Faith Witness

I wish I could have the faith of the little girl in this story.
JA

This true story was written by a doctor who worked in Central Africa.

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite
of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a
crying two-year-old daughter.  We would have difficulty keeping the baby
alive, as we had no incubator.  (We had no electricity to run an incubator.)
We also had no special feeding facilities.  Although we lived on the
equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.
One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton
wool the baby would be wrapped in.  Another went to stoke up the fire and
fill a hot water bottle.  She came back shortly in distress to tell me that
in filling the bottle, it had burst.  Rubber perishes easily in tropical
climates.  And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed.
As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa
it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles.
They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down dirt pathways.
"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and
sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.  Your job
is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of
the orphanage children who chose to gather with me.  I gave the youngsters
various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny
baby.  I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle.  The baby could so easily die if it got
chills.
During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual
blunt conciseness of our African children.  "Please, God," she prayed, "send
us a water bottle.  It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be
dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a
corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for
the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot.  Could I honestly
say, "Amen?!" I just did not believe that God could do this.  Oh, yes, I
know that He can do everything.  The Bible says so.  But there are limits,
aren't there?  The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be
by sending me a parcel from the homeland.
I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never,
ever received a parcel from home.  Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel,
who would put in a hot water bottle?  I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training
school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.
By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah,
was a large twenty-two pound parcel.  I felt tears pricking my eyes.  I
could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot.  We folded
the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly.  Excitement was mounting.
Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.
>From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys.  Eyes sparkled
as I gave them out.  Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy
patients, and the children looked a little bored.
Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas-that would make a batch of
buns for the weekend.  Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could
it really be?  I grasped it and pulled it out-yes, a brand-new, rubber hot
water bottle I cried.  I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly
believed that He could.  Ruth was in the front row of, the children.
She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have
sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled
out the small, beautifully dressed dolly.  Her eyes shone!  She had never
doubted!  Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this
dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that God really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months.  Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.  And one of the
girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before in answer
to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it that afternoon.
"Before they call, I will answer!" Isaiah 65:24 Please share this amazing
story with as many others as you can.  Our God really IS .  .  .  AN AWESOME
GOD!  Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.  Let's continue
praying for one another.  Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this
right now.  I am asking You to minister to their spirit at this very moment.
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy.  Where there is self
doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability to work through them.
Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I ask You to give them
understanding, guidance, and strength as they learn submission to Your
leading.  Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by
revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You.
Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage.
Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it, and break its hold over my
friend's life.
Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and
friends to support and encourage them.  Give each of them discernment to
recognize the evil forces around them, and reveal to them the power they
have in You to defeat it.  I ask You to do these things in God's name.
Amen.

P.S.  Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both.
Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something God would do

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May God continue to bless you and your family always.

My personal page: http://www.geocities.com/angelique_b33
My spiritual page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lean_On_Him/

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