In December the Covid-19 staff thanked Jon for his support over the months
Jon continues to serve in the Covid unit at the central hospital encouraging and supporting their emotional/spiritual health as needed. Mozambique’s numbers are rising and thus the strain on the staff as well. We are trying to be creative in thinking of new ways to love them.
Casá Ahava feels busy and alive. We did some much needed maintenance around the place over the holiday, while patients went home to enjoy the end of the year with their families.
In other news, Jon’s cousin Caleb came to visit over the holidays and help us renovate a small veranda into a new consult/bandage changing room! His church back in Tennessee helped fund the whole thing. AMAZING! We have since started regular meeting with our patients, connecting about symptoms and well-being. I think they are feeling more seen, heard, and loved!
Finally, starting on Monday we are excitedly beginning renovations on a small room outside, which is currently used as Jon’s tool-house. For some time we have noticed that our current men’s side usually sits with 2-4 beds open, while there is a line at the hospital waiting for women’s beds. When we created the project it seemed natural to do 6 women’s beds and 6 men’s beds, however, the need is unequal. We are going to turn the new space into a 4 bed room with an en-suite bathroom, so that the current men’s side can be transitioned to another women’s side. When the project is complete we will be able to offer 12 women’s beds and 4 men’s bed in addition to our hospice in the our home. It feels like a natural and proper step and we are thankful as the Lord blesses each step we’ve taken.
Thank you for your unwavering love and support, even in such a trying time around the world. Lord willing, we will travel to the United States in June and look forward to visiting with as many of you as we possibly can!
Giving thanks for God’s faithfulness through all our seasons. He remains good.
Last month we had a few sudden difficult weeks, but as always, the Holy Spirit was near. For now, we are grateful it seems as though life has calmed, at least patient-wise.
This week we got the chance to go the beach. It was a little cool, especially for the ladies, but nice to get out and get some fresh air.
Jon’s cousin is coming in December to visit and do a work project at our house to renovate a little room for bandage changes and counseling. We are really excited to spend time with him and show him our beloved country. The girls are excited to have someone else around for Christmas!
We are aiming to return to the States for our furlough toward the end of June next year. Given our big family and 2.5 months we stay, planning starts early. We look so forward to hugging many of your necks, looking into your eyes, and telling you how very grateful we are for your love.
How time is passing, and those we were getting know have quickly eased into those we call family. We have grown comfortable with each other, learned each other’s ways, each other’s preferences. We have months to recall, perhaps it is not much, but progress. We can sit in silence and not feel awkward. How nice to have things to call on, things to laugh about. She likes vors sausages, he likes physical fitness and learning English, she is always serious and rarely peppy, she like yogurt when she feels sick, she always gets mouth sores and recovers slow, she is worried about her upcoming school exams, etc. On the other hand, how hard it is when difficult conversations arise… prognoses or outcomes.
The switch from patient to friend/family is not recommended by any formal education. They tell us that need for emotional separation is essential to survival. Distance is key. But what happens when God called into this? Into the impossible? Into the “you’ll never make it”? Into the inevitable burnout?
Supernatural sustenance. He does it.
We do our best at self care, at noticing our shortcomings, our short breaths. When our chests feel heavy and flashes of difficult moments become hard to shake from our minds, it usually means it is time for some nature, some family, some seeing the greatness of our God in His creation, glimpses of our Sustainer, our ever-present help in times of trouble. We are at that point.
This week we will head for a couple days to a nearby beach, made possible by the generosity of a stranger become friend. The weather looks unfavorable, yet I am assured the Lord will meet us. He always does. Pray for us! It is our desire to love and support those in our care the absolute best we can.
Pray for Casa Ahavá. 3 patients will do Chemo this week, making for a rough two weeks ahead.
We are forever grateful to you, our supporters. Your prayers and support are noticed and cherished. Thanks for being part of our team, part of making a difference at Casa Ahavá: Lucas, Imakalada, Gisella, Changue, Olinda, Luisa, and Augusta’s lives… and all those we are supporting in their homes… Madelena, Rosa, Custodio, Armindo, Eugenio, Joanna, Filomena, Rebecca.
I cannot remember the exact day we closed, but I think our house as a project was shut for about two months, due to corona virus. The hospital had thinned out the ward, trying to get patients from other provinces back home, and since they are the ones we focus on, there were no other good candidates. Jon kept working at the hospital, but our house felt quiet and strange. The girls kept asking when Tias and Tios would be back. I love that they enjoy our ministry as much as we do. Sometimes I wonder, but this was a good reminder. I actually was recently reflecting on our journey to where we are now and realized my girls have had patients around since my oldest was 2 years old and my youngest two never knew life without Tias and Tios around. This is our life!
We did get to the beach for a quick trip to catch our breath, while the house was empty. Here’s a couple pictures:
As soon as we heard there were a potential 5 ladies in Oncology who could come to our house we jumped. They came over for a preview visit to see the place and the next week they moved in. It feels good and right. We had a former patient from up north needing to do his follow-up, so he came as well, but has already returned home.
