Timothée's e-mail arrived in the middle of our 10-day trip to southern California to take Mark and Rebecca back to school and see Miriam's parents. He wrote that his wife's (Marthe's) back problems had not improved much over the past six months, despite medication and physical therapy. Pain dogs her every move, so that field work and housework are often an ordeal at best, and impossible at worst. She is very discouraged. In the context of African family life where everyone depends on the woman head of the house for everything to work smoothly, Marthe's farming and household managerial expertise are absolutely essential to stretching the meager salary of the Lusekele ministry to a livable amount. You can imagine what havoc this has brought to the whole family. Timothée carries the weight of the outreach ministry to farmers AND the weight of Marthe's medical problems.

The e-mail from Lusekele says that Marthe was to have had surgery on her back this past Wednesday. There has been no more word since then. Friends who have undergone back surgery and doctors have told me that surgery to correct problems with the spinal column is very delicate and does not always give a satisfying result even in the hands of the most able specialist. Marthe doesn't have the option of turning to highly skilled specialists. She must depend on dedicated, competent, and compassionate generalists committed to doing their best with the comparatively limited resources of a rural hospital. Can you join with us in prayer for her?

Here's a picture of Marthe taken a couple of years ago as she was preparing fruit for marmalade. She has had a ministry of her own, sharing with local women techniques for preserving food and making saleable fast-foods and confections. She is an important part of the ministry team at Lusekele.

Ed