Help Lilly Cover Sugery Expenses

For the past 14 years, Joe and Lilly have served as missionaries in Zambia. We have two young sons, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to raise our family here while serving the people and communities we love. We both felt called to Africa independently—Joe has lived here for 19 years in total, and Lilly has served as a full-time missionary for 15 years.

Seven years ago, during the birth of our second son, Lilly sustained a fourth-degree tear that developed into a fistula. Over the past seven years she has undergone eight operations, attempting to repair the fistula and reduce the damage caused. Living with a chronic fistula has resulted in constant pain and recurrent infections, requiring numerous courses of antibiotics.

Two years ago it was decided that a colostomy bag was necessary in the hope of improving her quality of life and to reduce the ongoing infections. While the colostomy has helped significantly with the infections, it has not resolved the underlying problem or the daily pain. Two additional surgical attempts to repair the fistula over the past two years have unfortunately been unsuccessful, and the physical and emotional toll of managing this condition continues to have a significant impact on all of our lives.

Lilly is scheduled for another extensive fistula repair surgery in South Africa on October 12. If the repair is successful, our hope is that the colostomy can eventually be reversed, allowing her to regain a much greater quality of life.

Because the specialist care Lilly needs is not available locally in Zambia, each procedure has required travel internationally, often involving extended periods away from home. Over the past seven years, we have covered the costs of surgeries, hospital stays, travel, and ongoing colostomy supplies without insurance. A significant portion of these expenses has gone onto a credit card, and we are still working to pay down the medical debt that has accumulated along the way.

As we prepare for this next surgery, we are hoping to raise $5,000 to help cover the costs of surgery, travel, and recovery without adding further medical debt.

We are incredibly grateful for the people who have generously walked alongside our family throughout this journey. If you feel led to contribute toward this next step, it would be such a blessing to our family. We are so hopeful for a successful surgery and the opportunity for Lilly to finally move forward into a healthier and more comfortable season of life.

Thank you for caring about our family and for standing with us through this journey.