This beautiful story was written by a doctor who worked in Africa.
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite 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). We also had no special
feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often
chilly with treacherous drafts.
One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton
wool that 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, and
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, and that 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 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 hot water bottle today. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the
baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "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 hot water
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 22-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 batch of buns for the
weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really
be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot 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 and give this dolly
to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?" Of
course, I replied!
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)
(How miraclously God works in our life!! So never for one second doubt Him!!)
