19 pandemic, break, it lost almost half its 200 mostly to rule out COVID-19 symptoms before charities and ministries face questions older volunteers. The office staff is work- letting people in the mission. They serve too: Because of social distancing require- ing from home, and the 17 on-site staff meals in to-go containers and divide ments or government orders, volunteers members are straining to cover everyday clients between the dining room and are now limited in how much work they tasks and recruit new volunteers. white picnic tables outside. can do. Some nonprofits face steep rev- Care coordinator Beth Zimmerman James Whitford and his wife founded enue shortfalls and murky forecasts for and her volunteers used to get to know Watered Gardens in 2000. The ministry charitable giving. Meanwhile, the same new clients and help them set goals for was WORLD’s 2019 Hope Award grand crisis that created these challenges cre- becoming independent again. Now with- prize winner. As the coronavirus spreads, ates greater needs among these non- out her team, Zimmerman quickly Whitford knows some homeless shelters profits’ clients. Despite the problems, screens people at the door to determine have stopped services and intake, but many charities are finding solutions to if they need immediate relief, then sends that’s not an option for Watered Gardens: keep serving. them on. Volunteers used to walk people

48 WORLD 05.09.20 COURTESY OF WATERED GARDENS RESIDENTS SLEEP BETWEEN TARPS (LEFT) AND was on an HVAC unit for an elderly RECYCLE ELECTRONICS IN THE WORTH SHOP (ABOVE) AT WATERED GARDENS. woman in Columbia. Four weeks earlier, adult leaders and around 10 student volunteers had repaired her leaky roof nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator, and painted the home. When her HVAC said some nonprofits have found a solu- unit broke, she called back, and the tion in “virtual volunteers.” People raise same Home Works site leader brought awareness through social media or cre- a local contractor to fix it (the same ate online fundraisers. Volunteers can leader later checked on the woman and update websites and help organizations brought her groceries). through the mission’s market and help communicate with supporters. But min- Home Works stopped making repairs them decide what to buy. Now kitchen istries like Watered Gardens can’t shift four weeks ago. Home repair is consid- manager Casie Augustine fills orders their work online. ered an essential service, but Huggins herself, and buyers don’t even enter the Other organizations have a different said bringing groups into contact with market. Staff members and residents problem: plenty of volunteers, but fewer elderly clients was a risk he didn’t want are also serving meals, another volun- ways to use them. to take. Still, people keep asking to vol- teer job. Whitford sends the regular Joe Huggins directs Home Works of unteer with the ministry. volunteers a weekly video update to stay America, a Christian nonprofit based in in touch. “I don’t want to lose them,” he Columbia, S.C., that repairs homes for HE INABILITY TO USE volunteers said. qualifying low-income residents. The isn’t the only problem Home The coronavirus leaves would-be organization uses 3,000 mostly student Works faces. Since its founding in volunteers in a dilemma: Many have time volunteers each year to repair homes 1996,T the organization has weathered and want to help, but they are nervous for a mostly elderly clientele. economic ups and downs, but “nothing working at nonprofits that require As the coronavirus hit, Huggins said, like this though,” Huggins said. “Every- in-person contact—especially with Home Works initially continued making one is on a pause for giving right now.” homeless people who cannot easily repairs but soon stopped using volun- Donations are dropping: Huggins esti- maintain hygiene or distance. Kevin teers and only sent staff to handle emer- mates the ministry’s total income in Scally, chief relationship officer for the gencies. One of the group’s last repairs March and April has been about $17,000.

ROGER NOMER/GENESIS 05.09.20 WORLD 49 SCARLET HOPE CASE MANAGER MEGAN Scarlet Hope volunteers set up the meal hats in a silent auction. Founder Rachelle MUSICK PREPARES BAGS WITH FOOD AND SUPPLIES FOR CLIENTS. and befriended the dancers as they ate, Starr said the event brings in anywhere sharing the gospel and other work from $15,000 to $25,000. When Ken- options. The ministry also runs a career tucky banned large gatherings, the staff A typical monthly budget is between development program for those who postponed this year’s event to June 20. $65,000 and $75,000. Home Works still leave the sex industry. If the ban remains, Starr said staff might accepts applications from potential cli- Most charities hold spring fundrais- try livestreaming the event. ents, but the staff says the repair might ers before the traditionally low-giving But moving fundraisers online isn’t not happen for a year or more: Each summer months. But restrictions on always an option. Calvary Home for project takes a month to coordinate, gatherings means those events aren’t Children cares for foster kids in five allocating money for materials and find- happening. Scarlet Hope raises funds cottages in Anderson, S.C. Community ing the right team of volunteers. through a women’s brunch the week relations director Laura Lindsley asked Other nonprofits face the same prob- before the Kentucky Derby. Last year, donors if they would like an online ver- lem: A sputtering economy complicates 280 ladies dressed in derby hats, fasci- sion of the ministry’s May banquet, but fundraising. nators, and dresses gathered at a venue donors said they already spent too much Scarlet Hope is a Louisville, Ky.– to enjoy Kentucky hot brown sand- time watching computer screens. Staff based nonprofit that helps women in wiches, chicken salad croissants, fruit, members may send letters to donors the sex industry and also won a 2019 and cheese. Artwork from ladies in Scar- instead, but the banquet typically raises WORLD Hope Award. Before the pan- let Hope’s career development program $40,000: “That’s going to be a big loss demic closed strip clubs, staff and vol- decorated the tables. A speaker from a in revenue,” said Lindsley. “That’s a big unteers would visit the city’s clubs with task force on human trafficking spoke, fundraising event for us for the whole a meal for the dancers every Thursday. and attendees bid on purses and derby year. So that’s a little unsettling.”

