Simple Joy Saturday

My Kenyan friend, Pastor Jonah's auntie is ill with a form of nose cancer and requires surgery. Since they are humble villagers the cost of the $900. Canadian/US required for the treatment is astronomical and beyond the means of individual villagers.  So they held a Harambee on Saturday (Harambee is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, eg. fundraising or development activities. Harambee literally means "all pull together" in Swahili).

Here are photos of the Harambee.  You can see they went into the night with the fundraiser even though it was raining. These gentlemen are counting the funds.

Here is auntie addressing the participants.

I was pleased when I learned they raised $400. of the $900 fee required.  That is less than half of the total required but is a significant amount of money for those that only earn a few dollars a day.

Please pray that this family would be able to raise the rest soon to give this auntie the best chance at successful surgery. Thank you.

 Thank you to Jan of Australia for creating the Simple Joys meme.
Click here to participate.

Elizabeth is Very Sick

This is a report from my friend Pastor Jonah about a mutual friend, Elizabeth in his village.

She is sick, frail,her leg is not strong anymore, she is not eating enough, and she is in pain. These words describe Elizabeth, our mother who is just about 64 years old. Elizabeth has 9 kids to her name, 6 boys and 3 girls.

I felt so bad today, though I was supposed to encourage her, I was feeling low. Pray for me and her son, Thomas, who loves her so much. We try what we can to make her feel that life is worth living again.

Elizabeth has stage 3 cervical cancer and cancer management in Africa is still a new concept. We have been trying to read books to understand what cervical cancer is all about but it is hard.

We were moved from one hospital to a government one. I guess the nurses & doctors had pity on our meagre finances and Elizabeth has now been admitted in the ward. Pray for her.

Thanks Joyful servant for $100 towards her medical bill. God Bless

Walking to the next hospital. She is in pain.

Sent to the next hospital. (Elizabeth is in the middle).

Elizabeth supporting herself against the tree. Thomas on left.

(From me) You may ask, what is joyful about this post as I say that this is a blog about simple things which bring me joy? It is indeed difficult to find joy in such a circumstance. In this case, I am joyful that I have friends who will pray for Elizabeth. I am joyful that Elizabeth has now been admitted to the hospital where she will be attended and she will have more peace of mind that someone can help her with pain management. I am joyful that Thomas, her son, loves and cares for his mother so much and I am joyful that Pastor Jonah is there to support them in trying to get help.

Please pray for all of these dear ones. Thank you so much. Joyful