(Above) Cpt Karen has mailed more than 390 Christian colouring pages

It was a regular Monday night at home, but after weeks of feeling “off,” Captain Karen Holland experienced a grand mal seizure. Her husband, Captain Stephen Holland, called an ambulance that rushed her to the hospital, where she was put on anti-seizure medication. Three months later, an MRI found a tumour on the left side of her brain and the doctors diagnosed her with grade III anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare form of malignant brain cancer that occurs in the cells and tissues that protect the brain’s neurons. The average survival for adults with this diagnosis is two to three years.

Since that life-altering day in September 2019, Captain Karen has endured three brain surgeries and exhausting chemotherapy treatments. But through it all, she has found a new, unexpected opportunity for ministry.

Currently assistant community services officer and corps officer at The Salvation Army’s Chatham-Kent Ministries in Ontario, Captain Karen has had to bow out of her official duties due to considerable short-term memory loss and extreme fatigue. Communication is difficult for Captain Karen, so her husband, Captain Stephen, corps officer and assistant community services director, agreed to share their story.

One Day at a Time

After that first grand mal seizure, Captain Karen experienced frequent focal seizures. The tumour on the left side of her brain would cause her eyes to drift rightward and “zone out” every few minutes. In December 2019, one week before Christmas and three months after her initial diagnosis, Captain Karen had her first surgery to biopsy the tumour. Only a few days later, doctors performed a second surgery to remove 80 percent of the mass from her brain. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, astrocytomas such as this one can spread through the brain and blend with other tissues, making it difficult to remove the entire tumour with surgery alone.

Despite the ordeal, Captain Karen kept her spirits up. “I remember after her first surgery, she was lying in bed and said she wasn’t worried about anything,” says Captain Stephen. “The rest of us are probably more concerned than she is—she just takes one day at a time.”

In February 2020, Captain Karen began radiation therapy in an attempt to minimize the remaining 20 percent of the tumour and prevent further growth. Radiation continued for six weeks, five days a week. In February 2021, doctors performed a third brain surgery because the tumour had grown since her last surgery 13 months prior.

Now, rather than enduring further chemotherapy treatments, Captain Karen takes oral chemotherapy pills and receives MRIs every three months to monitor tumour growth.

A New Ministry

Before her diagnosis in 2019, Captain Karen enjoyed pastoral care. Captain Stephen notes that she loved to visit with women’s groups and seniors, to connect with old friends from Salvation Army summer camps, and to get to know people inside and outside of the Army. She enjoyed officiating at funerals and visiting hospitals to spend time with people in need of support and prayer.

“That was her gift,” says Captain Stephen, “so she felt really lost.”

Captain Karen, unable to continue her pastoral duties at Chatham-Kent and isolated from visitors due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, was spending the majority of her time at home juggling boredom and fatigue.

Since last Christmas, however, Captain Karen has found a new way to engage in pastoral ministry. It began when she received a present from a friend of her sister, whom she didn’t know. It was a Christian colouring book filled with Bible verses and a handful of coloured pencils. Each page had a Scripture verse or quote surrounded by ribbons, leaves and other decorative illustrations.

“Karen opened it and she was excited about it,” says Captain Stephen. “She started colouring and loved it right away. Now, she does it constantly.”

As Captain Karen finished the colouring pages, she decided to detach them from the book and mail them to people at Chatham-Kent Ministries. Then she went on to send them to other people she knows—officers, family members, friends and people she’d grown up with at camp. In each envelope, she includes a short note that reads: “You remain in our thoughts and prayers. God bless you greatly. Love and prayers from Captains Karen and Stephen.”

When Captain Karen finished her first colouring book, she bought more. Today, she has mailed out more than 390 colouring pages. “She doesn’t remember why she chose to do it; it was just something she felt she needed to do,” says Captain Stephen.

Pages of Prayer

Colouring has become Captain Karen’s primary ministry. She colours every day, between meals and bouts of fatigue brought on by the chemotherapy pills. Though she sometimes has difficulty recalling names, reading and deciphering simple words that get jumbled on the page, colouring serves as a therapeutic creative outlet that lets her focus, concentrate and reflect. Colouring is her new form of prayer.

“As she’s colouring the page, she’ll think about the person she’s doing it for, her memories with them and how she knows them,” says Captain Stephen. “She picks out the saying that she thinks would fit that person. For her, it feels like she’s part of something, and she hopes that it helps others when they receive them.

“Something as simple as colouring pages can make an impact on her life and the lives of the people she’s sent them to,” he continues. “She says she could never do enough colouring pages to send to everyone she cares about, so she has done her best.”

The Hollands have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from recipients of the colouring pages who have reached out to thank Captain Karen. Some have told her that the colouring pages have brightened their day and the Scripture was exactly what they needed to hear.

Captain Barb Stanley, director of pastoral services for the Canada and Bermuda Territory, and a close friend of the Hollands, is among the many grateful recipients. “I know that she prayed for me while she was working on it, and during the pandemic it was a beautiful way to feel connected to Karen,” says Captain Barb, whose colouring page included words from the hymn His Eye is on the Sparrow. “It was also a lovely reminder to me that our lives, our families and our worries are always on the heart of God. We are not forgotten, abandoned or orphaned.”

A Stronger Faith

Despite her diagnosis, Captain Karen maintains a positive outlook and a strong faith.

“She surprises me,” says Captain Stephen when asked if Captain Karen’s faith was ever tested throughout her journey with cancer. “She doesn’t worry about death. She’s excited to meet Jesus.

“We, as pastors, talk a lot about the peace and understanding God gives you,” he continues. “I never knew what that looked like until I saw it in her. She’s not afraid.”

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