The last night we were in Machanga a group of us went to the hospital to pray for patients. We got there after dark, so the first room we went into we could not see the patients clearly. There were 4 beds and a small aisle to walk in, the room was no bigger than a walk-in closet. Two people were laying in beds and three were sitting on one of the beds. All 12 of us crammed in, but before we could start singing we were told we would have to leave. The administrator that was there that night was not a Christian and didn’t want us there. Jaco explained that the other administrator had said we could come, but he wouldn’t listen. We immediately began to pray which led to us singing and while we were singing Jaco came back and said we could stay, Praise The Lord! So we sang a few songs, then Jaco presented the gospel and we prayed for them. Four out of five raised there hands to say that they wanted to accept Christ, but while Jaco was leading them through the prayer to accept Christ, the man who did not raise his hand was repeating everything he said. He did not have the strength to raise his hand but he wanted Christ in his life! I felt God moving in that room as we prayed.
The next room was bigger and had 8 beds that were filled with women. Again we sang, Nate presented the gospel and we prayed. The thing that stuck out to me in this room was that one of the women was laying down, curled up in a ball and when she rolled over she had a baby with her. We were in the midst of people with various sickness, diseases, coughs, colds and whatever else and there is this baby! You could tell that the mother was not well. She tried to feed her baby, but I don’t think there was any life for the baby to suck out of her. It broke my heart. The lady in the bed next to her just sat there with a blank stare. She barely moved. I grabbed her hand, after praying for her, and she tried to squeeze, but had only a little strength.
The third and final room was for sick children, but there mothers stayed in the hospital with them. One of the babies, probably newborn, had a terrible cough; he didn’t stop coughing the entire time we were there. Another child, probably 2 years old, was full of energy and was all over the place. When I put my hand on him to pray his skin had bumps all over it. I don’t think it was a rash, just tiny bumps everywhere. He won my heart:) He grabbed my hand and kept trying to rub off my white skin, then we started playing. His mother looked worn down and burdened. When they said the prayer to accept Christ, she was very eager to repeat the prayer. By the time we left even she was laughing with her little boy and me as we gave hi-fives. He kept grabbing my hand and didn’t want to let me go. He was precious!
I don’t know the effect of our prayers. I don’t know if anyone was immediately and miraculously healed. I do know that many people wanted the hope that Christ provides. We did what we came to do, tell people of Jesus and his power to save and to heal and to pray for them. Jesus has the next step to do the saving and the healing!
God,
Heal all those people we talked to and prayed with. For those who repented of their sins and chose to follow you, guide them by your Spirit. Send people from your body to teach them more about you and how much you love them. Let your name be glorified all over that area! Amen!
