10/04/2026
Scarred, but Not Shattered: An Evening of Stories, Compassion, and Hope
By Nancy Nicolas
WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON. — Jazz music was already floating through the cool late-afternoon air when the first guests arrived. Steadily, more than 100 friends, supporters, volunteers, and advocates of Adonai’s Mercy House (AMH) gathered on the beautiful grounds of Shane and Aimee Wallenda’s home in Walla Walla on October 3.
There was food, laughter, music, and fellowship. But this was more than an evening of celebration. It was an evening about children fighting cancer thousands of miles away.
It was about families carrying burdens that most people never see. And, perhaps most importantly, it was about what happens when compassion moves beyond feeling and becomes action.
The gathering was the fifth annual fundraiser of AMH, a nonprofit organization committed to walking alongside young cancer warriors and their families in the Philippines. The program began at 5 p.m., with The Directors Band setting the mood with jazz.
Florian Raqueño and Shane Wallenda hosted the evening, bringing warmth and energy to a gathering united by a common concern. Grace Green and Amanda Filan added to the evening with graceful performances of dance and song.
For a few hours, people gathered around music and friendship. But as the stories unfolded, the evening took on a deeper meaning.
Sharing the Work of Mercy
Then it was my turn, as executive director of Adonai’s Mercy House’s Manila office, to share an update on the organization’s continuing work in the Philippines. I spoke about the children and families being served, particularly the young cancer warriors receiving treatment at the Pediatric Oncology Ward of Mary Johnston Hospital in Tondo, Manila.
For those listening, the realities of childhood cancer came into sharper focus.
Cancer is often described in numbers: patients treated, hospital admissions, medicines purchased, treatments completed. But behind the statistics are real children. Behind every child is a family. And behind every family is a story of fear, courage, sacrifice, and hope.
At the heart of AMH’s work is a simple conviction: children and their families should not have to face the journey alone.
Sometimes mercy looks like medical support. Sometimes it looks like transportation to the hospital or a meal when a family has little left to give. And sometimes it simply means standing beside someone and saying, in one way or another, “You are not alone.”
The Tales of Two Drews
One of the evening’s most moving segments was “The Tales of Two Drews,” two very different stories connected by a common thread: sustaining grace.
The first was the story of Drew Pitzer. While volunteering with Youth With a Mission in Australia, Drew contracted an E.coli infection. What began as an experience of service and adventure suddenly became a life-threatening medical crisis.
Drew became critically ill and spent five days in intensive care. The infection affected his kidneys, and his condition became so serious that his parents feared he might not survive.
Back home, family and friends gathered to pray. There was nothing they could do to control what was happening in a hospital thousands of miles away. They could only wait, hope, and pray.
Against the odds, Drew survived. His experience became a deeply personal testimony of faith, prayer, and what he described as a miracle.
A story that could have ended in tragedy became instead a story of survival and gratitude—and a reminder of the strength that can come when people gather around someone in crisis.
Then came another Drew.
Andrew Igma is one of the young beneficiaries of Adonai’s Mercy House. Through a video titled “A Day in the Life of Andrew,” the audience was invited to see the mission of AMH not as an abstract cause but through the daily experience of a child living with cancer.
Andrew’s story brought the mission closer.
It was no longer simply about an organization in the Philippines or a hospital ward in Manila. It was about a child with dreams and fears. A child whose life includes hospital visits and treatment, but also laughter, hope, family, and the ordinary desire to simply be a child.
The two stories were separated by geography and circumstance. Yet they met in the same place: the fragile space between suffering and hope.
Aimee’s Story of Sustaining Grace
The evening became even more personal when Aimee Wallenda shared her own story of faith and the ways God had sustained her through difficult seasons. Her testimony added another dimension to the evening.
Suffering does not always announce itself. Sometimes it arrives suddenly. Sometimes it settles quietly into a person’s life and changes everything. And sometimes the person carrying the burden is the one standing in front of a room, smiling, welcoming guests, and inviting others to care.
Aimee’s story reminded those gathered that the people who serve are not untouched by suffering themselves. They, too, have scars. They, too, have known fear and uncertainty.
Yet scars are not necessarily signs of defeat. Sometimes they are evidence that someone has survived.
Together, the stories of Drew, Andrew, and Aimee formed a kind of tapestry: different lives, different circumstances, and different wounds.
But they shared one enduring message: Life is fragile. Grace is sustaining. And no one should have to suffer alone.
When Compassion Becomes Commitment
As the evening moved toward its close, the stories began to produce something more than emotion. They produced action.
Many guests made individual commitments to sponsor food and transportation for children receiving treatment at Mary Johnston Hospital.
These may sound like modest needs. They are not.
For a family already struggling under the financial and emotional weight of childhood cancer, transportation can determine whether a child gets to the hospital for treatment.
A meal can provide strength during a long day of medical care. Assistance with these basic needs can give parents one less burden to carry.
What began as an evening of gathering became an evening of giving.
The People Behind the Evening
The success of an event like this is rarely the work of the people standing onstage alone.
Behind the evening were many unseen acts of service. People cooked and brought food. Others prepared the venue. Some donated items for the silent auction. Volunteers welcomed guests, assisted with the program, and worked quietly behind the scenes.
Shane and Aimee Wallenda expressed their heartfelt appreciation to everyone who helped make the evening possible.
Special appreciation went to Florian Raqueno for her work in soliciting donations for the silent auction. Her efforts, together with the generosity of many others, helped make the gathering a meaningful success.
One Act of Mercy at a Time
By the end of the evening, the atmosphere had changed. The room still carried the warmth of friendship and fellowship. But it also carried something deeper—a renewed sense of purpose.
People had come together to listen. They listened to stories of survival. They heard about children battling cancer. They encountered suffering not as a distant statistic but as a human reality.
And then they responded.
For the young cancer warriors at the Pediatric Oncology Ward of Mary Johnston Hospital, the commitments made that evening represent more than financial assistance.
They are tangible expressions of love. They are reminders that distance does not have to mean indifference. They are reminders that a child in Manila can matter to people thousands of miles away. They are reminders that a family facing one of life’s most difficult journeys can discover that others are willing to walk a little way with them.
Perhaps that is what the evening was ultimately about—turning compassion into action and generosity into hope.
And so, for every young cancer warrior who continues to fight, the growing family of Adonai’s Mercy House continues to stand beside them—one meal, one ride, one prayer, and one act of mercy at a time.
