R. I. P. LINDA LAHME - WE LOVE YOU

Linda, our missionary who worked in Zambia, passed away yesterday afternoon in her beloved Zambia. We received the news last night at a meeting at church.

When Linda left to return to Zambia she said:

“I’m going back because I can’t get any medical care here,” she said Friday.
....

But last week, she said she had run out of options. Medicaid had found out about a bank account she set up in Africa to pay for Kunda’s [Linda's adopted daughter] education and said the asset made her ineligible for the program, Lahme said. Lahme refused to tap into the account, opting to return to Zambia and limited medical care rather than compromise Kunda’s future.

“To qualify for Medicaid, I would have to spend all the money I set aside for my daughter’s education,” Lahme said.

There's our health care system for you.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Linda. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May her soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

My earlier posts on Linda are here and here.

LINDA ARRIVED SAFELY HOME IN ZAMBIA - PLEASE PRAY FOR CRISTA

Thanks be to God and all those who helped Linda in her travels. This morning, I learned that she arrived safely home in Zambia. Linda is weak and tired and spends a good deal of her time resting. Please continue your prayers for Linda.


Please pray also for Crista Kessler. Crista and Liz Zivanov are off to Turkey for Crista to receive treatment for multiple health problems, scleroderma, vasculitis , and ankylosing spondylitis. Crista's story is here.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our help in time of need: Visit and relieve your sick servants Linda and Crista for whom our prayers are offered. Look upon them with the eyes of your mercy; comfort them with a sense of your goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience in their sicknesses. In your good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the rest of their lives to your glory; and grant that they may dwell with you in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

UPDATE ON LINDA

When Linda arrived at the airport in Atlanta, her friend, Gary, was there, but it took about an hour and a half for the two of them to get together because of a mix-up. Gary had arranged for a hotel room for Linda to rest while waiting for her flight to Johannesburg, but because of their delay in meeting up, there was no time to go to the hotel. As they were waiting to board the flight, a woman nearby must have sensed the situation, and she offered to switch seats with Linda and give her a seat in first class. The airline had already arranged for Linda to be in first class, but that the woman offered was lovely.

And that's as far as what we know takes us.

Other posts on Linda are here and here.

LINDA SAYS GOOD-BYE TO LOUISIANA

From the Daily Comet:

She had been afraid and anxious, but 64-year-old Linda Lahme sat calmly in her wheelchair Monday morning at Maison De’Ville nursing home, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a wool hat against the early-morning chill.
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She was still sick, unable to stand for any length of time and aching. But sick or not, she was going home, back to the foundation she helped start in Luapula Province, Zambia, the southern-African nation where she spent the past 10 years working to educate and feed children orphaned by famine, AIDS and other diseases.

“I’m going back because I can’t get any medical care here,” she said Friday. She has had no source of income since being diagnosed with colon cancer last year and was forced to resign her position as the director of the Luapula Foundation to seek treatment, first in South Africa and then in Louisiana.

However, Lahme, a retired nurse who spent most of her adult life in Thibodaux, couldn’t endure another round of chemotherapy. Instead she settled into the nursing home and the care of hospice workers.

In December, she said she hoped to live long enough for her 20-year-old adopted Zambian daughter, Winnie Kunda, now studying medicine in Russia, to arrange for a visa that would allow a visit to her bedside.

But last week, she said she had run out of options. Medicaid had found out about a bank account she set up in Africa to pay for Kunda’s education and said the asset made her ineligible for the program, Lahme said. Lahme refused to tap into the account, opting to return to Zambia and limited medical care rather than compromise Kunda’s future.

“To qualify for Medicaid, I would have to spend all the money I set aside for my daughter’s education,” Lahme said.
....

Though she was so sick she listened while lying in a pew, Lahme attended Sunday services at St. John Episcopal Church in Thibodaux, which has helped raise money and purchase goats for the impoverished people served by the foundation.

“This was really a prayer of thanksgiving for her life in Africa and her life among us,” said Rector Ed Robertson, who visited Lahme frequently at the nursing home. Robertson said Lahme’s experience fits the definition of a “holy death,” a concept that means her terminal illness has brought others closer to God.
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It is the rainy season now in Luapula, Lahme said Monday morning as she gazed out the glass door waiting for her ride. There will be mud everywhere.

“I was afraid last night and this morning I wasn’t,” she said.

As soon as I have more news of Linda, I will let you all know.

Prayer for Linda:

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

The website for the Luapula Foundation is under construction. Donations may be sent to:

Luapula Foundation
c/o St. John's Espiscopal Church
718 Jackson St.
Thibodaux, LA 70301

My earlier posts on Linda are here and here.

PLEASE PRAY FOR LINDA

Linda is dying. Linda is also flying back to Zambia tomorrow. She was in church today, and she did not look well. Please pray that Linda can make the trip in a measure of comfort.

Linda's story is here. I'm sorry, but I can't write any more.

UPDATE: I just talked to one of the two parishioners who took Linda to the airport. The staff at Delta Airlines and the airport went out of their way to care for Linda with compassion and efficiency, and Linda got on the plane for Atlanta. A friend was to meet her in Atlanta to help her board her flight to Johannesburg, where friends will meet her and offer her hospitality for the night, and she will set out for Zambia the next day. Thanks be to God that, although Linda seemed to be in great pain when the group left Thibodaux, she felt better once she arrived at the airport. Thanks be to God for the two fine people from our church who helped Linda on her way.

Please continue to pray that Linda will make it safely to Zambia, as Brian says, in the cradle of God's arms.

Thank you all for your prayers and comforting words. They mean more to me than I can say. I type these words with tears of sadness in my eyes, but also with tears of thanksgiving for your love and support.

For Linda:

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.