Prayer Concerns From The MAX Constituency:
Mutual Aid Ministry staff are interacting with constituency members on an ongoing basis, responding to needs for burden bearing as well as financial needs.  In many cases, this results in contacts with congregations and, when appropriate, Share Fund grants are provided with and through the local faith community.  We offer the following prayer requests emerging from such recent contacts.
 
Shelly 
Shelly, in her mid-40s and living in Kansas, was diagnosed with breast cancer last December.  She is a wife and a mother of three school-age children.   The treatment plan is chemotherapy for eight treatments (16 weeks) and then surgery.  The MAX Share Fund has offered a grant for some of the additional expenses incurred during this treatment.  Her congregation is very supportive to her and her family.  Please pray for continued health as treatments get harder and then for recuperation and healing after a double mastectomy.
 
Debbie
Over the past year, Debbie has faced many challenges.  First, her husband left her and recanted on all of his financial commitments, leaving her and the children to struggle. Then, she was laid off from her job.  This was followed by hip replacement surgery.  Recuperation is hindering her job search.  Her congregation has assisted with some of her financial obligations, and is helping her face the physical challenges.  The MAX Share Fund is another source of support.  Please pray that Debbie will face her discouragements with hope, and her future job search will result in satisfying work.
 
Richard
Richard is a deacon in his local congregation located in the Appalachian Mountains.  Recently he needed an emergency heart bypass surgery and is not recovering as rapidly as expected.  His wife needs to drive hours to be with him in the hospital.  The congregation and the MAX Share Fund are assisting with some of the expenses.  Please pray for Richard's recovery and for his wife as she adjusts to this new development in the marriage. 
 
Ray
Remember MAX Canada member Ray who lost the thumb on his right hand at the first joint due to a work related accident on February 3?  Ray had been a truck driver when, in the fall of 2008, he broke an arm in a fall.  He left the trucking industry due to the pressures and safety of the work and took a position making pallets for a wood chip stove manufacturer where the most recent mishap occurred while he was using a saw.  Ray is back at work on modified duties.  He and his wife Reta live in Edmonton, Alberta and associate with the Holyrood Mennonite Church.  Please pray for Ray who, being a right-handed person, needs to adjust to the limitations and inconvenience of the loss of a thumb on his right hand.
 
An Update; Derek Bevin  (See March 17 Email)
On March 16, Derek, a pastor in upstate New York, was diagnosed with severe Sepsis, an illness where the natural immune system response to an infection goes into overdrive.  Derek continues to be a very sick man.  While he is making progress in terms of the Sepsis, he has now developed a condition called Parsonage Turner Syndrome, a rare syndrome of unknown cause, affecting mainly a group of nerves that conduct signals from the spine to the shoulder and arm.  This causes paralysis of the shoulder and lack of muscle control in the arm, wrist, or hand.  As a result Derek has lost most of the use of his arms.  Effective treatment is a real challenge and recovery is slow.  Please pray for wisdom for the doctors as they determine the best treatment for Derek.  Continue to pray for Derek and his family as they struggle with the uncertainty of the condition.