I know you all have been worried about Lori. I know many of you have been concerned that she is at Death’s Door. Some of you have even voiced concern that she will die and the school will somehow dissolve into the very history books that they teach from. But I am here to help you understand why I think this is the enemy’s attempt to destroy this fantastic ministry. What happened to Lori? Let’s back up and get a running start and you will see, maybe for the first time, why we haven’t bought her headstone yet. It was November of 1999 and she was just beginning the plan to open Morning Glory Christian Academy. Then the unthinkable happened. While she was cleaning out the chicken waste from what is now the Dance Studio on campus, a Brown Recluse spider climbed up her leg and left his kiss of death deep beneath the skin. She didn’t notice at first, thinking that she was just tired and sick because of the chicken, uh, donations. Later that evening, when she was getting ready for bed, she discovered the origin of her sickness and pain. By morning, her legs were burning so badly that she rushed to the doctor to see what could be done. Over the next few months, all they could do was have Tabitha scrape the dead flesh off of her legs, as Queno read from the Psalms to give her a sense of peace during this terrible storm. Fear began to creep into her imagination and convince her that this was the end. All she wanted to do was to fly back home and climb into Daddy’s lap. But Queno, following God’s lead, insisted that he needed just “One more year” to finish the church he was starting, which was the reason he believed that God rescued him from the grips of prison and death. In spite of the fact that, over the next year, no doctor could explain to her why she was getting worse, she didn’t let fear stop her from opening Morning Glory Christian Academy because her Daddy always told her that Faith conquers fear and God is bigger than the boogie man. Her vision was too important for the enemy to bankrupt God’s plan. She was more determined to give these precious brown-eyed kids a future than to focus on her own pain and suffering. Fast-forward a year. Her doctor was finally able to determine what was happening beneath her giant heart and dying body. Lymphedema had set in and the prognosis was grim. No one could give her hope, only temporary treatments to release the fluid build-up that had begun in her leg. At the time, Lymphedema was a progressive-degenerative syndrome with no hope of improvement. The medicine only slowed the monster, but could not stop it. It was like repairing Hoover Dam with duct tape. The doctors decided to apply pump therapy to force the liquid out of her body. Unfortunately, without constant supervision by a medical team, the beast only grew stronger. The fluid and poisons spread into her abdomen and other leg causing her a crippling pain which made her want to curl up and die. But Queno never gave up hope; knowing that his God always has a plan. Meanwhile, back in the States, Christians everywhere banded together to storm the Gates of Heaven with prayers for her recovery and healing. Satan was about to discover that some Christians actually believe in miracles. It wasn’t until 2005, six years from the attack, that a ray of hope pierced the dark night. Doctors told us that if she had a Jacuzzi, it could possibly prevent her legs from atrophy. Our faithful friends came through with the funding and soon she had what she needed. For several months she found relief in the hot tub therapy and it seemed like it was working. But the beast was determined to destroy her. After about a year, her leg became so heavy from the poison and fluids that she could no longer lift it the 36 inches necessary to get in the tub. She was in constant pain. Meanwhile, the school went on. The little brown-eyed students that once filled chairs, now were returning to fill teaching positions. The school had grown from 20 wayward souls to over four hundred warriors for Christ. Lori was determined not to let her own agonizing reality keep her from giving these little dirty-faced prodigies an introduction to God and a transition from a dream to a future. Mission teams came and served, anxious to hear the next “Lori Story”, not realizing that the best story was still being written. Few ever knew the depths of pain and suffering she was enduring because she was more concerned about these precious kids than about her own misery. Lori will tell you that the best medicine was when one of these ornery little rascals would climb up onto her lap and give her a great big hug and whisper in their native Kaqchikel, “I love you”. In 2010, the monster was determined more than ever to end this once-and-for-all. She could no longer walk, the poison turned rock-hard and the final stages of Lymphedema had set in—elephantiasis. This phase of lymphedema was the kiss of death. This process is when the affected limb swells to massive proportions and the limb becomes immobile and compacted into one great-big unbearable burden. She ruled from the roost. Unable to walk without a walker, others marveled at the love and dedication that emanated from this determined woman. The next five years were truthfully “Hell on earth” for this woman of faith. During that time the school grew from four hundred little warriors