"And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it," is what the apostle Paul tells us. Yesterday I visited a member who was suffering. You could tell it every now and then, but only this morning did I realize how much she must have been suffering.

Petra Leier, a single mom in northern Germany, was diagnosed with cancer a couple of months ago. For months prior to the diagnosis she had chest pains and symptoms similar to those of a bad cold. When normal cold remedies failed, Petra went to the doctor. She was pretty sick with a large tumor in her chest between her lungs and cancer tumors elsewhere in her body.

Petra just completed a series of radiation treatments, and chemotherapy was next. Yesterday I visited her. Petra showed me a stack of cards she had received from all around the world after her condition was announced. She and her mom (Petra's mom lives right next door and is also a church member) wondered what the mailman must have thought, bringing several cards a day from foreign countries like America, Australia, Canada and South Africa. "What penpal club has she joined?" he must have wondered. The cards have been a big encouragement for Petra. Thanks to everyone who sent her a card – she appreciated it very much! She knew a few of the people who have sent cards, since Petra and her mom have been part of the church for over 30 years. We had fun yesterday, telling stories about years gone by and people we all know. Petra laughed, and it did her good, even though it was obvious at times that she was having difficulty breathing.

I was amazed on this visit and my other ones to see how positive Petra was. She just wanted to keep going and do as much as she could for herself. However, her cancer was pretty far advanced when it was diagnosed, so the doctors were hesitant to make any predictions about how long she would live. Her son David just turned 11 years old at the beginning of June. She told me several times that she wanted to see David reach adulthood. Her mom will do that for her now.

She was suffering more than any of us realized because she was not a complainer. Petra died this morning at 4 a.m.