Church fundraisers for stricken Valley girl raise huge sums

WASILLA — When they heard that one of their own had been stricken with cancer on a missionary trip to Africa, Wasilla Christian Church dug deep.

Two fundraisers later and the church’s pastor, Joe Munday, said Yetta Hein and her family have pretty much all they need.

“It was just amazing, people just really came through,” Munday said. “Really, all of her expenses for the next year are covered.”

The two events brought in an amazing number of donations. A concert May 13 drew enough people to raise $13,000. But the big surprise came the next month when a garage sale brought in $40,000.

“The yard sale was really surprising. The concert wasn’t so much because we knew how many people were coming,” Munday said.

The $40,000 wasn’t just raised by people paying the asking price, though. A lot of them were paying more than was asked, knowing that the money was going to a good cause.

“People were buying, like, a plate of cookies for 50 bucks,” Munday said.

Hein flew to Kenya with her family in January. The family met and prayed with locals and pastors and sponsored children who needed help to pay for their education.

Hein was first diagnosed with pneumonia in Nairobi.

After the church flew her to Germany, that diagnosis was changed to a rare form of cancer, Ewing’s Sarcoma.

Eventually, the church brought Hein and her family to Seattle, where she is currently undergoing treatment for the disease.

“The hospital in Seattle has been really, really good,” Munday said. “They’re doing most of the treatment as almost a freebie.”

He said there are outpatient expenses to pay for and some very expensive medications. All of the money has been put into a Wells Fargo account overseen by a group set up separate from the church. The account stipulates that the money can only be used to pay medical expenses.

“Really, all of her expenses for the next year are covered,” Munday said about the efforts. “Her chances of survival are still probably less than 10 percent, but they’re trying.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.