50 WORLD 05.09.20 COURTESY OF SCARLET HOPE Private donations are almost certain continue. And in some cases, the coro- to drop in the coming months as well. navirus creates even more need. Starr said a nonprofit adviser recom- The Home Works phone still rings mended she prepare for a 50 percent 10-20 times a day, only slightly less than loss in revenue this fiscal year. Scally, of usual. People are home more, Huggins Charity Navigator, said most nonprofits “I FEEL THAT said, noticing everything that’s broken. are forecasting a 30-40 percent loss in GOD HAS They can’t make repairs, but Home revenue between March and June. He Works volunteers call to check on elderly recommends nonprofits diversify fund- GIVEN HIS clients and bring them groceries. ing and cut costs when possible, but PEOPLE A In Raleigh, Refugee Hope Partners their best bet is telling donors the situ- MANDATE TO asked churches to donate food to refu- ation and asking for help: “It’s almost a gees, and volunteers packed 250 food ‘save our sinking ship’ approach,’” said CARE FOR THE boxes for the families. “We have been Scally. POOR. IT’S matching refugee families with churches, Scarlet Hope so far has laid off seven JUST NOT small groups, and Sunday school classes employees in its bakery, which employs to provide food as long as this goes on, former sex workers and others in the CONTINGENT as long as people need it,” Suffridge said. community who need jobs. Its landlord UPON Joplin, Mo., is not a coronavirus hot discounted Scarlet Hope’s rent, and local PERSONAL spot—officials had only confirmed six churches are donating supplies. Calvary cases of COVID-19 by late April—but Home house parents are cutting frivo- RISK.” Watered Gardens is still receiving lous spending—baking a child’s birthday increasing requests for food, some from cake instead of buying it, for example. people who are not homeless. At Watered Gardens, the staff is also The Scarlet Hope staff is working sticking to necessary expenses: They from home, but some go to the office recently canceled a cosmetic painting one day per week to give out supplies project at the shelter. grants for extra support: “It’s been a to clients. Women line up 6 feet apart Rick Cohen at the National Council real time of encouragement.” in the parking lot, and a staff member of Nonprofits said charities feel financial Refugee Hope Partners’ experience sits at a table near the door to record hardship first and recover last, since might not be an outlier. Charity Navi- the clients’ names, needs, and the num- they need others to feel financially gator uses criteria to rate nonprofits and ber of people in the family. One by one, secure enough to give. Cohen referenced help donors identify organizations the women step inside, where a staff the Great Recession of 2008-09: Char- worth supporting. Web traffic increased member wearing gloves and a mask itable giving dropped and took nearly 10 percent in March and April, accord- hands her what she needs. So far, Scar- a decade to recover. He predicted this ing to Scally. He said people want to let Hope has given 46 families free food, pandemic will be much worse, and the help, and many believe the best way is clothes, diapers, and cleaning supplies. longer it lasts, the worse the aftermath: to support effective nonprofits. They invite all the ladies back the next “Some of these [nonprofits] know their Another financial solution came week, but they see new faces each time. doors will never open again, and there’s when President Donald Trump signed The seven ladies in the career devel- not much they can do, unfortunately.” the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, opment program complete classes But some nonprofits are actually and Economic Security) Act on March online and talk with their case managers seeing their giving increase. Refugee 27. Among other provisions, it lets non- by phone. Louisville’s strip clubs are Hope Partners in Raleigh, N.C., provides profits apply for loans through their closed, so Scarlet Hope staff texts the English classes, homework help, and banks to keep employees on the payrolls. dancers to offer help. Bible studies for refugees. When the Many have applied, including organiza- When lockdowns began, Starr won- pandemic hit in March, the organization tions that usually refuse government dered how volunteers could reach scrambled to help refugee families, and funds. women without entering clubs, but executive director Michele Suffridge Scarlet Hope keeps getting more calls says she has been too busy to explore HETHER OR NOT particular from new women. Starr doesn’t know options for financial help. But donations charities see more or less char- how some of them got the ministry’s are still coming consistently. On top of itable giving during the coro- number: “God is still at work. He hasn’t that, two donors offered matching navirusW pandemic, their clients’ needs left us. He hasn’t left them.”

05.09.20 WORLD 51 New York’s Dunkirk moment On one April night, hospitals from Maryland to Massachusetts sent a fleet of helicopters to help evacuate New York COVID-19 patients needing oxygen by Emily Belz

52 WORLD 05.09.20 LIFENET OF NEW YORK

NDY BRACKBILL AND HIS WIFE, Pamela, were up late Tuesday night, April 7, and into the wee hours of Wednesday. He passed the time scanning Flight Radar 24, a flight track- ing app. Brackbill said he was “doing my usual clicking on certain planes/helicopters at different places around the country, just to see who they were and where they were going.” ¶ Something on the map caught Brackbill’s attention. A flurry of medical helicopters was leaving New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), heading out in all different directions, one leaving right after another. He wondered if they were evacuating COVID-19 patients from overwhelmed New York hospitals to facilities with more resources.

“My wife and I took time to weep and pray Others responded that the medevacs must for those who are desperate for care and possi- be picking up organs or protective equipment bly gasping for their breath on those helicopters, unloaded from a plane at JFK. but also with thankfulness for the sacrifice of “Maybe … just surprised to see so many those involved in these efforts and the amazing machines going in and out of there,” one person teamwork that would go along with these replied. efforts,” said Brackbill. “It’s odd,” another agreed. On Twitter, other aviation enthusiasts puzzled Brackbill’s guess was right, according to the over the swarm of medevacs at JFK. “Lots of EMS medical evacuation teams working that night. A helicopters heading to JFK airport right now. New York hospital had to evacuate 28 intubated One just departed, am I missing something?” patients that Tuesday because its piped oxygen one wrote. system “was having trouble delivering enough oxygen,” according to Hartford Hospital’s Life Star helicopter service. Life Star evacuated one of those patients to Albany Medical Center, in the state capital. It was a small Dunkirk moment: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York coming to the rescue of the Big Apple. Most of the flurry of medevacs that night went to Albany, the unassuming city that on a normal day receives indifference from its glittery southern neighbor. Helicopters from Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, Hart- ford Hospital in Connecticut, and LifeNet of New

A STAT MEDEVAC York flew to JFK, then on to Albany. A medevac AIRCRAFT from Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, around

54 WORLD 05.09.20 SHAWN OLAH the same time, also departed JFK to go to Albany, such a flow of oxygen to so many patients in EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS MOVE A well out of its normal flight pattern. respiratory failure. Ambulances and their para- COVID-19 PATIENT FROM MT. SINAI MORNINGSIDE Air evacuation service Air Methods, which medic crews from around the country, in New HOSPITAL INTO AN has been coordinating many patient transfers York to help with the virus response, lined up AMBULANCE. out of COVID-19-slammed hospitals in New York outside Jamaica to take patients to JFK for City, transferred a few patients earlier in the day medevacs out of the city. Some went to the USNS on April 7 from several Queens hospitals. Comfort hospital ship. “Our day on the seventh of April started out Flight records tell more of the story. Within as per routine,” said William Stubba, an Air Meth- a few hours late that night, at least 11 medical ods manager and an experienced paramedic helicopters converged at JFK and then spread from Poland, N.Y. “Then it moved to a very, very to hospitals from Albany to Philadelphia. One hectic evening.” upstate medevac service, LifeNet of New York, did two runs from JFK to Albany that night, with THE OXYGEN CRISIS AROSE at Jamaica Hospi- its final trip departing JFK at 1:30 a.m. STAT tal Medical Center, which has borne a heavy load MedEvac, another air ambulance service in Penn- of COVID-19 patients and had transferred other sylvania, activated four aircraft. patients to Albany in the previous week. The Air Methods kicked into gear as news came coronavirus makes oxygen strain a big problem of Jamaica’s overburdened oxygen system. Its for hospitals, which are not designed to provide communication center in Omaha, Neb., helped

