“There is no maverick molecule if God is sovereign.”
~ Dr. R.C. Sproul
Sweetwater Supporters,
As Executive Director of Sweetwater I want you to know that I am not in the least bit anxious about how this most recent plague is affecting Sweetwater or our clients. I am, however, being diligent to pray to God who controls the movements of every virus, seeking wisdom to make decisions that are loving expressions of Christian charity towards our partners and clients locally and internationally. Our spring schedule has already been altered and more schedule changes are anticipated. Current and future impacts on Sweetwater’s activities are listed below. There is much conjecture in these comments, but they are reasonable prognostications based on the most up to date information I can gather. It is my desire that the Sweetwater team think and pray one step ahead, to lay plans but have contingencies in place so that we can adjust to sudden schedule changes with minimal disruption to our activities. Regardless if one agrees with government recommendations and directives, their guidance will drive the baseline responses of local, state, and federal governments as well as the actions of many private businesses and organizations. Even if Sweetwater ignores government guidance, we will be caught up in the restrictions others involved in our activities impose. The impacts are real. Thankfully, so is our sovereign God.
- We will continue working in the lab and have no plans to cease from our usual daily routines at Sweetwater’s office because our activities present no added risk relative to working from home.
- Our letter to the Board of Trustees of Covenant College was completed the day that Covenant suspended campus activities for the remainder of the semester. We are now revising our communication strategy with Covenant regarding summer and fall interns.
- This week we postponed a long-planned STEM event with the Youth of Alexander. Although risk factors were low, the meeting was non-essential and it would not have been a good look for Sweetwater or the church. We are optimistic we will be able to resume our STEM events with the YoA by mid-April.
- We were scheduled to instruct the Tarleton Environmental Techniques field and lab class on March 30th and April 6th. That is cancelled. Angela Jackson, our first intern, came out of this class in 2018. It’s a great ministry opportunity and has led to blessings for Sweetwater in the past. It was going to be wonderful venue for Kaley to practice her teaching skills.
- I had planned on a mid-April trip to Missouri for conducting two BioBlitzes on some ponds, visiting churches, and fundraising. That trip has been postponed.
- Our plans for a summer trip to Cambodia are in limbo. Kaley and I will be working on a contingency plan for her to gain international experience that doesn’t involve expensive travel to the opposite side of the globe, if such can be arranged.
We are thankful that God has given us plenty of work that can be accomplished within our office. For example, our lab work on behalf of friends in Cambodia continues. COVID-19 should not disrupt the production of the promotional videos that Kelsay Singleton has been graciously developing. We are establishing the Sweetwater Dive Team of prayer warriors, making website updates, developing a line of Sweetwater t-shirts (Sweet-Ts!), communicating over email and phone with potential future project partners, and we always have plenty of paperwork and correspondence to maintain.
Our 2020 won’t look like what we anticipated. And that’s perfectly okay. “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
Pray responsibly: with diligence and without fretting.
Resting comfortably and joyfully in Christ,
David Pendergrass
Executive Director & Lead Scientist
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
~~ Psalm 33:6-11