A few months ago, I came down with food poisoning complicated by dehydration severe enough to send me to the hospital in Benin for four days. On the first day, I received six intravenous solutions, and the medical staff placed me on a regimen of drinking seven liters of water per day to rehydrate.
I will never forget one of those nights. I was in my hospital bed, and another missionary, Nicolle, was staying to check on me during the night. That evening, she asked, ‘’Vero, what would you do if tonight was your last night in Benin.’’ I started thinking. One thought kept coming to my mind: I wanted to pray with the other patients. Before that night, I had already talked about that idea to our mission supervisor, and she told me that some people from the church had tried it before, but the staff refused. The other issue that evening was that I was too weak to stand alone and was unstable when walking. Still, I decided to talk with Nicolle about the idea.
We prayed. Then I sat on the side of my bed, put my sandals on, stood up and walked into the hallway. It was the first time since I arrived that I could walk without falling or needing someone to hold me. Nicolle and I walked to the chief nurse’s station and asked if we could pray with him. He was surprised but accepted. We prayed, and I could see at the end that the prayer touched him. Afterward, we asked if we could pray with the other patients. He glanced at me and said with a little laugh, “You are not going to be able to walk and will probably fall. Then, it is going to get difficult.”
“Can we still try?” I proposed.
He shook his head, then smiled and said, “Alright.” That night, Nicolle and I walked into the two big rooms filled with beds and patients and prayed. We even made it back to my room without me falling. Looking back on that night, we had many obstacles to overcome, but it did not stop God from acting and opening doors we thought were closed. I don’t know who else God healed as a result of our prayers, but I know He healed me.
