Our friend, Susette Manaserro, another missionary here in Port-au-Prince, was diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve. Apparently she is in 2nd stage Hodgkins Lymphoma. She is married and has young children. One of her daughters is Joy's closest friend here. She is in the States now along with her husband and one of the children to get treatment. Two of their daughters are still here attending school at QCS.
My friend Nehemie suggested that we fast and pray for Susette. This afternoon seemed like the perfect time to start because Richard and Grace are away in Cap Haitien and...well, it just seems right.
Grace shared something with us while she was here about faith. (She said she heard this somewhere...) She said something like... sometimes God moves the "mountain" when we pray in faith and sometimes His plan is for us to go up to the top. In that case we have a tough road ahead, but God has something better in mind--a mountain top experience. Sorry I don't know who to give the credit to :/
So, I'm praying for God to move the mountain and to take care of this whole family. They are some of the sweetest, most generous, most joyful, faithful and full-of-faith people you could ever meet.
I've been thinking about how last August I started praying for 3 people who were battling cancer while I was walking on the treadmill. Somehow I found that I really focused on praying for them longer and I felt I was not wasting my time. (The 3 people were: my cousin, Kathleen, Richard's cousin's wife, Jessica, and Kimberly, who started supporting us when she was only about 13). Since that time, Kimberly, who had already been getting treatment for months, has recovered, and has raised about $30,000 to help cancer patients; Kathleen went home to be with the Lord on December 6th and Jessica is still undergoing treatment. Although at times I struggle with unsettling thoughts about how Jessica is so young, the mother of two young girls, so intelligent, beautiful and gracious. How Kimberly was so young, so intelligent, about to finish college when cancer interupted her life. How Kathleen was only a few years older than me and we were only at the "middle" of our lives. How Susette was doing so much to help street kids here in Haiti. On Christmas of '06 about a dozen girls who were living in the streets had a cozy home where they could celebrate Jesus' birth. But I trust that God's plan is better than my plan. I don't know all He knows.
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