William & Stella

(Apparently my new trend in blogging is to post several things at a time. I neglect it for weeks and then update all at once.... So, here's another one...)

For a couple months now it has been on my heart to blog about the amazing servant and man of God who cleans at our school, William. This was on my heart even before the new urgency to pray for his family; so now that there is an urgency, please hear their story...

William & Stella

William is a beacon of joy and light on this campus and a blessing to all who know him. He pastors a church in his small impoverished village outside of town (this is the village/church that I posted about volunteering at, here ). He serves his community faithfully and tirelessly, all while serving faithfully and tirelessly at our school each day. I was privileged to meet his beautiful wife Stella, see the very small 1-bedroom house they live in, and pray over his home and his family when we went to his village. They do not have any children and Stella has had a very tragic past concerning her pregnancies. She has had 2 miscarriages and lost 2 babies since 2008 (and could easily have lost her own life). From what I heard, after Stella gave birth last year (and lost the child a few minutes later), William was at school the next day serving faithfully with the same huge, joyful smile on his face that he wears every day. My heart grieves for their story.

Stella is now pregnant again and many of us are coming together to pray for them and financially assist them so that they can receive better medical care than they have received in the past. A friend here, Amy Medina, has organized assistance for them; I am so thankful for her willingness to listen to and follow God's prompting in helping this couple.

I've long wanted to write a heart-felt post about William and his story, but Amy has written a few great ones already, telling more details of their story and some about their previous pregnancies. So please read them here:

http://www.gilandamy.blogspot.com/

(Read the latest post as well as the previous 2 posts she links about their past pregnancies.)

As Amy states, it is tragic to see the pain this couple has gone through. Pain that it seems no one should have to bear. Yet it is common in Tanzania to have a story such as this. All too common, which makes the situation even more grievous. Please pray for William and Stella. Pray for the precious life inside of her right now. Pray that William and Stella come home from the hospital with a precious and HEALTHY baby in their arms in a few months. Please. Pray big. God answers the prayers of His people.

And pray for the countless other women in Tanzania and beyond who bear the same wounds of lost pregnancies and lost hope. Pray for HOPE. Pray for HEALTH. Pray for God's abundant comfort and His presence in the midst of their pain. And pray that WE the church would rise up and do our part in assisting His hurting children and working towards access to better health care in these majority parts of the world. (And then act!)


**Another related prayer request: "Mama Jane", the head housekeeper at the Young Life Training Center here, gave birth to a precious baby girl Monica about a month ago. Monica was born severely under-developed with severe birth defects (due to bad medical care that was received during her pregnancy). She was just recently released from the hospital and is now in the loving care of her family. She has little chance for long-term survival, though, due to her severely under-developed brain. Another all-too-common story here. Please pray also for baby Monica, Mama Jane, and their family. Thank you.