Prayers of Faithful Believers

Wednesday morning, Lauren went down for a nap at 8:50am. At 11:15am she woke up crying with a fever of 102. By the afternoon, she had no strength, her fever had risen to 104 and she was not well. After some wise counsel, I packed a bag and took Lauren to Minga Stop Mission Hospital, approximately 30 minutes from our home in Nyimba. The entire drive, I was tense, stressed, and praying so hard that the VSO doctor from the UK would be there to see Lauren.
We arrived and as we got out of the truck the Zambians who were waiting in line to see the doctor stared in amazement that a white person would bring their baby to the doctor there. I was so tired, upset, and stressed about the situation that I began to cry as we filled out the paper work for Lauren. In this culture, crying is not something that is openly accepted, there is a time and a place for crying and at the hospital with a sick baby, is not the place. I cried despite their plea with me "amai, musalire!" (please stop crying), I had to let out my emotion and it happened to be there.
We got her information and went to sit in line to wait for the doctor. After 5 minutes of waiting, a young woman walked around the corner with a bright smile on her face and said to me, "hello, is this Lauren, I will see her after this patient." My heart was full of joy and relief. This may sound crazy to those who have never been in the village of Africa, but to find a good doctor, in the bush of Zambia, is a miracle of the Father, Himself. It was so relieving to speak English and be able to explain in depth the problems facing your child's health. Laura (the doctor) was so gentle and patient with Lauren and took her time with her and made me feel very confident and at ease with her diagnosis. Lauren had a double ear infection and tonsilitis. Laura asked me to keep her fluids going and Tylenol and if her fever didn't go down to bring her back to the hospital at night.
We arrived home at 4:30pm from the hospital. Lauren's temperature was 102, eventually 104. By 9pm that night, Kendall and I were debating on whether I needed to drive at night (which is VERY dangerous in Africa) and take her back to see Laura. We knew that so many people were praying for her and we knew that God was hearing our prayers, and we wanted to have a word from Him whether or not to take her.
We called our good friend, Kevin and told him about our decision to drive at night to take her back to the hospital. Kevin prayed for Kendall and I and he specifically prayed that God would touch Lauren and break her fever and that there would be a dramatic change in her before I even stepped foot into the truck. We said "amen" and I went to get Lauren from the bed to pack her to go. I got her and we began to wipe her down with warm washcloths. Kendall then took her temperature and it was 103.5. I said goodbye to Kendall and grabbed her bags and headed for the door. I took 20 steps to the door approximately 5 minutes after we prayed and Kendall stopped me and said, "let's check her one more time before you go"...we prayed out loud as he took her temperature. Lauren's fever had broken for the first time that day...it was 98.7. We were amazed, astonished, and overwhelmed. We praised the Lord, Lauren was smiling and laughing and playing with the dogs and for the first time all day she was able to hold her head up. The rest of the night, we talked about how we would have never seen the hand of the Lord touch our child so mightily if we didn't have our network of friends and family that loved us enough to pray for her at a moment's notice. Living in a remote area is not easy, but I know one thing, Kendall and I would never have experienced prayer like this if we had not of lived here. Since we moved to Zambia, we have  learned so much about TRUE dependence on the FATHER for His healing touch. We had been giving Lauren Tylenol and Motrin for 12 hours and nothing had worked, but the prayers of faithful warriors and the answer from a merciful and loving God brought immediate healing to our precious baby girl. Since that moment, her fever has been non-existent. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS MERCY AND FAITHFULNESS IN ALL THINGS!


"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day,Nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever."     Psalm 121