While working in the Aboriginal Community of Bagot (Darwin, Australia) I have had the privilege and honor of meeting a woman 
who’s story has touched my life. She is someone who is a bright light in an community that is full of death and destruction. She has a strength that stands firm against the toughest of odds. She is an inspiration and living proof that
there i
s hope. I would like to introduce you to JOY.
who’s story has touched my life. She is someone who is a bright light in an community that is full of death and destruction. She has a strength that stands firm against the toughest of odds. She is an inspiration and living proof thatthere i
s hope. I would like to introduce you to JOY.
Joy is an aboriginal women who lives in a community that is physically and spiritually very dark. Her people are gripped by the strongholds of addiction, violence, depression, and apathy. She is surrounded by adults and children who rarely show respect for God’s creation, themselves, or anyone else. Trash and abandoned belongings line the streets. Shouting, punching, and pulling of hair seems to be the most common way to
communicate. Joy couldn’t be more appropriately named.
The first time I met Joy, she rolled her walker up to the front of church to sing a song with us. Her smile lifted my spirits immediately, and her zest for singing was delightful. A year ago, Joy was diagnosed with cancer that could eventually spread throughout her body and take her life. She went through surgery to remove her cancer which was the size of a head of broccoli. After the operation, they discovered that there was
reminisce of the cancer that was still present in her body. Over the next week, Joy spent every night praying for God to heal her. She says ” I wasn’t worried about the sickness, because I always knew w
ho was in control- and He lives upstairs..” She mentioned that even when she was under sedation that she still felt the presence of God with her. As she continued to tell her story, she raised her voice and proclaimed “No witch doctor can cure me…Only my God can heal me!”
reminisce of the cancer that was still present in her body. Over the next week, Joy spent every night praying for God to heal her. She says ” I wasn’t worried about the sickness, because I always knew w
ho was in control- and He lives upstairs..” She mentioned that even when she was under sedation that she still felt the presence of God with her. As she continued to tell her story, she raised her voice and proclaimed “No witch doctor can cure me…Only my God can heal me!” When she returned to the doctor the following week, he asked Joy “You must have someone looking after you, don’t you?” And she replied “Why yes I do…..God.” And in that moment the doctor reported that there was no longer any trace of cancer left in her body. For years Joy was unable to walk and had use a walker to get around. She said that she prayed, ” Lord, I can’t see you…but I know you are there- I want to an walk extra mile for you..” She stood on her own during this story for the first time that I had ever seen. I was astonished and touched by the miracle in which i was just witness to.
I ask that you pray for great strength & health for Joy. As I see Joy as a catalyst to some of the few great things that are starting to spread throughout the Bagot Community. Without Joy – the sunshine would diminish in this place. I pray that her love catches like wildfire in the next generation of children. She is a true inspiration.
