My friends, Alex and Jesse Braszko, have been going through a very difficult time as their 18-year-old daughter, Lily, suffers in the last stages of terminal cancer.
People were wanting to send Lily flowers, but she asked instead if people would send small contributions for a chapel on her family’s land in Northwest Missouri. It won’t be a church but a site for mission meetings, prayers, and spiritual reading.
The chapel project is bringing together people the family lost touch with for decades and now are coming back into their lives to help. Even people who don’t know the family have heard about it and are donating toward the $175,000 goal.
The chapel will be tall, with white walls and a blue metal roof/dome. It will be built in a traditional, ancient Christian style with a memorial dedicated to Lily inside. The fundraising goal of 175,000 was established based on bids from a local builder for a 625 square foot unfinished building, (approximately 25 ft x 25 ft) plus bids for finishing the inside.
The family, of Russian descent going back at least four generations, have designed the chapel to follow the architectural traditions of Novgorod and Pskov, characterized by strict monumentality and minimalist forms. Structurally, it is envisioned as a cubic building, topped with semi-circular zakomars that create smooth transitions between the facades and the roof. The design includes a single helmet-shaped dome resting on a tall, octagonal drum, adding vertical emphasis and a sense of grandeur.” This picture offers some idea of what it will look like when finished.
Lily’s battle with osteosarcoma over the last two years resulted in the amputation of her right leg above her knee. But then a recent scan showed that the cancer had metastasized to her lungs where it is growing rapidly. Right now the parents are taking time off work to spend as much time with Lily as they can when she’s awake. She has very little ability to breathe and the doctors doubt if she will make it to Easter.
Despite the pain, Lily (pictured right) has shown the courage and determination of someone more than twice her age, and the whole family has been inspired by her faith and fortitude. I am close with Lily’s father and have been inspired by the stories he’s told me of her faith, courage and gratitude. Lily has been overwhelmed by the encouragement people have showered on her, and their willingness to rally around the chapel project. Working on the chapel with her father has given Lily something positive to focus on. She is playing a role in the exterior (including landscaping) and interior appearance, from the architectural style to the iconography on the inside, including the color schemes, wood type, and floor tiles.
The chapel will provide a place of peace and solitude for family and friends to offer prayers of gratitude to God, and to remember the many blessings experienced while Lily was part of their lives. Once the chapel is built, I plan to make a pilgrimage there to remember how much God loves His children, and to recall how Lily impacted me via the stories her father has told me of her faith and love during her last days with us.
If you would like to donate to this project, you can do so through their GiveSendGo campiagn.