So it was supposed to be our last day for hospital visits.
As promised, I returned to my girlfriends to follow up. I saw Joyce and she
immediately brightened up and welcomed me. I went to her and gave her a hug. I
asked how she was and she said better. She also said she appreciated us coming
back. God just wanted me to tell her over and over that she was beautiful and
that she was worthy of love- His love! I sat with her and asked if we could pray
for her again. With a huge smile on her face she said yes. But before I prayed,
God lead me to ask 
her if she wanted to lay her life down and follow Christ.
Without much hesitation and with a bashful smile, she said yes.
She became a disciple of Christ! She was raised from the
dead- that is, her old self! Praise God!! I did a little dance to show her that
angels in heaven were dancing with us! She laughed and smiled. I was reminded
of a song I just heard by John Mark McMillan, “skeleton bones stand at the
sound of eternity on the lips of the found and gravestones roll to the rhythm
of the sound of you…so separate those doors and let the Son of resurrection
in.�
I saw the other ladies we met the day before and prayed for
them. Rose Mary was still in so much pain. But she had two relatives with her
that were believers so we encouraged them to continue to love on and speak
truth over Rose Mary. Before I prayed for her, she was very upset because of
the pain. But by the end of the prayer, she was completely relaxed. It’s cool
to see God provide peace for people through their torment. Rose Mary’s story gets even more encouraging though…
Then, we walked to the bed of little Grace. She is 10 years
old and has malaria. I’ve come to find that when I say things to the patients
like, “laughter is the best medicine� and “you have a great smile, keep
smiling� it really does change their whole demeanor. Whenever I can make a joke
or make fun of myself I’ll do, just to see them smile. When a sick and
suffering person smiles, it’s a sign that God exists and that there is hope. So
there I was, trying my darndest to make Grace laugh. I was trying to make small
talk about soccer, school, anything, but she just looked at me like I was some
crazy white girl with a stupid smile on her face. After it seemed that my
attempts at conversation, making fun of myself, and trying the whole “laughter
is the best medicine� were just words, I gave in a just prayed for her. She
willingly accepted the prayer and we went on our way. But this story isn’t
really about Grace.
Just at the right moment, Doska came into the room and was
placed into the bed next to Grace’s at the end of our prayer. If she didn’t
come to that bed, we would have walked to the next room. But God, the Amazing
Orchestrator that He is, sat her there in the bed closest to the door for a
reason. Oh and he made me look like a fool in front of Grace-going on and on
about stuff that wasn’t connecting with her-in order to buy time for Doska. You
see, God had a Divine appointment for us. Doska came to the hospital after
being beaten by her husband, who had every intention of killing her had she not
gotten away. She had blood on her lips, blood splattered on her shirt and she
was shaken up and in a lot of pain. She eventually told us that 
he had badly hurt
her hips and legs. She couldn’t move her legs and every time she had to move, due
to discomfort, she grimaced in pain. Doska is a tailor. She made money using
her sewing machine. But her husband destroyed that while he was beating her. He
was partly angry with her because she was providing for herself with making
clothes (even though he wouldn’t provide necessities for her). So there we
were, sitting on a hospital bed with our sister in Christ, who was battered and
bruised. She is the only Christian in her family. Her family members hate that
she’s a Christian and they persecute her because she is a Christian. But now my
sister doesn’t have anywhere to go. No family and she can’t go back to her
husband, children, or home.
I never thought twice. We have to do something. And we will.
She will have a place to go when she gets out of the hospital. Do I know where
that will be or how it’s going to happen? No. What I do know though, is that my
sister is beaten, she doesn’t have anything, and her clothes are ruined. As her
sister in Christ, I have to do something. I believe that God will open up a
door for Doska and that she will be safe. She will get back on her feet in the
name of Jesus. Doska is a child of God, made in His image. She is worthy of
love and through Christ she will come to know that about herself! Please pray
for Doska!
