Please Pray for the Stoschers

This past month has been very difficult for Mark and his family so I know they would really appreciate your prayers. Mark, Ruthie, and their four children - Stephen 7, James 9, Becca 12, and Abby 15 - live in the town of Erseke (population 5,000) and Mark is the pastor of the Christian church. They bought a home in the late 90s and expanded it in the hopes of providing an orphanage which was needed at the time. When the house was completed and the country's anarchy was behind them the orphange wasn't needed so the 10 room home became a ministry home and was used to fill various needs. The Stoschers moved into the house three years ago and constantly have people in and out of their home. Mark's church is right across the street so often their home is used as an extension of the church.

Just a month ago a tragic accident occured which has shook up the entire community. While the youth group from church was on a hike in the local countryside a random boulder hit a 14 year old girl in the back. She immediately began coughing up blood and had great difficulty breathing. Mark and emergency help were able to get her to a hospital but she didn't survive. The young lady was Abby's close friend, and Becca was there when it happened. The girl's dad is active in Mark's church and a very close friend of his. Not only did the Stoschers' lose someone they loved but the community, especially the church community, has relied on him heavily during this time. Young boys have been meeting in the Stoscher's home nightly since the accident trying to console each other and make sense of a seemingly senseless act. As is the Albanian custom, the family will not leave their home for 40 days, expect to visit their daughter's gravesite each morning, and the mother will wear black for the rest of her life.

To add to the load Mark is carrying, last week Ruthie's parents, who are retired missionaries living in Pakistan, came to visit. Her mom got very sick and it was felt she had malaria so Ruthie drove her parents to Greece for medical care. She was there when we first arrived in Albania. Keep in mind that Mark was meeting us in Tirana, Ruthie is in Greece, their children are being taken care of by Mark's camp co-director and his wife, and their house is being prepared for our arrival. Their dining room is converted into a bedroom by others, the table now sits in the middle of the kitchen, the girls move out of their room and in with their brothers, and mattresses are added to rooms to accomodate our group of 19. Mark was in constant contact with Ruthie while she was in Greece and the good news was that Ruthe's mom didn't have malaria but a kidney infection so after receiving treatment Ruthie brought her parents back to their home in Erseke yesterday afternoon.

Within just an hour or so of Ruthie's return and getting her parents settled, Abby was climbing their cherry tree in the backyard and fell about 15 feet to the ground. The wind was sucked out of her lungs and she couldn't breathe and Becca immediately started yelling for her mother. Most of us were in the house at the time and fortunately we have a doctor and a nurse in our group. After careful evaluation they determined they could move her into the house and later in the evening it was decided she should go to the hospital for x-rays and tests. Good news came later that she didn't break a rib, but that they would keep her overnight for evaluation and to give her fluids. Ruthie spent the night in the hospital with her and as I write this (Thursday morning) the plan is to keep her in the hospital for most of today and release her this afternoon.

I actually feel really bad being here as the Stochers certainly don't need a houseful of people. Three of our group are staying across the street at the church but 16 of us are here, plus Ruthie's parents, plus Ruthie's niece from Pakistan who joined us in Durres, plus a friend of Stephen's - that's 29 people in a home that's really not that big. Our group eats breakfasts at the house, lunch and dinner at the camp. 19 of us share two bathrooms and their is another bathroom the family members use. We all pitch in but can you imagine all these people in your "space" when you just need to deal with your family and community issues? Please pray that God continues to give the Stoschers the strength they need.