JOHN LAMPARSKI/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES 05.09.20 WORLD 55 ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER dispatch 23 aircraft to be ready for evacuating Bad weather also complicated the helicopter ACCEPTED DOZENS OF patients from JFK. teams’ efforts, according to Sean Trainor, a flight TRANSFERRED COVID-19 PATIENTS FROM Air Methods’ Jennifer Noce, based in Syra- nurse who worked on Hartford Hospital’s heli- DOWNSTATE NEW YORK. cuse, was on the ground at Jamaica Hospital, copter team that night. When Trainor and his which was clearly overwhelmed. She began team got to JFK, they looked at weather reports coordinating with Jamaica’s emergency director and decided they could make it to Albany—but and charge nurse to locate patients needing the team ended up having to return to Hartford transport to Albany Medical Center. The patients by ground transportation after delivering the were on different floors, so Noce said she “made patient. friends with security” and had them help her Stubba insisted it was a day like any other: a locate and move patients—all intubated and on day paramedics train for, like when a hospital ventilation. needs evacuation after a hurricane or power Another Air Methods co-worker was on the outage. But he admitted it was challenging, mobi- ground at JFK managing the wave of medevac lizing flight crews and helicopters after midnight: crews, while co-worker Stubba managed all the “These are very stressful, trying times, but given moving pieces. the inherent nature of what we are as nurses, “Bill would call me: ‘I have this asset from paramedics, this is what we do. This is our own this aircraft at JFK, and they’re coming to you,’” little battlefield that we enter.” said Noce, who was double-checking everything on a spreadsheet while in full protective gear. UPSTATE HOSPITALS, which have few local “I’ve never truly been involved in a real-life sce- cases of the virus, have been taking COVID-19 nario like this. This is why you do this, to truly patients from the city since the beginning of help people. For every crew member that came April. The need for ICU care for New York in, it was about making a difference in someone’s patients is particularly high. Before the outbreak, life.” New York had 3,000 ICU beds, 80 percent of

56 WORLD 05.09.20 HANDOUT ventilated patients had survived thus far). Two doctors, Mitchell Blutt and Kevin Volpp, suggested this evacuation strategy in a March 31 Wall Street Journal op-ed, titled “Operation Covid Airlift.” “Instead of moving ventilators and ventilator technicians to coronavirus hotspots where both are in short supply, perhaps we could move “These are very patients to places with a surplus of ventilators stressful, trying and the medical staff trained to operate them,” they wrote. “It’s common for hospitals in rural times, but given the or isolated locations to transfer patients who inherent nature of need higher-level care to major academic centers by airplane or helicopter. Perhaps the solution what we are as to the looming crisis is to run this system in nurses, paramedics, reverse.” Albany Medical Center was already a transfer this is what we do. hospital that served smaller hospitals in the This is our own little region, so it was prepared to receive transfer patients—even if they came from a city that usu- battlefield that ally boasted some of the best hospitals in the we enter.” world. Others were also ready to pitch in: Around that same time on the night of April 7, a Johns Hopkins medevac flew from JFK to Baltimore, well out of its normal flight pattern. Air Methods said that medevac ended up not needing to transport a patient after all. Air Methods said its aircraft came from New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. STAT MedEvac from Pennsylvania also had two helicopters leave JFK that night, headed for Pennsylvania hospi- which were already occupied. On April 6, 4,593 tals. New Yorkers were in intensive care. In New York, medevacs cannot land on hos- Many of those patients have gone to Albany pitals because of a ban on rooftop helipads after Medical Center, which wouldn’t comment on the the 1977 helicopter crash into the Pan Am Build- medevacs from JFK. But the hospital confirmed ing. it has been accepting transferred COVID-19 “When I was at Jamaica, and I’m in the ER, patients from the city since April 1. As of April people are saying, ‘Thank you for helping,’” said 8, the hospital had received 46 transferred Noce. “Staff, FDNY. That’s just the type of patients from “downstate,” said spokesperson embrace that you had from everybody. It’s a team Sue Ford Rajchel, while hospitals in the Albany effort. Upstate, downstate, we’re all in this area had in total accepted 91 patients from down- together, and we really need to help each other. state. … That’s something I will never ever forget.” For context on how significant this aid is to “There’s still dialogue with people we have the Big Apple, the entire Samaritan’s Purse field connected with down there,” said Stubba. “‘How hospital in Central Park can serve 68 patients, are you doing today?’ New friends reaching out with 10 of those beds for ICU care. The Albany to new friends.” hospital has said accepting COVID-19 transfers At the time of the evacuation, New York was will not prevent it from treating any local in perhaps the worst chapter of its fight against patients. the virus, with 18,279 hospitalized in the state Albany Medical Center had admitted a total from the virus and daily deaths around 800. Days of 136 COVID-19 patients as of April 10 and said later, hospitalizations were beginning to level a “significant proportion of them” had gone off, but deaths were still rising. home. Six died on ventilators, but 10 had come “This is a heroic effort and indicates they are off of ventilation, a good number (one doctor I pulling out all the stops to get as many patients talked to at a local hospital said none of their to lifesaving care as possible,” said Brackbill.

05.09.20 WORLD 57

HOW TO LEARN ABOUT

A 52-book guide during coronavirus time CHINAby Marvin Olasky | illustration by David Vogin

SOCIAL ISOLATION IS A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR self-education through books delivered by Amazon or others. Ever since my first trip to China 14 years ago I’ve tried to read a lot about the country—and what follows are brief descriptions of books I’ve found useful. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about the world power from which a virus came and other threats are likely to come, now’s the time: I’m not suggesting that you read one per week over the next year, but I hope this article piques your curiosity.

