The first little girl we prayed for captured our hearts since she was a year older than Carmelinda. She has lung cancer. Her name is Lisdana. She told us that science has told her that she's not going to live much longer, but she said she believes in miracles. Her young but strong faith brought us to tears. DeLynn reminded her that God loves her and we were priveledged to pray for her and her parents. In talking with her mother, I was able to get a small glimpse of how heart wrenching it is to walk beside your child, from day to day, praying and asking God for healing. The night before we arrived, she hadn't slept well and while we were there she apologized for coughing. As DeLynn and I walked out of her room, our hearts ached along with this family.
The second child we prayed for was 14 years old, a young boy named Oliver, who lay motionless on his small bed. His head had a bandage around it. His sister was sitting beside him waiting until his mother arrived. She said he had just had brain surgery. One thing I noticed, was that Oliver's sister was reading her Bible. When we asked if we could pray for her brother, she said, "Of course!" For one moment, I saw the young boy's eyes open.
Guillermo, was another young boy we prayed for. What a sweet young boy with a huge smile! He is mute. He has a bald head. So DeLynn took the opportunity to smile and point to his own bald head and give the thumbs up! Guillermo smiled. We were able to pray for Guillermo's mother. She shared that she's SO tired and suffers with a lot of pain in her knees. When I finished praying for her there were tears streaming down her face. The word REST from Psalm 23 came to my mind when praying for her. I can't even imagine the emotional, physical, and spiritual strain the parents must feel sitting beside their child's bed day after day and night after night.
We moved on to praying for another young boy, Marcial, about 10 years old, who also was laying in his bed. His leg was wrapped up. I went over to him and started conversing with him. I tried to encourage him as best I could. I told him he needed to try to get better so that he could play soccer again! He looked at me and said, "They are going to amputate my leg." My heart broke! I felt SO sad. I asked if I could pray for him. He was happy to let our prayer team pray and lay hands on his leg. I don't know if I've ever prayed so hard in my life!
By this time, I don't know if I could take any more! My heart was so overwhelmed and at that point I was experiencing so many emotions, but God had more for me.
The last little boy we prayed for was three years old, Jair. He was sitting in his bed watching Lion King. He had just gotten to the hospital three days before. He had just had brain surgery and now they were looking at radiation treatments. His parents were SO sad, anxious, and fearful. Their world had just turned upside down. It was Jair to stay in his bed, let along understand what all was happening to him. I was so glad God had sent us there to bring comfort and talk to them. Again, God's words of comfort brought them to tears. I was so priveledged to be used of God in this way. Wow! The amazing part of this story is that this couple are Mennonites and come from the same church my parents planted years ago! Neither one of us could hardly believe it!
That night as our family settled down to go to sleep, we thanked God for so many things and prayed for our new young friends. I thought of heaven and again was reminded that we are just passing through. As Christians, we have HOPE. I know I couldn't live without that.
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