At the beginning of the school year, we were looking for someone to cook for the school. The church planter suggested we hire one of the members from his church a few hours away. Soon the arrangements were made, and the family was on the way. The husband, whom I’ll call Tom, would help make fence posts for our new school property, and the wife would cook. They have five children. The younger ones would study at our school, and the older ones would attend an Adventist school near Phnom Penh.

Tom started working a month after his wife joined us, so we didn’t get to know him immediately. During that month, he became very sick and had to go to the hospital for several days.

After Tom returned from his hospital stay, we noticed that he wasn’t quite back to normal. His speech was very difficult to understand, and he walked a bit funny. His wife told us that he used to drink very heavily and had stopped drinking about a month before. She thought maybe he was sick from alcohol withdrawal.

The following month, when he hadn’t improved, we took him to Phnom Penh to be examined by a doctor there. We have since made many trips with him to Phnom Penh and continue to watch his health decline. After seeing many doctors, the most likely diagnosis is Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The test to diagnose this is not available in Cambodia, so we seem to have exhausted our medical options.

Tom was baptized in December along with his wife. His faith is strong, and he is cheerful and dedicated. Please join us in praying for him. We hope God will prolong his life or at least help his last days to bring honor to Him. Thank you for joining us in prayer.

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