05.09.20 WORLD 59 Let’s start with the fascinating work that was our 1949 could not kill the religious impulse that is part of Book of the Year in 2016: Street of Eternal Happiness: our human nature. Chinese Christians gave patriotic Big City Dreams Along a Shanghai Road (Crown). respect to the Beijing government and the Communist Author Rob Schmitz lived on a Shanghai street called, Party, while practicing “cooperative resistance” to push in English, Street of Eternal Happiness. He used the lives for greater religious freedoms. The result was an expo- of a handful of the street’s residents to explore modern nential expansion of Christianity in China, to the chagrin China. By telling the stories of flower seller Zhao, accor- of government officials. dion-maker and sandwich shop owner CK, Aunty Fu, Going back a few years, David Aikman’s Jesus in and others, Schmitz explored the long-lasting effects of Beijing: How Christianity Is Transforming China the Cultural Revolution, the power of get-rich-quick and Changing the Global Balance of Power (Salem schemes, Chinese capitalism, marriage, and generational Books, 2006) had an optimistic subtitle and good report- differences between those who “tasted bitterness” and ing of individual stories of house churches. Rodney Stark the children of affluence. and Xiuhua Wang’s A Star in the East: The Rise of Another vivid account is Age of Ambition: Chasing Christianity in China (Templeton, 2015) succinctly Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China (Farrar, tells the history. Straus and Giroux, 2014) by Evan Osnos. In 2018 I bought Liao Yiwu’s God Is Red (Harper One, 2012) shows in Shanghai a tin cup picturing a Chinese worker hold- how older Christians survived the Cultural Revolution: ing up a sheaf of cash and saying, “I love money.” Osnos He’s not a Christian but says his interviews “exhilarated describes those who love the new economy but also me, lifting me out of my drunken depression. The stories want freedom. Reporter Ian Johnson’s Wild Grass: of heroic Christians ... have inspired me.” He lets his sub- Three Stories of Change in Modern China (Pantheon, jects tell their own stories, including praise of mission- 2004) is an older story of brave people who fought oppres- aries who introduced the gospel to their villages. But sion at a time when China seemed to be opening up. persecution has increased once again in the past several Those books are by American journalists looking in. years, and that’s why WORLD’s reporting, including our To learn from Chinese looking out, you might read No weekly online “Snapshots of China,” has been so valuable. Enemies, No Hatred (Harvard, 2012), a collection of essays and poems by Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Prize winner who went to prison for “incitement to subvert state power” and died in 2017. Ji Xianlin’s The Cowshed: Memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (New York Review Books, 2016) is a thoughtful victim’s view of Mao Zedong’s revolutionary savagery. One of the IMPRISONED POET AND fatalities was Lin Zhao, an imprisoned poet and jour- JOURNALIST LIN ZHAO DID nalist who did not give up her Christian faith and wrote NOT GIVE UP HER CHRISTIAN of her dissent from Communism in her own blood on cloth torn from bedsheets: Lian Xi’s Blood Letters FAITH AND WROTE OF HER (Basic, 2018) is a biography of the martyr. DISSENT FROM COMMUNISM That leads me to another group of books, those show- IN HER OWN BLOOD ON CLOTH ing how our Chinese brothers and sisters in faith are faring. Ian Johnson’s The Souls of China: The Return TORN FROM BEDSHEETS. of Religion After Mao (Pantheon, 2017) shows how the atheistic propaganda that’s been compulsory in schools and mass media since China’s Communist takeover in

60 WORLD 05.09.20 Ralph Covell’s Confucius, the Buddha, and Christ: century. The first chapter of James Bradley’sThe China A History of the Gospel in Chinese (Wipf and Stock, Mirage (Little, Brown, 2015) and the second chapter of 2004) describes past periods of Christian or semi-Chris- Zheng Wang’s Never Forget National Humiliation tian advance in China: Nestorians during the first mil- (Columbia University Press, 2012) tell the sad story of lennium, Jesuits midway through the second, and how Europeans forced China to accept opium, with evangelicals over the past two centuries. Chan Kei British ships bombarding China’s coast in what became Thong’s Faith of Our Fathers: God in Ancient China known as the First Opium War. When Chinese officials (China Publishing Group, 2006) shows how Christian- pushed back in the 1850s, the Second Opium War made ity is not “foreign”: The ancient Chinese worshipped a China’s humiliation complete. Supreme Being like that of the God of the Bible, and Some Americans profited from that immoral pres- the 4,000-year-old Chinese sacrificial system paralleled sure: Opium contributed mightily to the great fortunes the Bible’s. of families with names like Delano, Russell, Cushing, Low, Forbes, and Green. But other Americans became EXT, WE NEED SOME UNDERSTANDING of Chi- missionaries, and many Chinese responded to Christ’s nese history. Going way back, Michael call. Carol Lee Hamrin and Stacey Bieler edited the three Schuman’s Confucius: And the World He volumes of Salt and Light (Wipf and Stock, 2009-2011) Created (Basic, 2015) readably gives us basics that feature 27 chapter biographies of Chinese Christians on the Chinese sage who lived from 551 to 479 who were doctors, teachers, editors, artists, financiers, b.c. Princeton University Press published in ministers, social activists—even a general. When Ham- 2018 a graphic novel of The Analects, which rin and Bieler gave talks on the books in Beijing and N includes Confucian wisdom such as “If a gen- Hong Kong, the first 10,000 copies in Chinese sold out. tleman is deferential and cautious, if he treats others Some intellectuals fought Western racism by devel- with respect and propriety, then everyone will consider oping their own. How China Sees the World by John him his brother.” My bookcase also includes two similar Friend and Bradley Thayer (University of Nebraska Press, Princeton graphic novels playfully illustrated by C.C. 2018) shows how some Chinese channeled Charles Dar- Tsai, Zhuangzi’s The Way of Nature and Sunzi’s The win and argued racial groups were “either superior or Art of War, which says, “A commander who has to win inferior, modern or primitive, with the yellow and white at any cost is likely to be cut down by the enemy.” races more advanced and civilized and the brown, black, My only formal college course in Chinese history and red much less so. … Within the Han-centric perspec- happened to be taught by Jonathan Spence, then an tive, the Chinese are more cunning and virtuous than the associate professor, now at age 83 one of the most rest. The United States, in contrast, is easily manipulated, distinguished Western historians of China. One of his although strong and violent just like an adolescent.” books, God’s Chinese Son (Norton, 1996), is a gripping Others in China used a different Western invention, account of the mid-19th-century religious war triggered Communism, to fight foreign intervention. The result by supposed revelations given to a charismatic leader was brutal. Sun Shuyun’s The Long March: The True who mixed elements of Christian doctrine with History of Communist China’s Founding Myth (Dou- ego-feeding power seeking. In the end, 20 million died. bleday, 2006) shows that the ruthlessness of Mao Zedong Spence has written many other good books, including and other Communist leaders began early: As in the The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (Penguin, 1985), Soviet Union and Spain during the 1930s, Chinese rev- an account of the 16th-century missionary’s China olutionaries were often more in danger when bucking adventure. the party line than when on the front lines. The Chinese have good evidence of how Europe and Frank Dikötter’s The Cultural Revolution: A Peo- the United States took advantage of them in the 19th ple’s History, 1962-1976 (Bloomsbury, 2016) shows

