June 5, 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Luke 7:11-17

I served a church that each summer worked with a Pentecostal church in the Dominican Republic. When we were there, the bulk of our work involved forming bucket lines to move everything from blocks to buckets of mezcla, a cement mixture. Over a period of five years we watched a tiny wooden shack of a church become a large building that housed not only a church but a vocational school, medical clinics, and a water distribution center.

The church was pastored by a married couple. Adrianna was a petite woman but a pistol—sharp, decisive, and a respected leader in the wider community. Her husband, Juan José, was a large man with a rumbling bass voice that shook the walls every time he sang. His arms easily wrapped my husband Andy in a hearty embrace as soon as we landed in Santo Domingo.

One year we learned that Juan José had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Adrianna, who was also a medical doctor, recommended treatment right away; so did other physicians. But Juan José declined it. He had faith that if the Lord willed it, the Lord would heal his body of the disease. He died a little less than a year later, after spending his final months fasting and praying for a miracle. We were all devastated. We could only imagine the heartache and grief in the community, and in particular, what the church’s pastora felt in losing her spouse and ministry partner.