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Our Blog

SUFFERING

     Thousands of miles and a whole continent in between are two women.  They don't know each other, nor will they while on this earth.  Yvonne and I know them both.  Both of them are suffering.

     Several weeks ago Yvonne was coming home after visiting a friend when she came upon Bernadette.  Wrapped in little more than rags, Bernadette was laying outside the doors of local clothing and jewelry stores, barely conscious.

     Though we did not know her name at that time, we've seen Bernadette before along with countless other beggars that roam our neighborhood.  We had never seen her in this condition.  

     Her lips were white, her eyes yellow and her hair speckled with grit from the street.  She sat in a puddle of air conditioning condensation and her own urine.  Without help she couldn't sit up, let alone stand up.  

     Someone nearby had given her a cup of water and a morsel of food, but she was too weak to lift her hand to put them to her mouth.  Two young women had stopped to comfort her, but really did not know what to do.  Mostly, people either just walked by or stood and stared.

     With the help of our translator, Gerand, we were able to extract enough information to know that if we didn't help her she was going to die.  The three of us were eventually able to lift Bernadette into a tuc tuc and transport her to the local hospital.

     Within a day she had regained much of her strength.  Within two days she was able to walk to a bathroom (without her cane) and bathe.  A week later she was able to leave the hospital.

     The curious thing about Bernadette is that she has family not far away.  They have enough to provide their sister food and shelter, but Bernadette prefers wandering the streets and begging.  We have seen her several times in the last week, right where she has been before.

     While it is apparent that Bernadette, who is 60 years old, suffers from some form of dimensia, it is also apparent that she has enough awareness to know she has a place where she could live in a semblance of dignity.  She prefers indignity.  Her family is well aware of her condition, but is unwilling to fight through Bernadette's obstinance to help.

     Back in the states, there is another who is suffering.  She did not grow up in squalor, but in middle class America.  As a young girl she contracted polio.  Now as a 74-year-old woman she is battling cancer.

     What we know about Jeannine is that she is a fighter.  She fought through polio and raised a family without the help of an absentee husband.  She persevered through adversity and was able to provide.  The ultimate fruits of her labor are two children of immense character.  

     Her son and daughter are the picture of what any parent's heart would desire; both accomplished and both with healthy families of their own.  Most importantly, they love their mother deeply.

     When we heard of Jeannine's challenge Yvonne and I really didn't know how to respond.  You see, Jeannine is a friend of ours.  We have shared Christmas and Thanksgiving together, but we did not know how to share in her suffering.  So, we prayed.

     Just recently we exchanged e-mails, and Jeannine said this: "I believe the only way I'll succeed in winning this challenge is with God's help."

     What I see from a distance is the success of Jeannine's suffering.  She has already won.  The rewards are her children and grandchildren, who are now at her side with love and compassion.  In return, Jeannine has persevered with courage and grace.

     No matter how pragmatic or accurate a doctor's prognosis, where there is God there is always hope.  And where there is hope there is love.  The Bible says, "...God is love...Now there abides these three; faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

     You see, the difference between Bernadette and Jeannine is love.  Bernadette's family is ambivalent when it comes to her suffering.  There is defeat and separation.  There is no desire to ensure the one who is suffering any sort of comfort and in exchange they receive no comfort.

     On the other hand, Jeannine's family is tied together in love.  They are bound by compassion and mercy.  I suspect that though they might not even recognize it, that their hearts are set on the prospects of justice prevailing - that ultimately their hearts are united in eternity.

    So, one family is divided, the other united.  One is forlorn, the other hopeful. One woman suffers in bitterness, the other in love.

    We are reminded of a Savior, who's birth we are about to celebrate.  He lived, He suffered and He died...for us.  Then He was resurrected...for us.  

     Yvonne and I pray that you would know this love this Christmas.  That it would resurrect purpose in your life.  And once you know it, share it with someone who is suffering.  It is the greatest gift we could possibly give.

Promises

Mike Broadhurst

"One thing I know.  I was blind but now I see."  John 9:25

     Estelline is 6 years old.  Her sister, Alesia, is 9.  They have never known what it is to be children.

     Three years ago their mother died of yellow fever.  Around the same time Estelline developed an eye infection.  When we met the two in early November, Estelline's left eye bulged from the socket - a ghastly white ulcer protruding from her cornea.  A white scar covered her right eye.  She was blind.