05.09.20 WORLD 61 how Mao treated comrades Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao, and United States find a way to avoid that “destiny” by clar- others the way Josef Stalin murderously treated Leon ifying vital interests and increasing understanding. Trotsky, Nikolai Bukharin, and others. The Cultural Two other books are also sympathetic toward China’s Revolution followed the “Great Leap Forward” and regime. Elizabeth Economy’s The Third Revolution preceded the Tiananmen Square massacre, but they (Oxford, 2018) is “a work of cool-headed analysis,” were both displays of—to quote Dikötter’s last sen- according to Foreign Affairs, but some imperialistic Xi tence—“brutal force and steely resolve, designed to Jinping initiatives warm Economy’s heart: “The BRI send a signal that still pulsates to this day: do not query [Belt and Road Initiative] and Asian Infrastructure the monopoly of the one-party state.” (And within that, Investment Bank offer important opportunities for Chi- as Xi Jinping now shows, the one leader within the one- nese businesses, while providing significant new public party state.) goods for the rest of the world.” (Last fall in Senegal I James Palmer’s Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes learned how China is grabbing Africa’s natural (Basic, 2012) is a well-written history focused on 1976, resources.) Bradley Gardner’s China’s Great Migration the year Mao Zedong died after killing tens of millions (Independent Institute, 2017) shows—the subtitle says— and the Tangshin earthquake killed tens of thousands. How the Poor Built a Prosperous Nation. Chai Ling’s A Heart for Freedom (Tyndale, 2011) Daniel C. Lynch’s China’s Futures (Stanford, 2015) explains how she became a student leader in the democ- shows statements by Chinese elites display two diamet- racy movement that Communists brutally ended in rically opposed strands of thinking. Many economists Tiananmen Square. Chai went into hiding, escaped to think China “must change and change quickly or else the United States, earned a Harvard MBA, gave birth to face a severe crisis,” but many international relations three children—and became a Christian fighting for the specialists “evince an almost mystical belief in the inev- victims of China’s one-child policy. itability of China’s rise, coupled with the certainty of America’s decline.” Powerful Patriots by Jessica Chen OVING TO THE PAST DECADE, sympathetic Weiss (Oxford, 2014) shows how China’s leaders are explainers of China include Harvard pro- riding a nationalist tiger. fessor Noah Feldman, whose Cool War Other books show how that tiger’s sharp teeth may (Random House, 2013) saw a mutually yet bite millions of China’s people, and us. Guy Sorman advantageous U.S.-China relationship. Chi- predicted a severe crisis in The Empire of Lies: The na’s institutionalized transitions of power Truth About China in the Twenty-First Century through 10-year generational shifts (Encounter, first published in 2008). He said the dazzle M impressed him, and he thought China was of 200 million upwardly mobiles in big cities blinds moving toward the rule of law and protection for human Americans to the lives of the 1 billion poor Chinese. Bill rights. Gertz’s Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist China’s Three books published in 2015, Lyle Goldstein’s Drive for Global Supremacy (Encounter, 2019) says Meeting China Halfway: How to Defuse the Emerg- the new Cold War is well underway, and the United ing US-China Rivalry (Georgetown), Thomas Chris- States is losing to a 21st-century empire even more evil tensen’s The China Challenge (Norton), and Daniel and dangerous than the Soviet Union. Bell’s The China Model (Princeton), suggested steps Jude Blanchette’s China’s New Red Guards (Oxford, for cooperation rather than challenge: Bell even argued 2019) describes, as its subtitle says, The Return of Rad- that “China has evolved a model of democratic meri- icalism and the Rebirth of Mao Zedong. But it’s not tocracy that is morally desirable and politically stable.” exactly back to basics: Carl Minzner’s End of an Era: Graham Allison’s Destined for War (Houghton Mifflin, How China’s Authoritarian Revival Is Undermining 2017) is a political scientist’s plea that China and the Its Rise (Oxford, 2018) describes the “eye-popping

