I Am Blessed

I didn’t know her name. But I did know she was dying of cancer. The whole neighborhood knew because her screams of pain could be heard through-out the day and night. She had a daughter, Cherry, who had given up her last year in college to take care of her mother. Cherry couldn’t finish college anyway because all the family’s money had been spent on medications. Now there was none. This kind of story is common in the Philippines.

Dan and Kathy were missionary volunteers who came to Iloilo in 2008. They told me about the lady with cancer and I went with them one morning to see her. The disease was eating away her body, and I heard her loud moans and groans well before we arrived at her place. Her ‘house’ was nothing more than a tiny cinder-block store front. She lay on a hard bamboo table in the tropical heat with her daughter, Cherry, fanning her. When the money dried up, the rest of the family had left. Now she was desperate for help, any kind of help.

When Jan passed away in 2007, I had kept 2 bottles of her morphine pain meds, thinking I may need them if my cancer returned, since pain medications were hard to come by in the Philippines. That morning I had brought one bottle with me and I gave it to the daughter with instructions to place 3 drops under her mother’s tongue every few hours, or as needed. Finally, the mother was able to rest, sleep, and experience minimal pain before she passed away 2 weeks later. On the positive side, Dan and Kathy ‘adopted’ Cherry, supported her and helped her finish college.

In my 35 years as a missionary to the Philippines, there were several times I ministered to people during their last days, some of them in very desperate circumstances. Some might think that my situation is a bit desperate. I have 2 massive tumors squeezing my insides, causing discomfort and pain. I have cancerous nodules all the way from my neck, down my spine, in my lungs, and through my abdominal area. It’s been over a year since my last CT scan, so no telling where the cancer has spread to since then. Most of my days are spent trying to minimize discomfort/ pain.

But the truth is, I am blessed. I have a comfortable place to sleep in an air-conditioned room. I have plenty of food. I have a flush toilet (a luxury in many parts of the Philippines) and I can take a hot shower anytime. When needed, I can take pain medication. The IMB supports and cares for me, more than I could ever ask for. I have a family who looks after me and friends who pray for me. Best of all, I have the peace and joy of knowing I’m safe in the Lord’s merciful hands and He will carry me to Himself at His appointed time. For all these reasons, I am blessed!