Saturday, June 27, 2015

Good News...and Bad

We appreciate your prayers for Oliana very much.  She has gone through some tough weeks and ended up falling into really bad malnutrition.  But she seems to have pulled through, and Linda told me yesterday she is starting to get much better.  You can see in her recent picture that she is still struggling, but it is a much better picture than just a couple of weeks ago...
Thank you so much for holding her up in your prayers and for the encouraging messages you sent to her.

Unfortunately, this good news comes with some very bad news about one of our other kids.  Jamesley has been at the HOH for the past 5 years.  He has had a really tough life.  His dad passed away a number of years ago leaving his mom with quite a few young children to try and raise on her own.  It was a life of hand to mouth existence; difficult enough for children with no major medical needs, but Jamesley didn't fall into that category.  As a hemophiliac, his medical needs were more than his mom could handle with all the other children.  In desperation, she brought Jamesley to us.  

It has been a constant struggle over the past years to keep Jamesley healthy.  As a kid, he wants to play and be like other kids, but his body is so fragile, just a small bump and he could be in pain for weeks.  So, when he fell down last week and his leg swelled up, no one worried too much about it at first.  Just as a precaution, our pediatrician had an x-ray taken and the results changed life forever for 18 year old Jamesley.  


The doctors found out he has very advanced bone cancer.  They are convinced it is extremely far along, and do not give him very long to live.  There isn't a lot that can be done for cancer at this stage in Haiti and nothing that can be done in our little corner of Haiti. 

You can imagine the shock and pain this has caused everyone at the HOH.  Linda is beside herself and struggling to know how to handle all of this and help him through this difficult time. We are thankful that he is a believer and knows and trusts the One who made him.

They could all use your prayers.  The kids I mentioned in the previous blog as well as Linda will start their final government exams on Monday, and the stress of this has made it even more difficult to prepare for that.  

We appreciate the many ways you support us -- thank you for holding us up in the midst of this new difficulty.  
  • Pray that Linda and the other kids at the HOH would have the courage and wisdom to minister to, comfort and bring peace to Jamesley as he faces the days ahead.  
  • Pray for Jamesley to be able to trust in His Maker and be fully aware that God is with him as he goes through this time of sorrow.  
  • Pray for wisdom for the doctors and nurses as they bring what care they are able to try and minimize the pain and suffering.  
  • Pray for those who will be writing exams this week, that they will be able to concentrate in spite of all of this going on at home.

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