for Christ to over seven hundred soldiers in the battle against evil. Thanks to her vision and the generosity of a number of faithful partners, the campus grew and grew to the point where Lori couldn’t go into the classrooms anymore. Great teachers, volunteers, other missionaries, and a plethora of faithful servants stood in the gap for Lori, making it possible for the vision to come to life. Reality was setting in. If something didn’t change, she was going to die. Supporters, volunteers, friends, and mission leaders began to finally see the actual deterioration of Lori’s physical body as they visited the campus. Determined now, more than ever, Lori welcomed Casas Por Cristo to come alongside the school and partner with their ministry resources. Queno, convinced that God would answer his prayer, committed to many more years with the new churches that he had started in faith believing that God would provide his precious bride the healing she needed for decades of service yet to come. Lori could no longer get her leg up into the car to go to the school. Tabitha and Queno would lift her leg as she pulled with all her might and God filled in the blanks. The school was growing, the vision was now a living, breathing organism requiring more and more from Lori. Doubters were lamenting her health, the Devil was toasting his victory, but those who know her God were waiting for the miracle that she always knew was just around the corner. Last week, after praying for God to either heal her or take her home, she found a doctor who finally could give her hope. This doctor had a proven treatment that promised that Lori would get better. Satan, who had been sure of her defeat, put down his goblet of victory and took up his sword of tribulation and struck her car on the way to Guatemala City immobilizing it. As she and Tabitha exited to see what was wrong, she fell, not once, but twice on the injured leg causing even more intense pain. Surely this would be enough to make her give up—at least that’s what Satan had hoped. But, as always, he underestimated this hyper-determined woman of God who just allowed this trial to fuel her resolve to give God full permission to choose her destiny. As they arrived at the hospital, the doctors were ready to begin the treatments and welcomed Lori to the beginning of the rest of her life. Lori called Herbert and told him she would need a wheelchair when she was ready to leave, but the doctor interrupted her and promised that she would “Walk out of this place” in two weeks. The process will take years, but after only three treatments the pain has subsided by more than 50 percent and, according to Lori, her abdomen has shrunk by more than 3 inches even though they have only just begun to work with her. After a full examination, the doctor told Lori that her vital organs are all as “Healthy as a teenager” and that with this treatment she could realistically expect to live into her eighties or nineties. It will require these two weeks of intense therapy and then ongoing therapy that they are going to teach to Queno, Tabitha, and Megan to deliver each day as Lori begins this brand new chapter of life after death-defying disease. Her brother Dean is taking her the electronic scooter that was so generously provided by Cornerstone and many other faithful partners this next week. In addition to the scooter, he will be taking her a great big hug from many concerned friends and family and the promise that we are standing with Queno and her in praying that God will bring the doctor’s words to pass. In addition, Dean is going to observe the campus operations and determine what other ways we can help Lori and the Morning Glory Christian Academy flesh out the Calling of God on her ministry. There is just one more thing. I began by telling you that there were many who were concerned that Lori was at Death’s Door and that there was more to the story. Well, I hope now that you have heard the whole story you realize that fifteen years ago, or maybe ten years ago, or perhaps even five years ago Lori might have been crawling towards Death’s Door. However, today she is walking through Life’s Gates and soon will be back at her office lifting those precious brown-eyed, runny-nosed little munchkins onto her lap and for the first time, she will not have to pretend that it doesn’t feel like needles piercing her skin as she loves on them. What else can I say? Can I tell you that these treatments are expensive? Can I tell you that the suit that she will be required to wear to prevent this from happening again will cost more than her meager savings can cover? Can I tell you that her being in the hospital has cost them even more in fuel and expenses as Queno and Tabitha come to visit her and learn how to provide the treatments once she goes home? No, you are very intelligent; these things are obvious to you. So, all I will say is that I serve a God who dares us to out-give Him and never loses that game. I serve a God who will provide his people the means to demonstrate the love that words cannot describe for a woman that death cannot defeat. I will say that MY God will supply her EVERY need. All we have to do is open our wallets and prove that we believe in THAT God. Stay tuned. Those Morning Glory Stories are still at “Once upon a time” and far from “Happily Ever After“.
