When you’re sick and in a foreign country, anxiety can plague your thoughts. Read on to see how God healed me from the monsters inside me.
The day after we arrived in Ecuador, I started having abdominal pain. It came and went for several days but didn’t seem to be getting better. Some days I would wake up feeling fine only later to be hit with crippling pain that had me sitting out of ministry for hours. At first, I thought it might be caused by the steep climb in altitude, but it kept getting worse not better as my body adjusted to the elevation. My ministry host was concerned and started talking about getting me to the clinic if the pain wasn’t resolved within another day or two. The next day I stayed home to rest. I was able to send out a text to ask for prayer from my church & family. After resting I started feeling a bit more energized but by the afternoon, I had the worst episode to date. I went to bed that night praying that if I needed to be seen by a doctor that the Lord would make it very clear.
A defining characteristic of being a nurse is not wanting to be a patient… especially in a foreign medical system. I didn’t want to go through the trouble if there was a simple solution I could figure out myself. I wanted God to show me clearly what I should do. The morning after asking the Lord to show me what to do, I woke to find out that a friend of our ministry host was stopping by, and he just happened to be a doctor. My ministry host encouraged me to consult this doctor. The doctor came, saw me, diagnosed me with an intestinal parasite, wrote down what medicine I needed to get and that was that.
How amazing is God?!?! I prayed to know whether or not I should go to the doctor and God sent the doctor to me…. CLEARLY answering my prayer and those of my community here and back home. He didn’t stop at that, though. Quito is a large city with many pharmacies and grocery stores. Two of my teammates and I went to pick up food for our team. There was a pharmacy literally next door. I was able to get the medicine I needed for $3.50. I am happy to say just over a week later I am free from abdominal pain, my energy is increasing, and my faith is strong. God really does hear our prayers & care about our individual needs. He not only answers those prayers but meets our needs in a way that proves His love and devotion to us.
Thank you to everyone back home who prayed for my health. It’s so comforting to know that you all are lifting me up & supporting me in that way. My journey here would not be possible without you.
Stay tuned for more stories from Ecuador!!!
