Newsweekly
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Virginia Mennonite Missions
January 22
Pray that God will lead potential students to Maranatha School for the Deaf in Jamaica. Ask that the administration will be guided to these potential students who will benefit from being there.
After the printing of the MMN newsletter, the following urgent prayer requests were received:
Jane and Jerrell Ross Richer, Ecuador
In December, you received a request to pray for the Ross Richer family after Jerrell was diagnosed with melanoma in his right ear. Surgeons cut out the cancerous tumor and reconstructed his right ear on Jan. 5. A few days ago, Jerrell sent this good news: “I just got off the phone with the plastic surgeon who operated on my ear. The pathology report shows that my cancer had reached stage 2, a little deeper than we thought, but the margins are clear. In other words, the surgeon removed all the melanoma and I need no further treatment. I'm relieved and incredibly thankful.
“Yesterday, the sutured bandages were removed from the front and back of my ear and I'll spend the next week changing the bandages each day to prevent infection. It will take some time until my ear is healed, and it will never look quite the same, but it's an answer to prayer to know the cancer is gone. Many thanks for your prayers and notes during this time of uncertainty. I'm ready to have this behind us and to begin making plans to return to Ecuador in the next few weeks.”
Caleb and Hannah Hochstetler, Service Adventure unit leaders in Jackson, Mississippi, were returning from Eastern Mennonite University’s School for Leadership Training on Jan. 19 when they were hit head-on by a vehicle near Roanoke, Virginia. Hannah was killed in the accident, and Caleb is in hospital with a fractured left femur.
Pray for the Service Adventure unit in Jackson and the Open Door congregation that hosts the unit. Unit participants are Susannah Epp from Kansas, Valerie Haupt and Niklas Kugler from Germany, and Jenessa Woodrich from Ohio. Pray also for the couple’s families, both of Goshen, Indiana. Hannah’s parents are Beth and Michael Grieser, and Caleb’s parents are Ken and Sue Hochstetler.
Ask God to guide Mennonite Mission Network staff as they minister to the Service Adventure unit, the Open Door congregation, and Caleb and Hannah’s families and communities. Susan Nisly is Service Adventure director.