Answered Prayer

Chuck's respiratory congestion seems a bit better. Yesterday he was able to see the doctor and get an antibiotic. That is a direct answer to prayer, and I'm so thankful. Many in our offices have been fighting similar infections for weeks. I'm grateful that I've been protected from catching it.

Do you recall the quote I passed along from the 24-7 prayer room? "I must not simply do what I can; I must do whatever it takes." One of the delightful aspects of my work is to read letters from SIM missionaries. Yesterday I read one from Dr. Stephen Letchford of Zambia, and he told a story titled "Whatever It Takes." Irene Mundia was a 1970s graduate from the Mukinge Nurses Training School. She and her assistant provided medical care for Zambians at an "end-of-the-world" health center. One evening a young woman in labor came to the clinic, but it became obvious that Irene could not deliver the feet-first baby. She observed that the baby was dying and so was the mother. Irene and her assistant stopped and prayed. Then she decided to go with her small motorcycle to the nearest town, 30 miles away, to summon help. "Don't leave me," pled the woman, "or I'll die." Sensing that the woman was probably right, Irene strapped her on her back with a linen sheet, then the two of them set out on the cycle in the pitch-black night on a dirt track. By the time they reached the hospital two hours later, Irene was completely worn out and the mother was no longer responding. Although sadly it was too late for the baby, the OR team, with God's help, saved the mother's life.

Irene Mundia showed me how God's love can expand "what we can do" to "whatever it takes."

Living and loving today, by God's grace,
Carol