62 WORLD 05.09.20 contradictions for the vanguard of the proletariat,” with (Minotaur, 2018) and two other novels set in 18th-century 160 of China’s wealthiest in the Communist Party Con- China. They feature detective Li Du, a mid-level bureau- gress or the national legislature. Their total worth— crat with a mysterious past, and his sidekick, a wander- about $221 billion—is 20 times greater than the total ing storyteller who enthralls local crowds. Within China worth of equivalent U.S. officials. a mystery/detective trilogy by Zhao Haohui has sold Minzner says we are seeing “the closing of the Chi- well: The first,Death Notice (translation published by nese dream,” as colleges admit urban youth with expen- Doubleday in 2018; some graphic violence and lan- sive private tutors and freeze out rural or migrant guage), has a special investigative squad trying to appre- students who have “spent winters shivering in an hend Eumenides, a vigilante who murders criminals unheated, dilapidated classroom.” Xi Jinping has cracked who have escaped punishment. It has an anti-corruption down on “a generation of crusading and muckraking theme that goes well with Xi Jinping’s war on corrup- journalists,” but as reporters report less, poor workers tion—but since corruption is so widespread, selective protest more: “Direct action” includes “blocking roads prosecution is a way to get rid of his rivals. and construction projects … mobilizing hundreds of Randy Alcorn’s Safely Home (Tyndale, 2001) is a supporters to encircle government buildings and engage page-turning tale of persecution that showed how an in defiant, face-to-face negotiations with officials.” -Fur atheistic American businessman, visiting his Chinese thermore, “China is now graying more rapidly than any roommate from college, saw the light amid Communist other major economy in history.” attempts to mandate a heart of darkness. Jonathan Minzner shows how Xi has cracked down while simul- Freedland’s The 3rd Woman (Harper, 2015) has Chinese taneously becoming known as “Papa Xi,” as Stalin was soldiers stationed in a future Los Angeles and other known as “Uncle Joe.” But Scott Rozelle and Natalie West Coast cities to collect the debt the United States Johnson, in China’s Invisible Crisis (Basic, 2019), argue owes China, in a reversal of 19th-century European that Chinese Communism is not an unstoppable force: intrusions in China. (Warning: a sex scene and some They say the countryside (where two-thirds of Chinese vulgar language.) live) more resembles Africa, with millions of children Finally, two academic books: The scholarly essays in suffering from anemia, intestinal worms, and uncor- God and Caesar in China, edited by Jason Kindopp rected myopia. And others have it even worse: Ethan and Carol Lee Hamrin (Brookings Institution, 2004), Gutmann’s The Slaughter (Prometheus, 2014) examines laid out the Chinese government’s attempts two decades mass killing and organ harvesting in China, with a focus ago to control religion, the interaction of Catholics and on the rise and partial fall of the Falun Gong movement. Protestants with state regulators, and the impact of religious concerns on U.S.-China relations. The analyses INALLY, HERE ARE NOTES on six novels and provided useful background on Christian resilience at two scholarly books. Qiu Xiaolong, who grew that time. up in Shanghai and now lives in St. Louis, has Timothy Conkling’s published dissertation, Mobi- written 10 mysteries featuring Chen Cao, chief lized Merchants–Patriotic Martyrs: China’s House- inspector of a special unit of the Shanghai Church Protestants and the Politics of Cooperative police tasked with investigating crimes involv- Resistance (CreateSpace, 2013), explains the chess ing high-up Communist Party officials. The game Chinese churches needed to play. Some local F two in my bookcase, Don’t Cry, Tai Lake and government officials were oppressors, but others warned Shanghai Redemption (Minotaur, 2013 and 2016), paint house churches that a central government official was a grim picture of a society searching for meaning while visiting, so it would be wise to skip Sunday school for “Big Bucks” and high party officials grab what they can. one week. (The recent crackdown, though, has been Mystery-lovers will also enjoy Elsa Hart’s City of Ink more severe.)

05.09.20 WORLD 63 Stay Healthy. Stay Home. Shop Stauer.

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YOONJUN MOON 05.09.20 WORLD 65 NOTEBOOK Health tually the time did come. The man’s pain had increased and death became more of a reality to him. Summers found the man outside his house, upset, mentally soon after, and Wilson realized: “So TO BRING CHRIST rehearsing everything he believed. Sum- much happens at that last part of life INTO THE WORKING mers asked the man if his beliefs were that is rich and meaningful and deep giving him peace. The man said no. Sum- that is not talked about.” ENVIRONMENT mers asked if he wanted to hear how Last June, he founded Sonder Hos- WHERE I AM … Summers had found peace, and the man pice, based in Austin, to meet the need IS THE MOST said yes. Summers says he explained the he saw for respectful, personalized hos- gospel and the patient repented of his pice care. Sonder is not a Christian com- EXCITING THING. sins and professed faith in Jesus. pany, but Wilson and the other leaders Hospice workers can serve and com- are Christians. The group works to care fort not only patients but their families for patients holistically: A nurse helps and churches as well. Robert Baldwin meet patients’ physical needs, while a oversees pastoral care at High Pointe chaplain and social worker help meet Baptist Church in Austin. His responsi- emotional and spiritual needs. or where they’ll spend eternity—and then bilities include overseeing hospital vis- The end of life can be deeply painful tries to help them accordingly. its, funerals, and the deacon of widows and challenging, often marked by anx- For non-Christian patients, it’s more and shut-ins. When church member Pat iety, depression, and loneliness. Yet complicated: Medicare restrictions pro- Anderson died in November, Baldwin Christians working in hospice have hibit hospice chaplains from evangeliz- went to be with Anderson’s wife, Mae. opportunities to serve patients, families, ing patients. However, chaplains can Mae does not drive anymore, and by and churches in these critical moments. discuss the gospel if a patient asks ques- the time a neighbor drove her to the hos- In hospice, Medicare and insurance tions. Sometimes just building a friend- pital, her husband had already died. But cover the medical care plus other services ship with patients leads to opportunities. the Andersons had used Sonder Hospice, like counseling and chaplaincy. Grady Summers remembers his first meet- and Mae said Lloyd Wilson held her hus- Summers is a pastor, Biblical counselor, ing with a handsome man in his 50s who band’s hand and read Romans Chapter 8 and chaplain with another hospice com- was dying of bone cancer. The patient to him as he died. Three months later, pany in Austin. “There are some believ- was cursing God for letting him get sick, Mae said Wilson was still regularly calling ers who are very at peace when it comes but he still wanted weekly chaplain ser- to check in on her and having lunch with to passing, and there are some that are vice. As they met, Summers tried to her. “I have never met a person who is really wrestling with it and they’re listen well and understand the man more dedicated than Lloyd Wilson,” she afraid,” Summers said. For the latter, he instead of challenging him. Summers said. “He is a godsend.” asks what they fear—the process of dying told the nurse, “There may come a time After Pat’s funeral, Baldwin and Wil- when he asks for me. I need to know son met for coffee to discuss how the

SONDER MEDICAL DIRECTOR DR. JOSE PEREZ right then, and I’ll come.” He spent a church and Sonder could partner. Bald- (LEFT) WITH A PATIENT AND NURSE year building the friendship, and even- win hopes to volunteer as a Sonder chaplain and connect church members with volunteer opportunities in hospice. Those opportunities abound, and hospice care tends to have high staff turnover because the work is so drain- ing. Patients require lots of attention, and repeatedly building friendships with people right before they die takes an emotional toll. Grady Summers orig- inally did not want his job because it would mean focusing on death. But he said he has learned to follow Christ by serving when the door opens. “Here’s where I’ve found myself,” he said. “To bring Christ into the working environment where I am … is the most exciting thing because now I’m not looking at death, I’m looking at knowing the living Christ in the given moment.”

