“Pona was stung by a scorpion last night,” Joel told me as we finished a Bible-study meeting in Pelima. “Can you come and see her?”

I followed Joel to the house of an older lady who frequently attends our meetings. I found Pona sitting on the floor with her foot on a mat. She had put some sort of remedy on the sting, but she was still in a lot of pain. I asked for some charcoal. Joel’s mother got some, and Joel ground it between two rocks. I mixed the charcoal powder with water and made a paste. I then plastered it on the injury.

Before I was even done applying the paste, Pona began exclaiming that the pain was already going away. I’ve never seen charcoal work that fast before, but I didn’t argue with her. I prayed with Pona and told her how to re-wet the charcoal when it dried and reapply it. The next week, she came to my house to thank me. The pain was completely gone.

May God continue to bless our simple efforts to alleviate pain.

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