THE HEART OF ASIAN OUTREACH / Peter U | Chairman
A well-known and wealthy man was walking
one evening and he bent down and picked a coin from the curb. A lady standing
nearby noticed it was a single darkened penny that someone had dropped. He held
it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great
treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would
he even take the time to stop and pick it up? So, she asked him directly why he
had picked up that dirty coin. A smile crept across the man's face as he
reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see.
She looked at it and said: "United
States of America". "No, not that; read further." "One
cent?". "No, keep reading." "In God we Trust?"
"Yes!" "And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on
a coin. Whenever I find a coin, I see that inscription. It is written on every
single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message
right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I
see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust is in God at that moment.
I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him”.
2020 has been a year fraught with
unimaginable disaster that invaded our lands like an unseen enemy, moving
stealthy among us, never knowing where it would strike next. Nearly 10 months
into the year the uncertainty and fear still prevail. All of a sudden, COVID-19
went from being something that dominated the news but seemed far away, to
something that now dominates our thoughts in every waking moment and feels very
real. We are all trying to adapt to this new reality in the hope that the
pandemic will end soon, although it is impossible to predict how long it will
last and what consequences it will have for all. But in the midst of this
pandemic storm God is calling people to rise up in faith and turn to Him,
trusting Him completely with our lives.
In a little village in India a couple
waited in eager anticipation and though worried about the COVID-19 their hearts
were filled with joy. Nothing could rob them of this joy. After six years of
praying for a child they were finally going to be parents. Ps Swalsing and his
wife Sunitha were so excited and waited eagerly for the day when they would be
able to hold their baby and the day finally arrived. On 3 August 2020, Sunitha gave birth to a beautiful
baby boy. As they held their baby, they were so overcome with love for him and
thankfulness to the Lord for giving them this wonderful ‘gift’ and they named
him Samuel.
The baby was weak and had some breathing difficulties
and on the third day however, little Samuel developed a fever and doctors broke
the bad news to them that the baby had also developed a lung infection. The
hospital, already overwhelmed by the pandemic, did not have the necessary
expertise to help little Samuel. They told his parents that there was not much
hope and they were doing all they could. Can you imagine how the parents felt?
They were shattered and immediately contacted their coordinator, Ps Paul and asked
him to pray for Samuel. They too went on their knees to pray, believing that
God is in control and only He held Samuel in His hands.
Ps Paul, our AO partner in Chennai
immediately texted us urgently to pray and as soon as we received the text, we
requested out intercessors, co-workers and donors who were communicating with
us on WhatsApp to pray for little Samuel. We are truly grateful and thankful to
all of you who prayed with us and some of you who also reached out to help with
little Samuel’s medical expenses.
The hospital wanted to discharge the baby
as they could not treat him but Ps Swalsing pleaded with them so they put the
baby on life support. However, they warned Ps Swalsing and his wife that this
would only be for a few days. So, baby Samuel, continued treatment at the government
hospital, and with the funds they received they were able do all the scans,
tests at private hospitals whenever needed and most of the medicines prescribed
were purchased outside. The hospital held no hope for the baby and they warned
the parents that he was not expected to survive. It was a trying time for the
couple but their faith never wavered and they kept praying and trusting God for
a miracle. Luke 18:27: “Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man
is possible with God.”
God began to work a miracle in Samuel and
his fever came down and his lung infection began to clear much to the surprise
and amazement of the doctors attending to him in the NICU. Two weeks after his
birth Samuel finally went home completely healed and well. He continues to grow
stronger daily and his parents thank God every day for little Samuel, and like
Samuel in the bible, his parents have dedicated their son to the Lord. Ps
Swalsing and Sunitha want to give back to God this child that has been
entrusted to them and to acknowledge their dependence on God for wisdom,
strength, patience, love and most of all to promise to raise their son up in
the fear and knowledge of the Lord.
The age of miracles is not over for those
who trust in Him. The time of divine healing is here and now and God is moving
and acting today. Just have faith and trust in Him, that is all it takes. We
pray that He moves in your life and in your needs! We can rest secure in faith
that God, who is the God of miracles, hears our prayers; even our prayers for
healing. He is an almighty God, not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart
from His will. There are so many stories in the Bible of people who had faith
and trusted in Him:
John 5:1-17 – “A man who had had an infirmity for 38 years, picked up his mat and
walked away a healthy man.”
Mark 7:32-35 – “Jesus put His fingers into the ears of a man who was deaf
and had a speech impediment. He sighed, said, “Be opened,” and his ears were
opened and he could speak plainly.”
Matthew 9:20–22 – “The woman with the issue of blood had faith to believe
that even if she touched the hem of His garment she would be healed and she was.”
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