"Rise and walk"

This is our newest patient, Michael. He is 21 years old and was just diagnosed with lupus. He has been hospitalized for the past month because of persisting infections all over his body due to his compromised immune system. Michael's family is very poor and certainly cannot afford his medications, which cost up to $85 per vial.

When I first met Michael in the hospital, I thought he was surely dying. He was covered with open wounds and rashes, and he couldn't sit up without support or feed himself. We purchased a lot of medicine as well as an electric fan to keep him cool in his isolation room. He is now slightly improved. His parents are very devoted to caring for him, but their faces reveal both exhaustion and worry for their oldest son.

Michael receives daily visits from the physical therapist to help him practice standing and walking. Lying in bed for the past month has caused a large bed sore to form on his backside, and he cannot leave the hospital until it heals. We hope to transfer Michael to the mainland to be treated by a rheumatologist, who will be able to prescribe daily maintenance medication for his lupus.

As a missionary frequently encountering serious illnesses, I realize how little I can do, and simultaneously how much Christ wants to do through me. Michael is generally rather nonresponsive, at least to me, a stranger and a foreigner. The most alert and interactive I have ever seen him was the day we read to him from Scripture the story of Jesus healing a paralytic.

"Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.' And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked." -John 5:8-9

We believe in miracles! And we trust that Michael, too, will experience Jesus' healing touch, so that he may rise and walk again.

Be healed!

This morning I read the Gospel account of the woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage who was healed when she touched Jesus' cloak. I sighed internally, wishing that I could see such signs and wonders in my own life, and then I caught myself. How often has Jesus performed miracles in my midst, and how easily I forget them!

Last week I accompanied a 30-year-old woman named Emilie and her husband to the gyno-oncologist. Prior testing revealed a cyst-like mass, possibly cancerous, in addition to a UTI. We had not yet arrived at the hospital, and I was already mentally calculating how much an operation and a hospital stay would cost. Did we catch it early enough, or would Emilie experience tremendous suffering and eventually leave behind her husband and four young children, as has happened with other patients we have met "too late"?

Before her first appointment with the specialist, Emilie was quite nervous, so we prayed for a spirit of peace and trust in God and for a miraculous healing.

"I see nothing," the doctor explained, "but sometimes it's too high in the cervix to see. She'll need an ultrasound." A second consultation with another doctor after the ultrasound revealed...nothing!

"Why did you come to me if your symptoms are only that of a UTI?" The gyno-oncologist raised her voice at Emilie, clearly misunderstanding and sounding slightly annoyed.

"You see, Doc," I fumbled, "we were told she had a cyst. But the Lord has healed her!!"

The doctor seemed to consider that for just a moment before turning to write a prescription for the minor infection, but for Emilie something had changed.

"And she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease" -Mark 5:29

Perhaps only she, who had been battling the what-ifs, the worries, and the fear of the unknown could truly experience the depth of peace and freedom that comes from the healing hand of Jesus. Praised be God, now and forever!

The family that prays together

Look at this happy face -- there's no better feeling than being cleared for discharge! Little Francisco was hospitalized for five days for his broken femur, and I was so excited to capture one of his rare, hard-won smiles on camera! His dad, Raul, spoiled him with a little pack of hair gel to celebrate the occasion.

Thrilled to finally be going home!!

Last November, Raul left his family behind in Camiguin, trying to find work on the nearby island of Bohol, but when he heard that his son had been in a serious accident, he rushed home immediately. I was slightly nervous to meet this man who, his wife had informed me, drank, smoke, and had done little to provide for his family for the past few months. I wondered, will he even know how to care for this injured little boy who winces at the lightest touch or pressure put on his leg?

I shouldn't have worried. Raul is a tender, loving father who was attentive to Francisco's every need. Look closely and you can see his smile in this picture! Even his wife Mel was shocked at the difference she witnessed in her husband.

Francisco together with both of his parents.

On Sunday morning, I came early to the hospital to find Raul sitting at Francisco's bedside, reading a laminated card that read, 'Prayer before receiving communion.' Quite surprised, I asked him, "Do you want to go to Mass downstairs in the chapel?" 

"No, my wife is there, so I have to stay here to watch over Francisco."

