Holding on to the Promise

Tania and Shaun find God’s grace is sufficient in their long journey with cancer

(From the July - September 2020 issue of VOX)

Arriving in Ireland from South Africa in 2005, Tania and Shaun knew that God had opened the door for ministry here. They moved to Tralee in County Kerry but after just one year, Tania was diagnosed with cancer. In the last 14 years, Tania has faced four bouts of cancer while Shaun has continued to minister alongside churches in County Kerry.

Tania: I had cancer before I came here but I’d received the all clear and the doctors discharged me. Then suddenly, after a year, I got sick again. We had become part of a church in Tralee and we felt strongly that God wanted us to stay. God opened the door for me to have treatment here in Ireland.

Shaun: Our heart is for church planting, discipleship and leadership development. We sensed back then that here these things would take a lot of time and patience. Tania was sick and the ministry was hard. We were struggling with resources and lack of manpower and wondered if we should call it quits. But eventually, we decided to stay and stick it out.

Tania: I’m now into my fourth bout of cancer. Sometimes I struggle deeply, that is the honest truth! When I’ve been really weak, Shaun has been the strong one. He has come alongside me and helped me by reminding me of God’s promises. It has not been an easy road but it has been easier because the two of us have been together. I receive the comfort, sustenance and assurance I need from God’s word. It is not just head knowledge but something that I feel deeply. I receive a lot of comfort from the Psalms - there are so many verses that are precious. Whenever I feel low, I mostly turn to the Psalms. It doesn’t take long to find some comfort there!

Shaun: You can never exhaust God’s word or ever understand Him completely and when the next trial comes around, there is always something new to learn.

Tania: This year, I’ve been really ill and Shaun has stepped in. His main ministry has been in the home taking care of me. I don’t have to worry about the things that I would normally. I’m really thankful for that. It has been a strange getting used to that. I’m used to doing things. I’m the one who helps Shaun, not the other way around.

“No other cancer patient in that entire hospital has survived so long.”

Shaun: I do the cleaning and cooking and I’m learning to enjoy cooking. I realise that my number one ministry at the moment is to take care of Tania. The Lord wants me to honour Him and worship Him by caring for my wife and that’s what I want to do as well! I love ministry. That was always our priority but in this season, the Lord has helped me to have the calm assurance that He is taking care of my life and I am serving Him as I care for my wife.

One thing that has helped is to see Him answer prayers. No other cancer patient in that entire hospital has survived so long. Tania has gone through so much chemo. One of the nurses told someone, “That girl comes in on her death bed and then she walks out again. She must have 10,000 angels guarding her.”

Tania: I recently found out that they are going to stop my chemotherapy because it will start affecting my heart. They are uncertain what to do and will re-assess my treatment.

Shaun: For us it is important that we have lived with cancer. Sometimes Tania describes cancer as her “friend” because her mum’s cancer was the reason I became a Christian and the amount of opportunities that we have had talking to doctors, nurses and surgeons. And they can’t argue with us. The Lord has helped us to see answered prayer. Because we’ve lived on the edge, we’ve so often seen God’s hand of care and love.

Tania: Jesus is my best friend, He really is. Even if everybody else has abandoned me, He is still there. He is my protector and I can turn to Him, no matter how low I feel. I tell Him everything (He knows anyway but He is the one I can talk to and I know that He understands.) He is so precious to me because of what He did for me. He gave His very life for me. I know that I can trust what He has done for me and I never need to be afraid or to doubt that even for a moment.

Shaun: Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of which I am the worst.” I will never forget the enormity of knowing the weight of my sin when I found Jesus and experiencing His complete forgiveness. The slate was wiped clean. He is my Saviour but He is also the perfecter of my faith. He is worthy of all the worship I can give.

Sometimes I have to speak to myself and say, “This is what you know about God. This is what He is like.” It helps me to keep trusting. Faith is not about deserving something, it is about holding on to the promise. My faith is refined and every day He gives me enough grace.