"I Believe in Miracles"

Today, we're sharing a story from Leah - a college student from the US who spent time at the Open Arms Village in Kenya this summer.

I believe in miracles. Though I had never witnessed one, I knew they happened. I know they happen all over the world, but for some reason, I have discovered that God especially likes performing miracles in Africa. Maybe it’s because the people have more faith, or maybe it’s just because my eyes are open. Whichever the case, I am so excited to share with you that today I saw my first miracle!

Last night I prayed specifically for miracles to happen, and this afternoon, God answered that prayer. In the middle of hanging my laundry this afternoon, I was notified that a child had been sent home from high school (it’s a boarding school) due to difficulty breathing. The other missionary and I dropped what we were doing, ran to the clinic to pick up a few things we might need, and went to the girl’s home. When we arrived, she was obviously in respiratory distress. She looked exhausted from trying to breathe and intervention was absolutely necessary—intervention from the Holy Spirit that is. Her pulse ox was 93 when we arrived and we determined that getting that number up and getting her to relax was our number one priority. Before any medical treatment, we put our hands on this Precious Daughter and began to pray. As we prayed, I continued to watch the number on the pulse ox, and it began to rise. Within minutes, her pulse ox was up to 99! No medication, just the healing power of Jesus Christ. Praise God!

Jesus was her Healer, but he also gave us access to medication to continue to assist her. And this is where the nurse inside of me came out. I don’t know how or why, but I wasn’t stressed by this situation in the least. I felt confident, even though I have had practically no training. It might be because God created [me] to be a nurse, so I think like one in situations like this, and it might be because asthma is part of my personal medical history, that today became part of my testimony. I believe both of these things to be true. As a child, I remember having asthma attacks, and they were absolutely terrifying, but having these scary medical emergencies at an age where I could understand the medicine prepared me for this very moment today where I was able to help someone in need. How could I understand the medicine as a second grader? It goes back to how God created me to be a nurse. And the best part is that that’s the nature of our God. He takes the pain from our past and uses it in our future. If you have not seen the pain from your past redeemed, let me remind you friend that it’s on its way! Don’t lose hope now. He never wastes a hurt.