Strength to Serve Through Suffering
By Ron Barnes
You have heard it said, that behind the scenes at Source of Light are many men and women of God who go through great sacrifices to serve here. But what many don’t know, is that some of our people do so enduring great pain and chronic illness, for the cause of Christ.
These individuals are so committed to the Great Commission, they push through the exhaustion, pains, and discomforts associated with their individual illnesses. They faithfully and dutifully carry on with the tasks and assignments they oversee, rarely missing a deadline. Highlighting these individuals is not what any of them would desire; in fact, most would be glad if no one knew. But we hope that they might be an inspiration to those of you who also endure chronic pain and illness. Perhaps their stories will bring you some hope and fortitude to carry on with the calling of God in your life.
Eula Keener has served with Source of Light over 35 years. Together with her husband, Dave, she traveled to represent SLM in conferences and churches, and held various administrative positions at our headquarters. Eula served as the administrative assistant to the CEO for many of those years, and as one of the proofreaders for SLM’s publications. Even through her husband’s prolonged sickness, Eula cared for both her husband and faithfully cared for the responsibilities of her ministry. After Dave’s death, Eula returned full time to the accounting office and proofreading responsibilities.
She was fortunate to have had exceptional health for many years but began to see some significant health issues within the last year. At the insistence of her friends and bosses, she finally saw the doctor, who eventually diagnosed her with Stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer. Throughout her treatments, she continued to serve, though visibly weak. Even when her administrators encouraged her to take some days off, she still persisted in returning to the office.
After a period of worsening illness, it was discovered that Eula’s sickness had made her bones weak to the point where her back was actually broken. She received treatment and therapy and had a will to get healthy enough to get back to her desk. After three months, she returned to her desk at the office, still in a brace, walking with a walker, and with great joy has resumed the calling that God has given her.
Brian Thompson came to SLM 11 years ago, to head up our Madison Discipleship School, and has since also taken on the responsibility of Regional Director for North America and the Caribbean. He came to SLM with some health issues and pain, the results of a near-fatal car accident that left his body in bad shape. For years, he was on pain killers and medicines, saw specialist after specialist, and had surgery after surgery.
Brian was finally on a path to living pain free, thanks to some procedures that blocked the chronic pain in his feet, when after a bout with other symptoms, he learned he had polycythemia vera, which is a rare form of blood cancer. Between chemotherapy and doctors’ appointments, Brian continued to lead his department and regions. COVID forced Brian to isolate away from the office, since his immune system was almost non-existent, but he stayed current on his responsibilities. The day of the writing of this article, Brian informed us, in person in chapel, doctors have discovered a fourth lesion and he is scheduled to have another MRI. Instead of staying home, convalescing, Brian heads to the office to do what he loves.
Kim Thigpen, Literature Coordinator during a crucial season of SLM’s publications’ ministry, is spearheading the creation of new lessons, writing for SLM’s various publications, and coordinating the collection, storage, and archiving of courses, as well as facilitating new translations.
It is a big job, yet pushing through her own chronic illness, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and the pain associated with it, she too dutifully carries out her tasks with great joy. In spite of severe and debilitating allergies, even to paper, surprisingly, with her oversight of the literature, she puts on a mask and gloves and heads into the dusty file room organizing and collecting.
She recruits help from time to time, knowing what her limitations are, but still finds ways to carry out her job. If it weren’t for the gloves and mask, you’d almost never know she was even sick. But it isn’t an act, she just pushes through her pain, with joy.
Brenda Barnes has gone about her duties as the Director of Advanced Studies with great enthusiasm. She loves the department she serves in and, as a missionary for over 26 years now, has never been as fulfilled in ministry as she is now. And never has she been as busy.
Few would even know she has suffered with trigeminal and occipital neuralgia and chronic migraines for the last two years. She pushes herself constantly because of the great demand for and need of the WWBI and EZRA curriculum. She works day and into the night editing and updating both the printed and online courses, so that we can be providing the best possible materials to our students.
I pray constantly for each of these, that God would fully restore and heal them. It breaks my heart to see those who serve here, and the many others around the world whose stories I haven’t told, suffer. But I believe God gives them a unique perspective, a unique strength, and a unique desire to persevere through hardship.
There are times I admit, I don’t know what to pray. Perhaps what makes these people, and others who serve through sickness, persevere with joy and be as successful as they are, is their infirmity. Perhaps it is why Paul too, in spite of crying out to God on three occasions to take away his “thorn,” God chose to leave it with him.
All I do know is that God is a loving God who shows strength and grace in proportion to their needs. But please continue to pray for these missionaries and the countless others who serve through suffering. That they too, as the passage states, may take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
