This summer has been basically a good one for our granddaughter Lily – she has been able to enjoy several family trips out to local historical areas, beaches and even the National Zoo in DC. I believe her favorite trip was to the National Gallery of Art in DC – she loves art and wanted to “see everything!” Of course, for someone living with several rare diseases (which even the specialists are still struggling to understand) a “good” summer is very much relative!

She never knows what each day will bring for her body, and continues to have to cope with breakthrough seizures, horrible side-effects of her medicines, and various limitations that her body imposes upon her. In addition, for the past several weeks she has woken up at 2 or 3 a.m. often unable to go back to sleep again for an hour or more due to bad dreams from when she was in the hospital. It is heart-wrenching to see such a beautiful young girl having to cope with so much suffering and limitation! Yet she loves Jesus and believes He will use her to help others as they cope with disabilities and suffering! She is already doing so, as she is a constant inspiration to us all – excited and appreciative of every small blessing!

This morning, she was so happy because she finally slept all through the night. She was eager to type me a message on her speech device: “Nana, I have received this secret to send away any bad dreams and I want to tell you what to do….Don’t forget the world was made by God and he is a safe place to live!” This particularly touched my heart as Gerald and I have been praying for God to reveal to her His presence and speak clearly to encourage her at night. I was recently reading some testimonies from the Voice of the Martyrs magazine telling of how Jesus has appeared in dreams to people of other faiths who had not heard of Jesus but were reaching out to know God more. Surely Our Heavenly Father will speak to His children when they seek Him and need help to overcome fear and worry!! As humans we may not always know how to encourage one another, but truly we can pray and trust that through the Holy Spirit, God will speak just the “right” words! NOTHING is better than “receiving secrets” directly from God! Blessings, Shirley.

Pastor Sika in Togo – He has sadly also been going through a great deal of pain and suffering this past month or so. The doctors finally diagnosed Erysipelas – a nasty infection causing intense itching and sores that spread over most of his body but affecting particularly his head and scalp. Thankfully, prayer and a course of special antibiotics are finally enabling him to heal and make a full recovery. Although we may be tempted to think it was “just” another disease, we know that he remains on the frontlines of spiritual warfare against dark demonic strongholds there in Africa, so it is vital that we all do our part to pray for his health, safety and protection.

He recently sent us a list of all that is needed to ensure the JP orphans can attend school for the coming year, starting September 15th. Some items from last year are still OK, so the total for all 17 students is reduced a little to $2,500 US. The students are shown here after enjoying a game of soccer. We pray that God will once again touch hearts to give so that this important need is quickly met. As we see these smiling faces, we are reminded of the plans many of them already have for their future trades and careers. We pray God will clearly speak to each one and open the doors wide so that they can follow the path He has for them.