Heart of the Matter

Tetralogy of Fallot. It sounds like the title of a fantasy novel series. 

Actually, it is a medical condition that causes oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and into the rest of the body. You may recall this term from our last newsletter in which we described Lay Mission-Helper Alicia Adajar-Duante helping a young boy recover from the surgery which corrected his Tetralogy of Fallot condition. It was a success story.

Not all in life is success. This past week’s liturgical readings leading up to Easter were filled with stories of failure: the apostles failed to stay awake with Jesus, Judas failed to remain loyal to Jesus, Peter failed to stand by Jesus, and the list of failures goes on.

In the countries where our missioners serve, failure stories are in no short supply. They are bound to happen in resource-poor areas, where people totter on a thin line between life and death.   

Alicia just posted a blog of another case of Tetralogy of Fallot, this time not a success story. A four-year-old boy with this condition did not recover from his surgery, and Alicia was at his side as he lay dying. Alicia wrote that the doctor at one point suggested that someone turn on a radio near the boy’s ear as a way of stimulating his brain. She took up the call and played some recorded music for him. Eventually the boy’s small body could no longer resist his illness, and he died.

Last November when visiting Cameroon, I personally witnessed how Lay Mission-Helpers and our sister organization, Mission Doctors Association, are working hard to widen that thin line between life and death through the various ministries in which they are engaged. Yet the reality is that some do fall on the other side, and Alicia wrote how hard it is to witness the suffering when it happens.

But this week’s liturgical readings turn the “failure” stories on their heads. They assure us that in the eyes of faith, there is resurrection and hope for every story and situation gone wrong. Jesus Christ conquered death and it no longer has the final say. 

Although it is sometimes hard to hear through the cacophony of this world, the resurrection song is always playing there in the background, calling us home to love, understanding and compassion. Sometimes, what we need is for someone to turn up the volume a bit, as Alicia did for that boy . . . and as the boy does for us when we read his story. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, and know that all of our work joins with yours this Easter season as together we proclaim the risen Christ here and abroad. 

Faithfully,

Chad