Hospital ministry

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit a local hospital with 3 of the FYMs here in Mexico. These gals have been visiting this hospital twice a week for the past 8 months and have had some incredible experiences. I was blessed by their love for the patients here. Many times they only see a person one time then find them released by the time they return, but this does not deter them from pouring into them the love of the Father.

In the parking lot, we donned our white coats and prayed before entering the hospital. Apparently the white coat is an all-access pass into the hospital wards. Many times the patients mistake the girls for doctors and that usually produces a humorous situation. Our first stop was the pediatrics ward.

Here we met Cilia who was staying with her 11 month old granddaughter named Ana Karen. Ana Karen is very sick, but the doctors don’t know why yet. Cilia told us that her stomach started swelling up and before long she wasn’t playing, crawling, or eating. We could see her inflamed torso under the small sheet covering her. She was hooked up to IV meds and also had a tube in her nose to drain out excess fluids. She was asleep most of the time we were there visiting with Cilia, but woke up towards the end of our visit. It was evident that she was ill as she lethargically laid there. It seemed that even to cry was a huge strain on her tiny body.

We had a good visit with Cilia and she shared with us things about her life…where she lived and information about her colonia (slum neighborhood) and her family. After sitting for hours in a hospital room, she seemed eager to talk to anyone. She told us how bored she had been, and with her unable to read it’s been hard for her to find something to pass the time. We learned that Ana Karen’s mom is a 15 year old single mom, and if I were to guess, I would say Cilia could only be 32 or 33 years old herself. Cilia stood there and stroked Ana Karen’s head as she cried faintly. You could see the helplessness & worry on Cilia’s face for her loved granddaughter. We visited for awhile then decided to pray for Ana Karen and Cilia before we went. As we prayed tears ran down Cilia’s face and when we asked how we could specifically pray for her, Cilia had no requests…only that Ana Karen would get better. Our hearts broke as we cried out to the Father to heal this small child. We trust Him with this precious life and pray that He brings healing to Ana Karen and hope to her family.

We stopped in a few more rooms on the pediatrics ward then visited the surgery ward. We then stopped by to see a friend who had just delivered her son 2 days prior. The girls were really grateful to have the opportunity to meet baby Brandon and speak briefly with his mother, Clara.

It was a great afternoon where God gave us the opportunity to love, encourage, pray over, and speak life to people whom are so in need of the His touch.