"Ako lang," I insisted. "I already attended Mass this morning, so I'll watch him if you want to go."

"Okay!" he readily agreed and got up from his chair. My surprise was outmatched by Mel's when I spoke with her afterwards. "I was there praying in the chapel, and I looked up and saw him next to me! I didn't expect that! And he was really praying!"

Mel explained that it had been a long time since Raul had attended Mass at all, and she especially couldn't believe his fervor as he prayed for their son's healing.

Maybe that is why God allowed this to happen to Francisco, we mused together. To restore the family. To bring Raul back home and back to the Lord.

Above all, I am grateful that Raul and Mel recognize that it is not the Americanos, not the missionaries, not anything we have done, but rather Jesus Christ Who is responsible for Francisco's quick recovery. It is our Father in heaven Who provides each day for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of His children. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for working yet another miracle in the lives of the people we are so blessed to serve!

Nahulog sa kapayas!

[Translation: "He fell out of a papaya tree!"

This little boy and his parents have reason to celebrate tonight! Six-year-old Francisco fractured his femur two days ago when he fell out of a papaya tree. His family had no other food to eat with their rice, so he was climbing their tree to pick some of the fruit when the accident happened.

My first ambulance ride! Francisco didn't complain once during the five-hour journey from Camiguin to the mainland, including the one-hour ferry crossing.

Praise Jesus, we were able to secure two packs of blood for transfusion before and after the surgery (Blood is hard to come by here, and you typically must provide your own donors. One of our friends generously offered to be a donor for Francisco.)

Francisco successfully underwent surgery this morning, receiving stainless steel implants that will be removed in one year. He is doing well and should be discharged on Sunday.

I loved having the opportunity to be a missionary witness in the hospital, praying the Rosary, reading the Bible, and speaking about the Lord's goodness both with Francisco's parents and with the other patients in the ward.

Indeed, how good is the Lord to entrust us with the care of His precious children! Please pray that this experience of God's merciful love will draw Francisco's family into a closer relationship with one another and with the Lord!

Rex: Becoming a man of God

[Part 2 of our Christmas campaign]

We were only too happy to bring Rex and his family a Christmas care package! Rex is a phenomenal young man who we are sponsoring in college and whose life has been dramatically changed this year by Jesus Christ.

On a recent afternoon, Rex dropped by our cottage. As we chatted on the porch steps, he pointed out a group of boys walking by, clearly the “tough guys” of the neighborhood, with whom Rex is well-acquainted. Although these days, his free time is occupied by prayer and Scripture reading (he’s currently reading through the book of Isaiah), it was not long ago that he could be found on the streets late at night, drinking, smoking, and getting in fights with the other boys. Noting the guys passing by, he said, “They’re still living like that because they don’t understand. But after they experience something, they will change.”

“What is it that they need to experience?” I asked him. “What caused you to change your life?”

Visiting Rex (white shirt) and his brother Ricky for Christmas.

Rex became serious and answered, “Three things, ma’am. First, I knew my dad wouldn’t change if I did not change.” After Rex’s mother abandoned the family # years ago, his father developed an alcohol problem. Throughout high school, Rex worked to provide food for his father and little brothers, and eventually chose to leave his delinquent lifestyle to be a good example to his father.

“Second, because I wanted to finish high school and go to college. And third...” and here he paused, choosing his words with great care, “because the missionaries came. Because of you.”

I could say nothing in response -- speechless because, by the grace of God, I knew it to be true. I recall Rex in my senior English class last year, clearly a young man wanting to be good but caught in a sinful lifestyle. I remember the tough love that we showed him, and how our words did not fall on deaf ears.

Rex has a heart of service - he daily volunteers to bring medicine to Louie and Fe.

Today, Rex speaks about what Jesus has done in his life and how, at 16, he is a changed man. He is learning the power of forgiveness as he seeks to forgive both his mother, who left him in childhood, and his old friends who have hurt him. He speaks with conviction because he knows from experience that there is no better life than this -- to walk humbly with Christ.

Children of mercy

[Part 1 of our Christmas campaign]

Louie is a 13-year-old boy. His sister Fe is 10. For their entire lives they have lain next to each other on the bamboo floor of their home, unable to walk, talk, or feed themselves.

