The Lighthouse is our ministry site this month in Tacloban, Philippines. A large focus of theirs is conducting feedings, or Lugaw as they call in, within the community. We drive out to different neighborhoods and serve warm “Orphan Grain” to children at schools and others in the area. On Monday, October 15th after we finished a feeding, we visited with a 73 year old lady named Dita. We were introduced to her because she is known to have some health challenges and was in need of prayer and provision. She has never been to a hospital so she is not exactly sure what her diagnosis is but believes she may have arthritis in her knees and cataracts in her eyes. She used to work in order to provide for her family but has become more limited in recent years. Her children have all moved away and she only lives with one of her young grandsons who she still strives to care for. Despite the hardships she has faced, she had such a humble spirit and warm heart as she invited us into her home. We had the opportunity to lay hands on her as we prayed for healing and the Lord to continue to provide for her family, whether near of far. She was grateful we got to be there for her in that moment, and we were too.
The following Monday, we knew we were going to the same neighborhood Dita lives in and were hoping to bring her a cane so she could walk better. All she was using at that point was a thin bamboo stick. She had no access to medical equipment and probably wouldn’t be able to afford anything even if she did. Our ministry host wasn’t sure if we would be able to find one for her but decided to stop at a pharmacy that morning anyway. On our way there I prayed for God to provide a cane knowing He was the only one that could do so. It crossed my mind that if I were still working in the health care industry in Chicago I could have easily called various vendors and had one delivered. A circumstance like this, however, helps us realize that God is our ultimate deliverer and sure enough the Lord gave us three different options to choose from! I prayed over the cane and praised God for His provision before presenting it and fitting it to Dita. She was so surprised and thought we wouldn’t have even remembered her. Surely we will never forget Dita and will always keep her and her family in our prayers. She welcomed us into her home again that day and our entire team laid hands on her as we prayed for continued healing and provision. We are so fortunate to follow the example set before us “that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35
