Have you ever had a story that made you laugh so much you cried? Well, I have a heartfelt belly laugh for you. One of our first patients this morning was around 95. She shuffled her feet and could barely walk. She moved around with a walking stick. As she waited in triage, the only thing on her mind was getting an HIV test. Now you may find this interesting and perhaps not completely surprising considering we are in a highly HIV-endemic region of the world. But upon further questioning you will understand the humor in this story. We asked her first how old she was and she kept speaking to the interpreters, first one and then the other. Two interpreters were necessary because the first one thought she had misunderstood. However, on the contrary, as the second interpreter confirmed. When asked again the patient said that she was “older than the grasshoppers.” So unless there was some major grasshopper plague we didn’t know about, the interpreter said “but that goes back to the time of Adam and Eve.”
Well if you are laughing now, just wait. As we asked her what she needed, she answered an HIV test. She said we did not run one on her last year, so she returned this year. Well, last year we ran tests on the high risk patients and she did not fit this category. But she is like the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8 who kept coming to the judge to plead her case. Well, we asked her various questions, including her sexual history. She said not since she was a teenager. Then she continued to say as she shook her head profusely, not only did she have nothing to do with this but she never even thought about it, either. She said that her husband died when she was quite young. But she did say she had had a few boyfriends after that but none after her 20s. She had no other risks. However she was so emphatic about this HIV test, we proceeded to run it. Well, of course she was negative. As we counseled her on the results, she shuffled off happily with a big smile on her face.
Although it is a funny story, it also goes to show you how much lack of education exists in that country. The truth of this story is that every grandmother in Swaziland has been directly affected by HIV in a family member. Many of them are now taking care of their grandchildren after the parents have died. Everyone is scared of this epidemic and that is why this old widow kept pleading her case.
Well, today we saw 80 patients and five people accepted Christ. But the most incredible stories are the ones of miracles seen. One of the most incredible cases was of a woman with horrible fibroids, the size of a small watermelon. She had been scheduled for surgery last month, but due to her severe anemia they would not take her to surgery. This woman came in and we prayed with her. After we laid hands on her, they proceeded to do an ultrasound, which surprised the patient, because we found a pretty normal-size uterus (the size of a small orange). The woman cried out in joy and knew she had been healed. This is exactly like the case of the woman with the issue of the flow of blood in Luke 8:40-48. All it took was one touch from Jesus and she was instantly healed.
Later that evening, we held a healing service and we had another 25 healings, from pains of arthritis to people suffering from severe visual difficulties who after prayer could see well and read. We also had a 6-month-old child born with microcephaly (small brain), who was immobile in her legs and her left arm, but who after prayer was able to voluntarily move both her arms. We serve a great God who is moved by faith and the Word, both of which were used that day.
Wow, what an incredible day! We give praise to our Lord, Jehovah Rapha, our divine physician and healer. We owe Him all the praise and glory!