66 WORLD 05.09.20 YOONJUN MOON NOTEBOOK Religion

WORKING FOR THE KINGDOM God’s calling on Tom Sharkey’s life seemed irresistible, but 31 years of pastoring a sometimes- resistant flock was challenging

by Charissa Koh

THIRD IN A SERIES ON LONG MINISTRY

THEIST TOM SHARKEY BECAME A CHRISTIAN in college and was surprised In 1988, following pastoral experi- when people urged him to become a pastor. “I kept hearing the word ence at two churches, he began pastor- preach,” he says. “I just kept trying to push that out of my mind.” When ing First Covenant Church in a campus ministry asked him to preach for its service, he said no. But Youngstown, Ohio. Sharkey quickly the group insisted, and afterward he received positive feedback. noticed a problem: The church, with Sharkey decided to consult the Campus Crusade staff, which he’d more than 500 members, had only 100 overheard saying people could serve the Lord without going into full- attendees on a normal Sunday. Sharkey time ministry jobs like pastoring or missions work. Instead, the staff learned that about 130 members had A members saw him and said, “Tom, we were just talking about you. We been “out of town” for a long time. He were just saying you should go into ministry.” sent letters to follow up, received 110 Sharkey gave up. After graduation, he married his wife, Lucy, and replies, and began removing names attended seminary. But his new calling would come with plenty of ups from the membership accordingly. But and downs. the congregation bristled: The

TORIN OLSEN 05.09.20 WORLD 67 smaller roll “made them feel less impor NOTEBOOK Sports tant,” Sharkey says. After nearly a decade at First Cove- nant, Sharkey contented himself with the numbers the church had, between 200 and 250 people. With his atheist background, Sharkey loved answering his congregation’s intellectual questions about Christianity. It was a joy to see church kids grow up and embrace Chris- tianity. Many people attended faithfully, listened to his preaching, and grew in their faith. Still, Sharkey felt a portion of the church merely showed up and did not engage. He says a consequence of long tenure at a church is “you go up, then you fall back. You fight up again, and then you take a nosedive.” In his case, the last five years have been the hardest. After a con- flict with Sharkey, a worship team member convinced the whole team to quit, giving only a week’s notice. Another time, even though the church already had a youth group and youth pastor, a mother started a rival youth group out of her home. The church’s attendance dropped, and neither Sharkey nor his staff could tell what was wrong. At a local pastors meeting, he learned other churches were also shrinking. Sharkey had opportunities to leave, but he did not feel God release him—until last year, his 31st at the church. After three prayerful months, Sharkey and the STRANGE other leaders decided they should close the church via their denomination’s “Liv- WAGERS ing Legacy” program, selling the build- As the coronavirus pandemic ing and letting the denomination plant other churches with the proceeds. But stifles the gambling industry, the congregation, aging and perhaps sports gamblers turn to more uninterested in attending elsewhere, obscure competitions voted down the measure. The church leaders and a sizable group of younger by Juliana Chan Erikson congregants decided to leave anyway. (The current church staff did not return my follow-up calls seeking comment.) N THIS DARK AGE OF THE CORONAVIRUS, sports gamblers Sharkey struggles not to feel discour- are left searching the ends of the earth for any sign of aged, but his son and friends remind sports. Among the exotic offerings the pandemic has not him how God used him to help so many canceled: soccer in Burundi and Belarus, basketball in people grow. Looking back, he says: Tajikistan, and professional darts. Yes, darts. “The gospel is the thing that got me into New Jersey sports columnist Steve Politi said he put the ministry and the thing that kept me $20 on a Russian table tennis match last week out of going in the ministry. I often said that boredom and to scratch a gambling itch that March Mad- although I was hired by and paid by First I ness would’ve normally scratched. After placing his bet Covenant Church, I work for the kingdom of God.”

68 WORLD 05.09.20 LUKAS SCHULZE/PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY IMAGES online on a sport he knew little about, $43.5 billion in lost economic activity if Politi spent the next hour on the edge they remain closed through May. While of his couch watching his guy Oleg most of the gaming industry did qualify return smacks from Dmitry. “When for relief under the $2 trillion CARES you’re stuck indoors all day, you’ll try Act, it’s anybody’s guess whether gam- anything to kill a little time,” he told blers will bring their own stimulus me over email. checks to the card tables. Politi describes himself as an occa- The prospect of betting on virtual sional gambler and says he knows his horse racing and Taiwan-based basket- limits. But anti-addiction advocates and ball will probably deter most, but Whyte counselors predict problem gamblers says seriously addicted sports gamblers will struggle during the coronavirus will still take the risk. Alone at home pandemic, when money is tight and with a fast internet connection (and no obscure sports rule the day. WHEN YOU’RE Gamblers Anonymous meetings to Overall, the coronavirus pandemic STUCK INDOORS attend), they’re the ones placing bets has pounded the sports gambling indus- ALL DAY, YOU’LL on sports they know nothing about. try, with states temporarily closing both And in a fast-paced sport, betting casinos and brick-and-mortar sports- TRY ANYTHING can be a wild affair: A table tennis game books to prevent virus spread. Gamblers TO KILL A can last as little as one to three minutes, can still place bets online, but states saw LITTLE TIME. and individual points take four to eight a steep drop in wagers: New Jersey seconds. That means gamblers may sportsbook bets totaled $187 million in barely even be thinking (or blinking) March, down from $372 million in March between bets. 2019. Sports columnist Politi learned this Before the coronavirus canceled the hard way. After the victorious Oleg sports, sports betting itself was going made Politi a richer man, he didn’t think viral across the United States. In the two twice about applying his winnings to years since the Supreme Court struck another Russian table tennis match. This down a federal ban on most sports bet- time, he lost. ting, 19 states plus the District of Colum- He says it was fun while it lasted, but, bia have passed legislation allowing “I think I’m probably done with the sportsbooks to take bets. (Additionally, pingpong.” Nevada, Oregon, and New Mexico already permitted the practice.) New Jersey, one of the early new adopters, has already collected $61 million in state taxes on $6.8 billion in sports bets. Keith Whyte, director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, says the last two years have been “the largest and widest expansion of gambling in our country’s history.” Thirteen more states had bills to legalize gambling in the works before the pandemic, but the coronavirus killed their momentum. Still, Whyte believes states will revisit the issue: Those that green-light sports betting before August could cash in on the most bet-on sport in America—NFL football. The Ameri- can Gaming Association (AGA) estimated Americans spent $6.8 billion betting on the 2020 Super Bowl. According to the AGA, the closure of the nation’s nearly 1,000 casinos (and related revenue losses to local restau- rants, hotels, and businesses) will cost

05.09.20 WORLD 69 THE BIBLE PINPOINTS THE Voices ANDRÉE SEU PETERSON PRECISE YEAR, MONTH, AND DAY THAT BLUE SKIES BROKE OPEN WITH A WORLDWIDE DELUGE.

