A Native American community severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak has received an outpour of donations from Irish people, who are returning a historic favor from 173 years ago.

An Italian company has developed a ‘three-seater’ design for airplanes in which the middle seat faces backward while the other seats face forward, with all three seats protected by a transparent shield... Handshakes, hugs and sharing pens and pencils may become things of the past. Physical contact with anyone or anything can now set off alarm bells.

So there I was in my white lab coat examining the 40 different vials and trying to determine which combinations to mix to get the best outcome. Admittedly, I wasn’t enacting some important scientific discovery or creating a medical breakthrough but it felt almost that significant. What if I screwed up, made ridiculous choices as to the most effective ingredients and came away with an awful smelling product?

Some stories seem too bizarre to believe but this did happen to me. It was 1999. We were working as missionaries in the Philippines. We developed a livelihood program which helped impoverished churches support their pastors in extremely depressed communities. One of the products we trained the people to make was handmade paper from banana plant fibers.

Two old Jewish ladies talking – Rivka: "I heard that your husband has Corona virus!" Devotele: "Yes, Rivka it's true!"