I want to tell you a story:
There were two men sharing a hospital room, each struggling to recover from devastating illnesses. Two things made them friends: loneliness and opportunity. One was blind, the other old.
Every day, the old man would describe what was happening at the park, just outside his window to the blind man. He would describe the children playing ball and the young couple arguing on the park bench. His words painted a picture describing the way the wind blew the kite a little girl was flying and the way the trees were blossoming.
Every detail was described. The old man helped the blind man see what he couldn’t.
The day came for the old man to have surgery, but sadly he never returned to the hospital room. He passed away. When the nurse told the blind man the news, he wept. He said nostalgically, “Before you leave Nurse, could you just tell me what’s going on at the park outside the window?”
She opened the blinds to a brick wall, “What park?” she asked.
Sometimes we have to be blind so we can see.
We have the opportunity to make the world a brighter place. We can change someone else’s world with our words and our actions.
Today, I’m going to show you an opportunity to help save someone’s life and I pray you see the world more clearly.
If my 6 year old discovers a tiny hole in her leggings on the way to church, by the time we get home, it’s the size of her head.
It just keeps getting bigger.
Because sometimes once it starts, there’s no stopping it.
I feel like the more good we do in Kenya, the bigger the hole gets. Every time we rescue a new girl at Mercy House (4 more this Spring) or have a new baby (1 newborn and 3 more on the way) for a total of 24 lives in our home by summer, the spiritual attacks increase. Satan is relentless. The more we do, the more work there is to be done.
But the victories are greater.
I know our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, but the attacks often are. It can be discouraging.
The last few weeks have been hard. The kind of hard that makes you want to pull the covers over your head and cry UNCLE.
Many of you who have supported Mercy House since the beginning, know of the personal loss Maureen, our Executive Director, hero and girl rescuer, has endured. She lost her beloved sister and nephew in her immediate family while we were opening the home in 2011 and the battle has been personal.
Jennifer, Maureen’s mom, has been a huge support. She has endured so much loss in her 53 years, but she has been faithful, volunteering her time and skills to help us help girls in Kenya. Our family fell in love with Jennifer several years ago and she is our extended family now.
The day after we rescued our newest girl from the grips of darkness, Jennifer, Maureen’s mom, was diagnosed with a life threatening brain tumor that has already caused her to go blind in one eye and her other eye is at risk and ultimately, her life.
What a blow.
Thankfully, it’s not cancerous and brain surgery will save her life. (She is tentatively scheduled to enter the hospital June 2, 2013)
Most people with her medical condition in Kenya would die. And without a financial or healing miracle, Jennifer does not have a chance. The surgery and recovery cost $15,000.
I have struggled with my faith lately, just feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and a little whiny. I know God is able, but the hole fills up with water quicker than I can bail it out.
What better way for satan to attack the good work of Mercy House than to try and cripple our beloved Maureen?
God keeps asking me to believe for the impossible. Probably because He keeps coming thru. I just want to shake myself and say, “Don’t you get it, Kristen!”
Please, pray, there are obviously many risks involved.
It’s a big hole, but God is bigger.
You can help Jennifer by giving a charitable donation here. You can also follow her journey to healing by liking this Facebook page.
We are grateful to the amazing work of an organization called CURE Kenya, who is helping to facilitate this surgery on the ground.
About CURE:
More than 100 million physically disabled children in the developing world can be cured through surgery.
These children have conditions like clubfoot, bowed legs, cleft lips,untreated burns, and hydrocephalus. Without treatment, they won’t go to school and will have little hope for a future. Many will die from their condition.
That’s why CURE exists. We’re a non-profit organization that operates hospitals and programs in 27 countries worldwide where patients experience the life-changing message of God’s love for them, receiving surgical treatment regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay.
Since our first hospital opened in Kenya in 1998, we have seen over 1.9 million patients, provided over 138,000 life-changing surgeries, and trained over 6,100 medical professionals.
[We are collecting donations thru third party Pure Charity so they will be tax deductible. We don’t have a way to receive a tax deductible donation via Paypal at this time. If you don’t want to pay with credit card/debit card online, you can send a check here:
Pure Charity2003 Horsebarn Road, Suite 9Rogers, AR 72756in the memo line we would need to have “CURE International 58-2248383, Jennifer’s Brain Surgery”
Will you help one precious life see the world clearly?
