Day Five: County Kerry
Tuesday 5 May
The annual VOX magazine Finding Faith Tour looks very different this year. Instead of a 7-day road trip around the island, this year VOX editor Ruth Garvey-Williams brings you highlights from all 32 counties (one per day plus one for each of the 31 days in May). Contact Ruth if you have a story to share.
Day Five: Holding On!
“That girl comes in on her death bed and then she walks out again. She must have 10,000 angels guarding her,” - nurse in Tralee Hospital.”
Tania and Shaun Abrahams with their two daughters.
It’s day five of the finding faith tour and my virtual journey takes me to Milltown in County Kerry where Tania and Shaun Abrahams share the highs and lows of life and ministry. With a passion for God’s word and for supporting and training leaders, the couple moved to Ireland from South Africa in 2005 with their two daughters and began working alongside churches in rural Kerry. But within a year, Tania was diagnosed with cancer.
“There was a time when Tania was sick and ministry seemed tough especially with the lack of manpower. We wondered whether we should call it quits. But we decided to stick it out,” Shaun said. Now on Tania’s fourth bout of cancer in 15 years, Shaun and Tania have seen wonderful answers to prayer and opportunities to share their faith with doctors, nurses and surgeons. And they have found comfort in being able to continue supporting others when they are able by running Bible studies and even (last night) a Skype chat with another family talking about some verses from the Bible and helping them to gain a deeper understanding of God’s Word.
“Over the last year, I’ve been really ill and Shaun has stepped in,” Tania said. “His main ministry has been in the home taking care of me. It has been a strange getting used to that. I’m usually the one who helps Shaun, not the other way around. Sometimes I struggle deeply, that’s 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’m learning to enjoy cooking,” Shaun smiles. “I love Christian 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. The Lord wants me to honour Him and worship Him by caring for Tania and that’s exactly what I want to do as well!”
Even through Zoom, I can feel the emotion in Tania’s voice as she tells me, “Jesus is my best friend, He really is. I can turn to Him, no matter how low I feel. I tell Him everything (He knows anyway). He is the one I can talk to and I know that He understands. 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 describes how in a strange way cancer has been a “friend” to them and they have seen wonderful answers to prayer even in the midst of the difficult times. “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,” Shaun added. “In Hebrews chapter 11 it says that the old patriarchs died before they saw the fulfilment of the promises God had given them. 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.”
This is just a taste of Shaun and Tania’s story - we’ll bring you more later this summer.
