Dashka's dilemmas

I can say without reservation that Dashka is in the crucible of affliction.

In the spring of 2009, Dashka’s wife Tonga began to experience some abdominal pain. She put off going to the doctor for several months. Evidently, although she is a doctor she does not like going to hospitals. Perhaps she thought that her symptoms would go away with time.

When her symptoms became worse she finally went to see the doctor in the summer of 2009. The doctors diagnosed her with stomach cancer. The cancer had already advanced to the stage that treatment would require the removal of her entire stomach followed by several rounds of chemotherapy. Surgery to remove her stomach and replace it with a pouch made of intestinal material occurred in July 2009.

Surgery went well, and the doctors told Dashka and Tonga that with chemotherapy she might make a full recovery. Her successive stages of chemotherapy went well. By August of 2010, doctors gave her an examination and said that her cancer was in remission. She was even able to attend our church’s summer camp in August. She was thin but seemed healthy and hopeful.

About the same time, Dashka’s older brother Dawaa (pronounced Dow·waa´) was diagnosed with late stage cancer. He has not actively sought medical treatment for it and had progressively become worse. His brother’s cancer, his lack of faith in Jesus Christ, and his lack of interest in seeking aggressive treatment have all been a temptation to discouragement for Dashka. I am not saying that Dashka has been discouraged; on the contrary, in spite of it all Dashka has remained steadfast in his faith in God.

Not long after his brother’s cancer diagnosis, his wife began to experience abdominal pain again. He took her back to the National Cancer Hospital where doctors gave her a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. They recommended more chemotherapy. At the beginning, Tonga was upbeat about her prognosis. With time and increasing difficulties, she has become more and more discouraged.

As if that is not enough, Dashka has been dealing with unsympathetic relatives who blame him, in part, for his wife’s cancer and lack of health.

In addition to his brother’s cancer and his wife’s cancer, his older sister recently became a shaman. Mongolians know that shamans deal with evil spirits. However, they prize the power that such evil spirits can bestow on the person. Shamans are their gateways to accessing the power of these evil spirits. His sister’s recent decision to interact with these evil spirits has been another temptation to lose the peace that God offers to Dashka.

Then over this past weekend as we all celebrated the new year, Dashka’s younger brother who was living and working in Korea died suddenly of a heart attack. He was younger than I am. Dashka heard the news after the service Sunday morning when he went to a family get-together.

Also over the weekend, Tonga gave up all hope of beating this cancer. She quit taking her medication which I believe was intended to prepare her for her next round of chemotherapy. Sunday night into Monday morning, she refused to sleep, instead sitting up in bed almost all night. She says that she is going to die. Some of the time she is incoherent when she talks.

Amazingly, as we were sharing prayer requests this morning, Dashka through his tears expressed his continuing faith in God. In spite of tragedy, Dashka refuses to deny his God. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”

As Dashka’s pastor, I do not know how to comfort him. He knows that we are praying for him, he knows that we are ready to assist him, he knows that we want to see his wife saved. Please pray for peace, comfort, perseverance, and grace for Dashka. I will update you as I know more about his older brother and wife. Outside of Jesus Christ, there is no hope. Dashka said today that he still has hope that in the end his wife’s will accept God’s offer of eternal life and that he will see his wife again in eternity.