     The day Yvonne and I met them they had not eaten.  We asked a Malagasy friend to accompany them into the market where they could purchase some food.  Dirty and dressed in little more than rags, they went with our friend in search of fruit and bread.  They were un-welcomed customers, spurned by vendors and patrons making unabashed cruel remarks.

     Alesia asked our friend, "Why do people hate us?  What have we done wrong?"

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     Estelline's and Alesia's father drives a pous pous (an oversized tricycle we would call a rickshaw).   He is not terribly motivated - a man seemingly defeated by the unrelenting life of Madagascar.  Slight of build, given to too much drink, he is easy prey for thieves.

     When he does work he brings home 66 cents to $1.50 a day.  Even by Malagasy standards, that is poorer than most.  A diet consisting of two meals a day of rice and beans would account for every penny earned.  

     When his wife fell ill the family had no money to go to a doctor. Incredulously, most doctors here will not consider treating you unless you show the ability to pay.  There is no national program for the indigent.  So, Estelline and Alesia's mother died at home, without so much as an aspirin.

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     Two months ago, with the help of others in our Malagasy church, we started to make inquiries about what could be done about Estelline's eyes.  The doctors' solution at the local hospital was to remove the left eye, but they did not have the proper equipment  or knowledge to even consider the right eye.

     A week after Estelline's left eye was removed, the family came to see our church family, Yvonne and me to say thank you for our help. Friends, I cannot tell you how amazing was the encounter.

     This same child, who weeks before, walked in shame and humility, bounced around with the inexpressible joy of a daughter who had just opened a long-anticipated Christmas present.  With an eye removed and still unable to see, the pain that she had lived with for three years was gone.  There was no more deformity for people to gawk at and ridicule.  This 6-year-old girl was in ecstasy.  She was truly a different person. Needless to say, Yvonne and I were amazed.

     On Sunday, her older sister stood in church and enthusiastically worshiped the Lord.  From our seats we could see Alesia, arms raised, eyes looking upward, giving thanks.  You could see that this 9-year-old child was not mimicking anyone.  She was alone with God in her appreciation and worship, not concerned what others might think.  The sight brought Yvonne and me to tears.

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     Again, with the help of our church, we scoured the whole of Madagascar for a solution to Estelline's right eye.  Another of our Malagasy friends found a clinic sponsored by the Lutheran Church a days trip away.  It is frequented by western medical professionals who bring equipment and experience otherwise unavailable in Madagascar.

     Last Monday was Estelline's first appointment.  The attending doctor did not give much hope for full sight to be returned, but he did say he could remove the white scar that covered Estelline's pupil.  He asked them to return on Wednesday.  Our church prayed.

     When Estelline returned on Wednesday a visiting Norwegian ophthalmologist looked at her eye.  He thought he might be able to restore some sight, but wasn't sure.  Our church prayed.

     Let us interrupt this narrative to say that those who put all their faith in man and say there is no God, we have proof that He Is.  To those who say that God does not talk to men, and if a person says they have heard from Him they are delusional, then count Yvonne and me as one who have lost their minds.

     In my prayers for Estelline that morning, I felt or heard (whichever you wish) a voice say to me "Give thanks."  "Thanks," as in "It is done." So, I prayed thanksgiving for Estelline's sight and that night I proclaimed before 50 of our church members that Estelline's sight was imminent.  I did not make such a proclamation in hope or wishful thinking, but with confidence in a Father who never breaks a promise.

     On Friday we received word.  The operation was complete.  Estelline could see.

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     God is the consummate gentleman.  He does not force himself on us.  You can look around the world and see all sorts of tragedy and perversion.  So far as I can see, men have no answers.

     In the face of such dismay and discouragement, Yvonne and I choose to take a different path.  We choose to believe.  The ramifications of that have proven more rewarding than anything that we have ever owned or accomplished.

     We will close by saying this, "Thank you God.  Thank you that your promises are reliable and true.  Thank you for all of the spiritual and financial support that you have poured out on us from our friends and family back home.  We don't just want to serve you, but we are compelled to serve you.  There is no other place that we would rather be.  We love you. Amen"

     Please pray for this family, especially the father.  These girls still need an education, daily nutrition, clothing and shelter.  There are thousands, probably millions, more just like them.  They need our help.

     If you would like to make a financial contribution to our ministry, please click here.

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