We are used to the phases we go through as a little community. We are all in the “get to know you” phase, figuring personalities out. Everyone is on their best behavior. I always have to identify my point person who is going to tell me when they run out of things, or when someone has been sick, and things like that. One of our ladies does not speak Portuguese, so that is always an interesting dynamic. Her roomie translates when needed. One lady is struggling with post-Chemo throat sores. It has been rough, but I think yesterday she made a bit of turn for the better.
Here are 4 of the 5. Joana, with the throat sores was not up for a picture yet, and you can imagine why. We always give people the option to opt out of photos. Know she is lovely. I am betting she’ll want a picture soon.
AugustaGisellaChangiLuisa
We are also excitedly taking a few new steps.
First, I finished my Master’s degree in Palliative Care and there is an opportunity for me to sit two times a week on a cancer tumor board, where the oncologists, gynecologists, and head/neck/throat specialists, discuss complicated cases. I hope to be a voice for whole patient care and symptom/pain management.
Second, Jon, with all he is learning in his Master’s of Thanatology program, has offered to serve families of the dying as hospital treatment transitions from curative to non-curative and difficult conversations must be had about the mysteries and difficulties of dying. The oncologists work super hard and their time is full. Jon has more time to linger and discuss and answer questions. He has been able to do this a couple time now, and it has gone well.
Third, for the first time there are 2 oncologists in the northern city of Beira, able to treat patients with Chemotherapy from there! This is an exciting step for Mozambique. It does, however, affect our project as most of our patients are from those northern regions. We are shifting a bit to accommodate this new reality and include patients from the closer provinces of Gaza and Inhambane. What this means is that they may not stay with us for the duration of their treatment, but rather about a week at a time and then return home, and come back each month.
Finally, we are opening up the option for local cancer hospice patients. We want to offer two things. For those who would like their loved ones to stay home, we want to offer home visits for education and support. For those who feel overwhelmed or incapable, we will offer our home. The patient can come and if a family member would like to stay, they will also have a bed. Because it is just Jon and I right now, we will only offer home support to 1 or 2 families at a time, until we get a feel for the workload. The same will be true for inpatient hospice at our home. We want to offer quality service, so we do not want to run ourselves too thin.
Pray with us in the days ahead. We are constantly reminded that we are not alone. Thank you for your support, messages, and love.
P.S.
Current Covid-19 Stats in Mozambique are: 1060 active cases and 11 deaths to date. God is being merciful!
In 2019 you did a great thing. These are the 2019 patients we loved and grieved with you and the help of our loving Savior, who has now redeemed all the tears and suffering endured and made their bodies new. We are grateful that all but one was able to make it home to spend some time with their loved ones before passing to the next life.
MarianaLoiceTorresManejoTeresaJustinoMaeza
And here are the 2019 patients that stayed at Casa Ahavá, which we are still loving on, some at our home and some now back at their homes in the north. I wish you could know them personally and that they could bring as much joy to you as they do us. It is because of your partnership we get to offer a home and family to these precious souls at one of the hardest times of their lives. We are so very grateful, and so are they.
LuisaMariaRosaAugustoLurde (current patient at Casa Ahavá)JoanaArmindoCustodioEugenioMoisesNelizaMadelena (current patient at Casa Ahavá)Olinda (current patient at Casa Ahavá)Rebeka (current patient at Casa Ahavá)Antonia (current patient at Casa Ahavá)
In 2019 Jesus carried us through some lows. He gave us strength when we were weary. He also lavished on us His generous blessings and gave us glimpses of His kingdom here on earth. We had a super busy start/mid year with up to 13 patients, 5 wounds at once and 7 patients on morphine. The patients then slowed down to about 4, and we caught our breath. We crept back up and now we are 5 ladies with a handful ready for us after the holiday. We are excited for the new year!
This year my girls blew me away with their growth, education, and maturity. They have put in the work and excelled in school and their extracurriculars. They started chores this year, and they have become such helpers in the house. They do it all with a smile… all except maybe the dog poops, but I’m not sure I even do that with a smile! They love playing outside, having friends over, and coming up with extravagant games.
Jon just wrapped up his first year into his master’s degree in thanatology and has been acing it. (Are we surprised?) The content has been relevant and applicable to our ministry and we are excited for future potential. He especially connected with some professors, which has been a personal encouragement.
I am about three quarters through my master’s degree in palliative care and will finish in July! It has been a rich time of learning and connecting with other professionals, but I will also be happy to end this phase of study and have the time to put into practice some of the gems learned.
Our family is taking off on a two week journey today. We have long wanted to take to our girls to Botswana, where Jon and I met and where our careers in missions really started. So! Here we go! We will be going to from South Africa with dear friends to Botswana, to Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls, back to Botswana to reconnect in two different cities with friends we haven’t seen in close to 10 years, and then back to South Africa to let the girls go to a waterpark, and then home! It will be a total of about 45 hours in the car. Pray for safety and patience and the Holy Spirit to go with us!
In the meantime, Pedro, our loved colleague will be staying at our home and holding down the fort. We are so thankful for him!
Here is to 2020! And more blogging! Happy New Year!
Jon and Layne Heller live with their 4 daughters in Maputo, Mozambique and lead Casa Ahavá, the first hospice and convalescence home in the country. They have lived there since 2009.
Subscribe
Enter your email address in the form below and click "Submit" to receive email updates when we post.
