Tuesday June 1, 2009

Sonya is a virbrant, beautiful, slender 25 yr old that lives along a dirt road up a notable hillside in a tidy dirt floored home. Oh, one other thing...she's in a wheelchair.
Her bedrock faith was a testimony to me and all in the group. I wondered if I was in her shoes, would I too be able to proclaim the love and faithfulness of God Almighty?
4 months ago Sonya and her long time best friend ("closer than a sister") were in an accident. It killed her friend, seriously injured many of her internal organs, and left her with a spinal cord injury that the MDs said would leave her as a paraplegic for life. However.... (don't you love "howevers" in stories like this!)...what Satan designed for evil, the Lord has used for His good. Sonya admits to being angry and having many "whys" in the beginning (which was only 4 months ago...February?), but says that keeping her focus on the Lord and reading the Bible has kept her faith strong. She knows that the Lord was not surprised by this and is always in control. She knows He has a plan for her life....Jeremiah 29:11. She believes (and I do too) that the Lord is going to heal her. She has already surpassed her doctor's expectations. The doctors say it's a miracle that her internal organs have healed and that she is able to eat, drink, etc. Plus, Sonya is walking/shuffling a short distance in her house every day. And her family has set up a bicycle so that it stays stationary and she can practice riding it for leg exercise.
I feel so privileged to have met her. I can hardly wait to see her walking among her community, telling everyone about her God and Healer.

Bahudilio thinks he's about 85 yr old, wears a well worn cowboy hat, pants that are too big and help up by a rope, and long sleeve shirt that has seen many months. He doesn't know exactly when he was born, nor does he know how to spell his name (or read/write), but I was touched by his simplicity and kind face. He didn't want to bother me. However, one my Guatemalan co-workers brought his need to my attention. How easy it was to sit and talk with him, give him a few diarrhea pills, and bring him to The Healer in prayer. I'm so thankful that God brought him along our path. A few hours later he was feeling better.

Delfina waited for me to finish with the other patients before she approached me. I recognized her from before and there was something warm, easy, and inviting about her countenance. She'd been on high blood pressure (BP) pills quite a while back. In early May, I found her BP to be very high and begged her to see her MD. The MD said everything was fine and suggested her use Pepto Bismol. Today, her BP was alarmingly high. As a nurse, it's way outside my professional bounds to prescribe BP meds, however, I've had 2 recent experiences with the local public hospitals, and I know the care is less then desirable at best. So, I prayed with a Christian friend, and then went to the nearest pharmacy. The person in the pharmacy recommended a medicine that I know, so I purchased a weeks supply for her. I've prayed many times for her since then and I eagerly await my visit next week to so how the Lord is working in her life.

Yomira is a sweet, innocent 14 yr old with epilepsy. Her seizures are happening more often, and sometimes happen when she's in our weekly children's program. Today I learned that she went to the MD this week, and he wants her to have her medicine increased to twice a day. However, her mom will only allow her to have this once a day. Her mom works all day, therefore she's unable to come to our simultaneous adult service. It seems her dad isn't much in the picture....which is fairly common here. We don't know why the mom won't allow her the 2nd daily dose...perhaps the cost is too high...perhaps the med makes the child too sleepy to function in school...perhaps....? This has to be handled delicately, so we'll pray about this and maybe try to see if the mom is accessible for us to talk with her.

What a privilege it is to have the Lord bring these people into my life.