Both Louie and Fe have cerebral palsy. We met their family several months ago and, in all honesty, were overwhelmed by their tremendous need.

Their father Irenao is physically disabled and unable to walk but a few steps with great difficulty. His wife is mentally disabled and cannot care for her family. The grandmother is elderly and has been living with tuberculosis for several years. Louie and Fe’s older sister Leah is 15 years old and attends school -- she is in 6th grade.

We visited their family as part of our Christmas campaign, hoping to provide both spiritual and material support. They survive primarily on potatoes that grow on their land. Irenao spends each day harvesting and preparing the potatoes, while the women take turns walking a long distance to fetch water for cooking and cleaning. Louie and Fe lie motionless except for occasionally waving their arms or legs; their limbs have become very rigid and almost locked in place, as they have no access to proper care, therapy or medicine.

Lilay and Jerome Siapo ministering to Irenao and his wife.

When we arrived on December 24, they were preparing for a big day. The Sunday after Christmas, at their town’s fiesta, the parents planned to be married in the Catholic Church and to have Louie and Fe baptized! Our friends and ministry partners, Jerome and Lilay Siapo, excitedly agreed to handle all the preparations, getting proper clothing for each of them and even a small wedding gift - bowls, plates, and drinking cups as they had none in their home.

The week after Christmas, we brought the entire family to the hospital for checkups. Louie was admitted for a few days for pneumonia, and Fe received an assortment of medicines for bronchitis and asthma.

My mom (!) helping me to give Fe her medicine.

Despite the severity of their condition, Louie and Fe have quickly won the hearts of everyone in our company helping to care for them. We introduced our sponsored college students to the family, and they immediately offered to help out in any way possible! Our team of caregivers continues to grow as Lilay, Jerome, and several students assist us in visiting the family’s home three times each day to feed and bathe the children and administer their medicine.

Our awesome college students helping to give Louis and Fe their night dose of meds.

The students have remarked that, although they themselves are poor, this family lives in much greater poverty. I am inspired by these young people’s eagerness to serve those in need, to have mercy and compassion on the poor and suffering. It seems only appropriate that this year, which Pope Francis has deemed the Jubilee of Mercy, we would bring the mercy of our Heavenly Father to His sons and daughters, and in particular to this very special son and daughter - to Louie and Fe.

Christmas joy!

December marked my first Advent and Christmas in the Philippines! Our biggest project this month by far was our Christmas campaign.

Thanks to our generous benefactors, we were able to raise money to provide 30 families with complete care packages of toiletries, food items, etc. We also sponsored 100 smaller care packages that our priest Father Joe distributed to homes throughout Sagay. It sounds simple, but for the recipients it was a tremendous and unexpected blessing.

Buying everything from spaghetti sauce to shampoo -- in bulk!

When we visited families' homes on December 23 and 24, several were already preparing what would be their Christmas meal, which consisted solely of kamotes - a starchy, native potato. Kamotes grow plentifully in the mountains, and are the most common food option when a family is too poor to afford vegetables, fish, or even rice. One man explained that he eats just kamotes for every meal, aside from an occasional banana. Sometimes he and his children eat nothing at all.

One mother shouted joyfully when she saw we had brought her a bag of rice. Imagine her surprise when we revealed the additional spaghetti, canned meats, and packs of soup!

A few of our sponsored college students holding boxes of groceries.

The most amazing part of the Christmas project was getting to bring Christ into the homes we visited. We asked the families to join us in a brief Bible study, and they were very glad to do so. We read the prophet Isaiah's foretelling of the coming Messiah, the Prince of Peace, and Zechariah's prophecy of the light that would soon illumine our world's darkness with the birth of Christ.

Jerome and Lilay, our good friends who assisted us in the home visits.

What good news of great joy for us to announce to these families! Poverty, broken relationships, unforgiveness among friends and neighbors -- all of these Jesus came to restore, heal, and save. And we can be the principal witnesses of this salvation!

Thank you to all those who gave so generously to our Christmas campaign! Stay tuned...I'll be posting stories of individual families we visited to show you the joy that they received this Christmas.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'" - Isaiah 9:6