Isaiah 65:24
This was written by a doctor who worked in Central Africa
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward;
but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny,
premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter.. We would have
difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no
electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding
facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with
treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such
babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another
went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back
shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst
(rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).
'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the
West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it
might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do
not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you
safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from
drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.'
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers
with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave
the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them
about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm
enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so
easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old
sister, crying because her mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the
usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she
prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow,
God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she
added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for
the little girl so she'll know You really love her?'
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh,
yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so... But there
are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular
prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in
Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever,
received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot
water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the
nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my
front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on
the porch was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I
could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We
folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly... Excitement was
mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large
cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys.
Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages
for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then
came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of
buns for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the..... could it really
be?
I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot
water bottle. I cried.. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly
believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward,
crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly,
too!
'Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the
small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly
to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?'
'Of course,' I replied!
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up
by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed
God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.. And
one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months
before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it
'that afternoon'.
'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)
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