Chad Tragedy
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Living God,
A lot of you might have already have heard about the tragic death of four year old Kaleb Roberts in Bere, Tchad on Wednesday do to Malaria. He is the son of Gary and Wendy, the pilot/nurse from the states. This is the family that would let us SM’s go and visit them when we were feeling low, or they would let us bake at their house and I watched Cherise and Kaleb several times so both Wendy and Gary could help at the hospital. Wendy is a true kindred spirit and they both were a great support to us. We would not have made it through the year without that family’s love, support and spiritual encouragement.
It’s at times like this when we want to do something but don’t always know how. Right now Gary, Wendy and Cherise want and need to come back to the states for 3 months to be with close family and friends. A support system is what they need. Because of the sudden nature of this they will have to find $10,000, $3,500 per round trip ticket. If you can help in any way please do. You can either contact Cherise White or Gary’s mom, Jan directly or .
We are also sending them a box of prayers. We want to gather prayers from people all over the states and world to let them know that they are being prayed for and thought of. It’s the prayers of fellow Christians that will help them make it through.
Below is an adapted letter from one of their friends at Southern and also Gary's mom asking for our help to bring their family home after Malaria took the life of their son Kaleb 2 days ago.
Dear Family and Friends,
This is a hard letter to write but as Gary's mom said there is no easy way but to just say it.
As some of you may have heard, Gary and Wendy Roberts lost their 4yo son, Kaleb, to Malaria yesterday morning. His liver gave up and he had pulmonary edema from the Malaria and there wasn't anything they could do about it. They worked a code for over an hour on him before they called it. It was fairly sudden and that has made the loss that much harder. I have talked with them and they seem to be holding up ok but there is no way to comprehend what they are going through. They buried him yesterday afternoon next to the airstrip where he used to watch his daddy fly and he loved flying as well. Cherise (their almost 3yo) is doing ok but started having a hard time when they were burying him. As I would!!!!!!!!!
Now, they would like to come here and on to the States for some time with family and friends. As you know, they have been working without a salary and totally dependent on God for the necessary funds for their operation in Tchad, as they were in Guyana and the Cameroons. God has provided and will continue to do so through friends and loyal supporters. They need to get home to their family and support system. It is basically going to cost about $10,000 in just plane tickets.
We've been doing some checking for tickets. We have quite a few Northwest Airlines frequent flier miles that we can use towards the tickets but it won't come near to paying for everything for the three of them. We are willing to make up the difference financially and I know that many of you will want to help them in this time of grief as well. If you would like to help out with these ticket purchases, please contact us and we'll tell you where to send the donation of love. So far it looks like the tickets will cost about $3500 each but that is not including using air mileage credit. Still working on that. So with perhaps $10,000 that makes for a big chunk of money but with everyone making a contribution it can be done. They want to come here next week and spend three weeks.
There will also be a memorial fund set up in Kaleb's name at Gospel Ministries Incorporated. This will be to help Gary and Wendy continue on with their ministry there in Tchad. They want to return sometime in September but they need time for rest and recuperation for all of them. The weather has been terribly hot with temperatures over 100 for this past month. Cherise has been sick but okay now. Kaleb was obviously very sick and Wendy is also feeling poorly. Gary is exhausted as he's been working so hard on their house to get it done before the rains fall which have been delayed... Please continue to pray for all of us, especially Gary and Wendy and dear little Cherise who has lost her brother, best friend and playmate. "Weeping endures for the night but joy comes in the morning." How we look forward to that morning. The day when Jesus will come and end all of this misery on this earth and take us to His home in heaven! Please forward this letter on to whoever and let them know as we want to get them home. They have been doing an incredible work and live off of only donations and they need now need our help. God bless each of you and keep praying for the Roberts...the next few days are going to be HARD. Much Love Cherise (Rustad) White gmwhite@southern.edu
and Jan Roberts - flyaai@gmail.com
A lot of you might have already have heard about the tragic death of four year old Kaleb Roberts in Bere, Tchad on Wednesday do to Malaria. He is the son of Gary and Wendy, the pilot/nurse from the states. This is the family that would let us SM’s go and visit them when we were feeling low, or they would let us bake at their house and I watched Cherise and Kaleb several times so both Wendy and Gary could help at the hospital. Wendy is a true kindred spirit and they both were a great support to us. We would not have made it through the year without that family’s love, support and spiritual encouragement.
It’s at times like this when we want to do something but don’t always know how. Right now Gary, Wendy and Cherise want and need to come back to the states for 3 months to be with close family and friends. A support system is what they need. Because of the sudden nature of this they will have to find $10,000, $3,500 per round trip ticket. If you can help in any way please do. You can either contact Cherise White or Gary’s mom, Jan directly or .
We are also sending them a box of prayers. We want to gather prayers from people all over the states and world to let them know that they are being prayed for and thought of. It’s the prayers of fellow Christians that will help them make it through.
Below is an adapted letter from one of their friends at Southern and also Gary's mom asking for our help to bring their family home after Malaria took the life of their son Kaleb 2 days ago.
Dear Family and Friends,
This is a hard letter to write but as Gary's mom said there is no easy way but to just say it.
As some of you may have heard, Gary and Wendy Roberts lost their 4yo son, Kaleb, to Malaria yesterday morning. His liver gave up and he had pulmonary edema from the Malaria and there wasn't anything they could do about it. They worked a code for over an hour on him before they called it. It was fairly sudden and that has made the loss that much harder. I have talked with them and they seem to be holding up ok but there is no way to comprehend what they are going through. They buried him yesterday afternoon next to the airstrip where he used to watch his daddy fly and he loved flying as well. Cherise (their almost 3yo) is doing ok but started having a hard time when they were burying him. As I would!!!!!!!!!
Now, they would like to come here and on to the States for some time with family and friends. As you know, they have been working without a salary and totally dependent on God for the necessary funds for their operation in Tchad, as they were in Guyana and the Cameroons. God has provided and will continue to do so through friends and loyal supporters. They need to get home to their family and support system. It is basically going to cost about $10,000 in just plane tickets.
We've been doing some checking for tickets. We have quite a few Northwest Airlines frequent flier miles that we can use towards the tickets but it won't come near to paying for everything for the three of them. We are willing to make up the difference financially and I know that many of you will want to help them in this time of grief as well. If you would like to help out with these ticket purchases, please contact us and we'll tell you where to send the donation of love. So far it looks like the tickets will cost about $3500 each but that is not including using air mileage credit. Still working on that. So with perhaps $10,000 that makes for a big chunk of money but with everyone making a contribution it can be done. They want to come here next week and spend three weeks.
There will also be a memorial fund set up in Kaleb's name at Gospel Ministries Incorporated. This will be to help Gary and Wendy continue on with their ministry there in Tchad. They want to return sometime in September but they need time for rest and recuperation for all of them. The weather has been terribly hot with temperatures over 100 for this past month. Cherise has been sick but okay now. Kaleb was obviously very sick and Wendy is also feeling poorly. Gary is exhausted as he's been working so hard on their house to get it done before the rains fall which have been delayed... Please continue to pray for all of us, especially Gary and Wendy and dear little Cherise who has lost her brother, best friend and playmate. "Weeping endures for the night but joy comes in the morning." How we look forward to that morning. The day when Jesus will come and end all of this misery on this earth and take us to His home in heaven! Please forward this letter on to whoever and let them know as we want to get them home. They have been doing an incredible work and live off of only donations and they need now need our help. God bless each of you and keep praying for the Roberts...the next few days are going to be HARD. Much Love Cherise (Rustad) White gmwhite@southern.edu
and Jan Roberts - flyaai@gmail.com
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