His parents brought him to us from their home deep in the jungle. He was five weeks old, naked and struggling for air. His parents hadn’t yet named him. I was glad that I was there to help with his admission to the hospital. The staff seemed frustrated that his parents didn’t understand Tagalog. After the little boy had been tested and admitted with a diagnosis of pneumonia, I left the hospital to buy him clothes and diapers.

The poor little fellow suffered so much. I came in one morning to find his oxygen tube out of his nose and his oxygen saturation only 81% (normal is 95-100%). His fever was 104.5 degrees! The nurse contacted the doctor, and I went to buy ice so they could sponge him with cool water. They switched him to an oxygen face mask and turned up the flow to four liters per minute. His breathing was so fast—over 100 times a minute—that the doctor was afraid that he might choke if he tried to nurse. So they put a feeding tube down to his stomach and gave him milk through the tube.

Some days later, on Sabbath, I got a call from the patient’s father, Madyuti. I couldn’t understand him, so I asked my fellow missionary, Sunday, to talk with him. The baby was far too sick to go home, but Madyuti was ready to leave. “I will just treat him with our traditional medicine,” he offered. I felt very sad and worried for this little nameless boy. The situation called for earnest prayer. This same Sabbath, nearly all of the leaders from our six churches were at Mountain View Farm for a leadership retreat and training. So, praise the Lord, a group of five of us were able to go to the hospital that afternoon and pray for the baby and his family.

The little boy did better for a while. Then one day I went to visit him, and I found that his oxygen was flowing at 6 l/min., and his saturation was only 85%. His respirations were back up over 100 per minute, and his fever was up to 104.5 again! If we were in America, he would likely be on a ventilator, but no ventilators are available in the hospitals of Brooke’s Point. I texted fellow missionaries the update on his condition and asked for prayer. “It doesn’t sound like he is going to make it, short of a miracle,” one of them responded.

Today I feel like singing! The little baby, whose parents decided to name him Christian Psalm, has been discharged and is going home! Jesus has shown His healing power to this family. I pray that they will come to know Him as their Savior, too.

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