One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but inspite
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)
and no special feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly witht reacherous
drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the
cotton wool 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; 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. 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 the 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 water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby'll be dead,
so please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of
the prayer, she added by way of corollary, "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 hotwater 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 verandah, was a
large twenty-two 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 nice batch of buns for the
weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the... could itreally be? I
grasped it and pulled it out - yes! A brand-new, rubberhot 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, Mummy, and give this
dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"
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
when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody
You want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible
