Fair warning : The next story is a bit graphic.
Later that day, we returned from the hospital to the field where we played and shared the love of Jesus with the kids from Ocean View. I had met a few girls the day before at their house across the street. I’d see them sitting by their gate watching us play, they were shy and didn’t want to come join us, so I went over there to try and get them to warm up. I learned that they loved Lunch Bars, a chocolate bar sold here that has peanuts and other good stuff in it. So, I had gotten them some Lunch Bars that I needed to give them when I got back. I went over to their house and found them sitting where we were the day before. Finally they had decided they wanted to come across the street and play with us.
Tepewa, one of the girls, ran inside to change her clothes and I stayed to wait with her friend Shisnay. Then I heard a lady yell “hello,” from across the street at the day care. The day care is fenced off, there is a big black metal fence around it and it is not in use right now because it was being remodeled. I thought for sure she wasn’t talking to me, so I went back to my conversation with Shisnay. Then again I heard “hello? Can you come help?” Then I see she is trying to get out of the gate. So I ran over to help her. I look at her and see that she was only wrapped in a blanket and was very dizzy. I thought she was drunk. She tells me she has a problem and reveals her wrist. It was cut so deep, she couldn’t hold her hand up. All the ligaments had been cut and there was blood all over and she was struggling to get the gate open. She was not drunk, she was bleeding to death. She had lost so much blood already that she couldn’t talk or stand straight. Just before she fell down she got the keys through the gate to me. There wasn’t a lock on the outside of the gate so I was struggling getting it open because I had to reach through to unlock it. A local man stopped and started helping me get the gate open. I then phoned Bradley so that he could call for help and come down and meet us. As the man was trying to get the gate unlocked, the woman was stumbling everywhere, coming to the gate and then drifting away to fall down. I felt helpless, the fence was standing in the way for me to get to her and help. She was bleeding to death before my eyes. I was trying to get her to sit down so that she didn’t hurt herself more. She was so confused and started to walk back inside, I called her to stop and wait, then she fell again and hit her forehead on the brick wall of the building.
I cannot tell you all that I was praying during this because I do not remember, but I knew the Lord had me there for a reason. I remember praying for protection over myself and whatever was about to happen, whatever needed to be said or done would be Him doing it through me. And the next moments would only impact me in the way the Lord intended and would impact me in everyway needed.
Finally, the man got the gate open! I ran to her as she was trying to stand up again. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “It’s ok, you’re ok, the Lord is here and He’s got you! He’s in this place and you are going to be just fine.” I laid her down and she asked for water. I got my Nalgene out and poured just a little bit in her mouth. She then fell flat to the ground and nothing. I heard her gargle the water and breathe in and then there was silence. Sitting on the ground holding her, I thought for sure she was dead. The blanket wrapped around her was soaked with her blood. Her wrist was cut so deep, I could only pray for the bleeding to stop, that she would be okay, and have a chance to get to know the Lord and hear Him tell her how beautiful she is. It was only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. Joslyn and Bradley were there by this time. Joslyn was on the other side of her, holding up her wrist and had it wrapped. Both of us were interceding for this girl. The Lord was telling me how much He loved her and wanted her for Himself. I could feel the heaviness and sense the battle going on for this womans soul. We kept praying, and I looked around to see a crowd had gathered around the fence outside the daycare. My team was interceding and keeping the kids busy so that they wouldn’t get too close and see everything.
We were able to get her name, which is Boliswa. We asked if we should phone anybody while we wait for the ambulance to come and she said no. I believe everything was very fuzzy for her and she was struggling to stay alive. There was so much sadness and fear around. However, she was so strong through it all while we continued to intercede and encourage her.
In a moment, after praying for a while, everything shifted. She became very responsive, had life to her again, laughing and looking around to see what was happening. She all of a sudden wanted to call several people and reach out to her family. The paramedics showed up and after taking her vitals and checking everything they told her she had lost too much blood and could only be moved by ambulance, but all the ambulances in the area were busy. They started an IV and it just meant we’d get more time to sit and hold her. Joslyn headed back to her boys and the paramedics were doing their job. Bradley was there holding the IV bag and I was on the ground holding the blankets to keep her warm, both of us still praying.
About 30 minutes went by before the ambulance got there. I got to have a few laughs with her and help bring joy into the situation. She was in the favor of the Lord and He had graciously saved her that day, she needed to know this. So, before they lifted her up onto the stretcher I asked her if I could pray over her. During the prayer the Lord broke my heart and brought tears as I prayed that Boliswa would see herself as a beautiful daughter of our King! That she always remember that day as the day the Lord allowed her time on earth to continue and that it impacts her in a way to live her life for Him.
I walked out of the gate in a little bit of shock. I was surprised at how calm and at peace I felt through all of it. Bradley got in his car and waved me over to join him. I gave a couple hugs to Tepewa and Shisnay, who were in the crowd of people that had gathered, then I went and got in the car. As soon as I shut the door the floodgates opened. I couldn’t hold back the tears. Everything that had just happened started racing through my mind. The Spirit had guided me through every second of that and now He wanted me to reflect and learn something from it.
First, He showed me the urgency in giving our life to the Lord. We don’t know when our time is and Satan is constantly battling for our soul. Until we give our life to Jesus we are not safe. Everything was taken care of for us when Jesus went to the cross. The Lord wants to fight that battle for us, because He’s already won, but we have to CHOOSE and ask for Him to. The conversation with Sev at the hospital came back to my mind. We had told him about Matthew 24 where it talks about no one, not even angels in Heaven, nor the Son knowing the time of the coming of the Lord. Nobody knows when this time ends except for the Father, we must keep watch and be ready! It doesn’t say this to scare us into choosing Jesus as our savior, but to show us that there is an urgency in it.
The second thing He showed me was compassion. Compassion for those that don’t know Him. My heart broke at the thought of this woman that I don’t even know, not making it to Heaven. It changed the way I talk to others when sharing the Gospel. He also taught me how He aligns things to work according to His perfect plan. I have already seen and heard about this so much with just coming on the World Race, hearing people’s testimonies and how the Lord worked in every little detail to get them here. He too was already preparing in leading up to the incident with Boliswa. You can see that in the stories I shared before the story of Boliswa.
I got the chance to go see Boliswa about a week and half after the incident. It was fun getting to see her, she was filled with so much joy! She greeted me with a big hug and kiss and then we got to sit and talk for a while.
What had happened that day, was she was using the sinks in the bathroom of the daycare to wash her self. The soapy water had gotten on the floor under her feet and caused her to slip. The sink on the wall must have been loose because it completely fell off the wall. When she fell, her wrist ran over that sharp part left on the wall and cut her wrist. The hospital confirmed that had she gone another 5 minutes without the help she got, she would have been dead. It is truly a miracle Boliswa is still alive. She had an operation on her wrist and is at home recovering. She will return to work on May 11.
I had never seen anything like that, but the Lord used it to impact me for the rest of my life. And He used me that day to save a life! The day I saved Boliswa’s life, is something I will Never forget!
I prayed a big prayer and in just 3 short days the Lord did this much. He has done even more in the time span we have spent here in Ocean View. Imagine what He is going to do over the next 8 months! Over the rest of my life, if I continue trusting Him in this way!
