Author: bryan@bmeyers.net (Page 66 of 101)

Friends of Haiti:

Good news — very, very good news! All of the bone marrow test results came back negative of cancer. Going into this, we were told not to be disappointed if some were there at the finish, but there are none. Of course Terry has a long way to go but she has most of her strength back, very little pain and feels good. In the past, we have thanked you for many things but none more important than the prayers you have offered for her recovery. From Missouri and several other states to Haiti and Europe to West Africa where we know missionaries; prayers from all over the world being offered for her recovery. To us, that is a very powerful thought and the fact there are no cells at all prove prayer really does change things. Good doctors and good medicine, yes but the prayer of many is just as powerful.

We want to use the newsletter this month to thank all of you who have done so many things to help us over the past several months. People and churches from several areas have sent cards telling Terry they are praying for her; people bought gift cards for us to use when staying in St. Louis, they gave money, some quite a lot. Our church gave more than one time to help offset our expenses and we just don’t know what we would have done without your help.

When this began and we were first told, some of the first words she said were “God already knew this”. When we were deciding where we would stay, there were three or four places we had to choose from that work with the hospital. She wondered how we would pay for it. I said if we believe God knew this was going to happen, we have to believe He will help us take care of this as well. To say the very least, faith was rewarded. We know sometimes things like this don’t work out the way a person wants them to and we don’t know what the future holds, but this time faith was rewarded.

Thank you to each of you for every single prayer, every single thing you have done to make this journey easier than it could have been. We think you have been a much bigger help and blessing to us than you may ever know.

We love you all,

Steve and Terry

Friends of Haiti,

Our monthly medical update- Terry is doing some better and much better than February or March. She is eating better, moving around more than she was and starting to get a little more energy. She can’t be in large or “uncontrolled” crowds so she spends most of her time inside. Although the platelet level is back to normal, the other counts are still low, putting her at risk for infection. May 13 she will have more bone marrow studies to see if all this has succeeded and hopefully we can get back to our normal lives.

In Haiti, touching briefly on our subject last month: There is almost no sewer system in Haiti at all. With cholera seemingly there to stay and this being very much a part of their everyday lives, it has been estimated it would cost $1.6 billion dollars to set up a water and sanitation infrastructure. Until then, there are Bayakous. These are unseen men who clean the cesspools or latrines in the middle of the night as a way to make a living. We say unseen because their work is done at night and although they do make more money than working in one of the factories they are looked down on by society in general.

We also want to share some pictures of the kids at Joe’s school in Port Au Prince. More than a year since he died, the school has not missed a beat. It will end the school year with 76 students after starting with 83; for a school in the city that is a very good record. Like here, children in Haiti are, by law, supposed to attend school until they are 16, but unlike here, that is very seldom enforced. The global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and over is 84.1%. In Haiti, for the same age group, the percentage is 52.9%. That statistic shows just how very important mission sponsored schools are and how very important you are to a child’s future.

As always thank you for the cards and prayers for Terry, thank you for helping our friends in Haiti and thank you for sponsoring a child or school and providing a child the opportunity to make a difference in their world.

Steve and Terry