22 November 2017

21 November 2017

Good morning from Luanshya.

A few years ago Sherry had a bad case of pneumonia. A year later she had an even more severe recurrence that left her lungs and bronchial tubes damaged. She carries a small vaporiser with her everywhere she goes.

A few weeks ago we were teaching and she reached for her vaporiser only to find that she had left it at home (40 minutes away.) I quickly went to a nearby pharmacy and bought another, but she was coughing for nearly 15 minutes. A week later she was at the hospital in Johannesburg with her friend and had another attack. She had the vaporiser, but the attack was quick and severe. She collapsed to the floor. Fortunately, she was in one of the world’s best hospitals and was immediately taken under the care of doctors and nurses. These same people had seen her caring for her patient and helping with several others and had come to respect her spiritual care and medical knowledge.

The doctor ran a series of tests (including an echocardiogram) and found that her heart was fine, but she had torn her pectoral muscles in two places. These tears will take several months to mend. On Friday she was walking in Luanshya and was accidentally bumped. The initial knitting of the muscle was re-torn.

She is now taking pain medication and has been told that she is not to move her right arm for the next month. This means typing, signing and doing everything else with her left hand. She will only be driving when I am not able to take her where she needs to go. (This also means she will be supervising me as I cook our Thanksgiving dinner!)

We are fortunate that our classes are completed for this year and will not resume until January. Also, most of her lessons for the Ladies Bible Class have already been prepared.

Still… Keeping her still for the next for weeks may prove to be a challenge!

Please pray for her as her muscles heal. The doctor said the mending might take from 3-6 months depending on her activities.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support as we remain…

Together in His Service,
Patrick & Sherry

09 November 2017

News from Zambia - 8 November 2017

Greetings From Luanshya!

From time to time we receive notes from friends letting us know that we are in their prayers.
We enjoy hearing from those to whom we write! Sometimes we are told that we are “heroes”
because of what we do and where we do it. The simple fact is that we are just servants who
have followed the Lord’s leading to bring us to places that very few Americans know and even
fewer can pronounce.

God has given us varied opportunities of service. Some of those opportunities are to be an
encouragement to our missionary colleagues. We get tired… We get sick… Sometimes we get
discouraged.

It has been a tough few days here. A missionary contracted malaria last week. That, coupled
with diabetes, caused her death on Tuesday morning. She and her husband have ministered in
Zambia for over 20 years. Already there is a tremendous outpouring of love from their Zambian
“family” – but their children are far away and she will be buried before they can arrive. Her
husband rests in the knowledge that his sweetheart is in the loving arms of the Saviour, but his
home is emptier now.

I have felt that emptiness. I prayed with him. We wept together.

Earlier this week another missionary was told by doctors that she has cancer. She and her
husband have been in Zambia for 10 years. Various treatments are being sought, but the very
word “cancer” is always frightening. Sherry was with her when the doctor gave her the news. I
went through this in 2005. Again, we prayed with our friends. We wept together. We are
praying for healing.

We live in fragile bodies. However, we know – beyond all doubt – that we are where God wants
us to be and we are doing what God wants us to do. We are content to stay here as long as God
can use us and are confident that His ways are far above our ways. Nevertheless, our bodies are
limited, the physical strain is great and medical facilities are generally poor and distant.
So… Please pray for those who serve far away from family. Pray for us as we minister to those
who minister.

We deeply appreciate your faithfulness to the Lord’s work here in Zambia.

Together in His Service, Patrick & Sherry