Homeless Resident

Last Friday after going to a school we had planned on going to a hospital to pray over people. I don’t like hospitals even in the U.S. so I was a little hesitant. When we arrived we threw around suggestions like the Cancer ward or the Geriatrics ward. Pastor said that he had already picked out a place; we keep walking and circle up around the door. The sign read: Pediatric Acute health center. We walk in and it was unbelievable the amount of patients that were lined up and down in rows all in one giant room. There were probably fifty little cribs in one room. We spread out and had groups of three girls with one translator. Asking the mom what the child was ill with and how long and how old they are.

Many kids were sick with Malaria and Sickle Cell disease. We would pray that God would remove their pain and sickness on his time and that hope would shine bright in their life. My group got sectioned the Nicu and looking at these babies who are weeks early and the size of a softball. An hour later we walked out. Every girl had this frozen expression as they sat outside the building being emotionally drained. Expecting to leave and go back to the compound pastor surprised us once again when he took us to a second ward. It read child ward. That means that these people have been there for longer. It was draining praying over these people who had been there for many weeks or some many months and there’s nothing we can do. Us three walked up to a little eight-year girl. Her mom and her aunt had been at her bedside.

She stood out from the second we laid eyes on her. She wore a big poofy blue dress. She also was so severely shy that she wouldn’t even give a simple yes or no. So her mom would be the one to answer our questions. She had a spinal cord injury and her liver had failed and her body wasn’t producing any more blood. We found out she loved to sing so in the middle of this crowded room full of many sick people we start jamming out to Jesus Loves Me. We might be selling our next album on itunes soon. She would not smile though. That’s all I wanted. She would avoid all eye contact. As our last patient we were aloud to pray over before we had to leave, her mom and aunt had thanked us continuously. Okay backstory time, my brothers girlfriend, Lizzie gave me this necklace from her most recent trip to Italy. It was the only tangible thing I took with me on my trip that reminded me of home, and my family. I had worn it every single day on the trip and many kids would play with it when I held them in my arms. We walked out of the ward and were walking through one of the hallways to reach the outside of the hospital. We were walking and out of nowhere I had started shouting for my leader Kelly. After the eighth time of yelling her name she turned and asked what I needed. I told her I had to go back and finish something very important. I looked confused and honestly didn’t know what I was doing. My friends Amie and Kate went with me to see what I was doing. I walk back into the ward and almost this drunkenness, and daze came over me. I stopped walking and what seemed as everyone’s eyes watched me walk past rows of beds to the little girl in the blue dress. Her mom and aunt looked worried that I had came back. I told them I had this tugging at my heart from God that I needed to give this girl my necklace. As I put it on her and latched it together I busted out crying. The little shy girl that wouldn’t look us in our eyes looked straight at me and gave me the sweetest smile and this quiet almost perfect sounding “thanks” escaped her mouth. I cried even harder. Not anything against the other kids but I had wanted God to truly heal her immediately. I wanted nothing but her to be healthy and walk out without pain. After crying and fanning my puffy eyes, this regret and missing the necklace came over. It was my one reminder and piece of home. This realization washed over me that I don’t have a home. God calls us to pick up our cross and follow him. My home is with my Father and my Father is always with me. This gave me peace. God is my home. My comfort. I will continue praying for that little girl. The next day, Pastor Molunday had told us that the nurses there didn’t want us to come in and pray for people and the next day they called back. They kept thanking us for what we did because the very next day three kids walked out of that hospital healed. Their names weren’t given but everything in me wants it to be that girl in the blue dress. I haven’t been touched by someone that way that little girl touched my heart. That smile is grained in my mind and it makes me smile each time I think of her.