ness of life events, the Bible pinpoints the precise year, month, and day that blue skies broke open with a worldwide deluge, after which life on earth would All of a sudden never be the same: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of Sometimes important the month, on that day all the fountains of the great events happen not with deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened” (Genesis 7:11). a whimper but a bang Failure to factor in sudden changes can be fatal. As when the rich man with the new barn for his bumper crop died in the prime of life the very day he mused, N 2007 I WENT TO WORK as usual at the seminary “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; café I’d been managing since after my husband relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19). Turns out died in 1999. I was prepping for the lunch crowd his plans were based on faulty assumptions. And as while listening to the radio when suddenly two the lately renowned Dr. Anthony Fauci startlingly men came through the door and said I had to admitted at a national press conference, a theory is leave—right away. The 1898 former gatehouse, only as good as the assumptions it is founded on. former classroom building, former study lounge I am old enough to remember the generation of I was not strong enough to support the weight my grandparents who diligently, if not obsessively, of the bookstore above the kitchen, said the urgent factored in sudden change, always the negative kind. building inspectors. So my meats and cheeses sliced, The downside of that bent of mind is that such a man and my chili and kielbasa underway, I was unceremo- “never asks himself, ‘For whom am I toiling and depriv- niously out on the curb. ing myself of pleasure?’” (Ecclesiastes 4:8). The upside I never returned. is he understands that “children are not obligated to The morning’s local newspaper as I pen these words save up for their parents, but parents for their chil- announces the governor’s decision to close all schools dren” (2 Corinthians 12:14). in the state for the rest of the year. This makes me At a party in New York a woman described to me remember the café closing, as I am imagining one day a friend of hers as “rent poor,” a depressing term for a month ago that the children carried their backpacks people who pay so much for the privilege of living in off to the bus stops after their breakfasts, never know- the Upper East Side that they eat mac and cheese to ing it would be the last day they would perform that be able to afford it. My own anecdotal impression is whole routine in the 2019-2020 year. that members of the current generation, departing Back in 1969 our high-school yearbook had a photo from their elders’ virtue of thrift, have left no wiggle of the spring school dance with the following lachry- room in their lives for the unexpected broken appli- mose text: “This is the way the ball will end, not with ance, leaky roof, or termites. a bang but a whimper,” derived (with liberties taken) Worse than financial unpreparedness is spiritual. from T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men,” which closes: “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ “This is the way the world ends / This is the way the then sudden destruction will come upon them … and world ends / This is the way the world ends / Not with they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Worse than a bang but a whimper.” a virus will be the virulence of unconfessed sin. For I know what Eliot means, but sometimes things some the day will be a terror: “Alas! Alas! You great end with a bang. Sometimes they don’t just trail off city …! For in a single hour your judgment has come” nice and slow. At pains to depict the frequent sudden- (Revelation 18:10). For others, like the five ready virgins when the bridegroom appears, that day cannot come soon enough.

70 WORLD 05.09.20 EMAIL [email protected] byFaith Ad 2020.03 - Back Cover.indd 1 4/20/20 3:55 PM MY FATHER PROBABLY Voices MARVIN OLASKY SAW THE DEAD BY THE THOUSANDS STACKED LIKE LOGS BY A FIREPLACE.

women, and children to a ravine 2 miles away. The soldiers forced them to remove all their clothes and stand in front of pre-dug trenches. The Germans fired their guns and Jews kept dropping. Each group fell onto the bodies of previous victims. In 2013 I retraced their steps over those 2 miles Tracing murders and saw the spot where two of my great-grandparents may have died. I also visited Korets, the small town Going to the scenes of nearby from which my father’s mother had come, and World War II crimes read an account from eyewitness Yitzhak Feiner: On May 21, 1942, Germans took “men and women, six at PARENTAL ADVISORY: THIS COLUMN QUOTES SOME GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF HOLOCAUST ATROCITIES. a time, and led them to a pit, after each had to undress and remain naked. In the pit they were made to lie face down and on the edge of the pit six Germans, MID STORIES OF HOW the coronavirus ready with their revolvers, shot the six victims in the focuses our attention, I recalled a Russian head.” short story about an officer marching ide- German soldiers before shooting did pull out of a alistic political prisoners on a muddy road pit Yakov Hirschenhorn, a doctor who had patched to where a firing squad waits. He carefully up some of them. They told him to go home: “He avoids puddles, keeping his boots shiny. begged to let his wife go with him, but the murderers Watching these noncriminal criminals die did not agree. He went back into the pit and was shot A sickens him. On the way back he does not with the others.” avoid puddles: What does it matter if mud cakes his Feiner also described German soldiers seizing Jew- boots? ish children and throwing them into “horse-driven That’s in a way what happened to my father 75 wagons just like one would throw stones. The murderer years ago. He never said what he saw once the war in would seize the child—by the little hand, by the leg, Europe ended on May 8, 1945, but I’ve learned from by the head or by the shirt—and throw it into the official records that his Army group transported lib- wagon. The wagons were loaded full with the children, erated prisoners and displaced persons. My father’s one on top of the other, [who] were thrown, alive, knowledge of German made him a logical choice for straight from the wagon into a pit. After two wagons assignment to concentration camp work. were unloaded this way, two grenades were thrown There he probably saw survivors staggering among in, tearing the children apart.” piles of dead bodies, mutilated and emaciated, that The murders in my great-grandparents’ towns were German guards didn’t have time to burn or bury. He a small part of the total butchery. Karl Jäger, com- probably saw the floors of huge cremation ovens piled mander of Einsatzkommando 3, kept a daily running high with bone ash. He probably saw the dead by the total showing the success of his killing unit: almost thousands stacked like logs by a fireplace—logs with 140,000 executions in 71 locations. Other Einsatzkom- skeletal faces, with limbs dangling from naked gray mando groups were also at work—and this was all trunks. before Nazi gas chambers accelerated the process. Plus, Eli Olasky received news of what had hap- All of this had an effect on those who lived. Before pened in Olevsk, where his grandparents and other 1945, Eli Olasky was ambitious and determined to relatives had lived until 1941. That year, according to pursue a graduate school degree. I obtained his records testimony by Tevel Trosman, Iakov Shklover, and and saw that on Jan. 22, 1946, a month after his return Aleksei Makarchuk, local Ukrainians first made 300 from Europe, a graduate adviser noted that my father Olevsk Jews tear out grass with their teeth. In Novem- “seemed to be vague and looked through the catalogue ber, German troops marched 500-900 Jewish men, at random.” He had lost his faith in God and, like the officer in the short story, no longer marched carefully through life.

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