Healing Service

Every week pretty much every church in town holds a healing service.  People come from all over to attend these services.  People that have hardly anything pay to ride the taxi to come.  Very sick people leave their homes only once a week to attend these services.  People that can not walk are carried by their family or friends for miles so they can attend these services.  I always heard these stories but I experienced it for the first time last Wednesday.

I had never attended these services because, honestly, they made me nervous.  I don’t like big crowds of people (sometimes 600 people will cram into a little church), I don’t always enjoy church services here (that is a whole other blog in itself I will write later) so why would I want to attend a second service a week?

But Donna (a friend from the USA that is here serving with BCI for two weeks) was scheduled to preach and pray for people at Zion’s healing service.  So I went with a few other missionaries and I am very glad that I did.  Donna, Mussie, and I sat on the front row which means that when Donna went to preach Mussie went with her to translate I was sitting all alone on the front row.  Donna gave a very powerful message about God’s healing powers and then she started walking around the church laying hands on everyone and praying for them.

Shortly after she left the podium to walk around the room chaos erupted.  I believe that people can be demon-possessed but I have never seen it nor do I know anything about it.  I believed it was possible because the Bible says it is but now I believe it is possible because I have seen it.  I am not going to go into all the details of what I saw but basically by the end of the service there were about 6 people that came to the front that I believe to be demon-possessed.  I have never seen bodies move in that way.  I have never heard such loud or scary screams.  I have never seen a woman that can’t weigh more than 110lbs throw four big men off of her like they were rag dolls.

It was a very scary experience because I was sitting on the very front row about 10ft from these people.  But mainly it was scary because I didn’t know what was going on.  This is an area of darkness that I have never witnessed before.  Demon-possession is rarely talked about in the United States.  I am not sure why.  Why does it seem that some countries are more susceptible to demon-possession than others?  Do you think we have it in the USA but it is hidden?  I have decided that I need to read and study about this topic.  It is very prevalent here so I need to be educated.  If you have any resources that may help me I would greatly appreciate it.  

I would like to attend future healing services-not to witness more demon-possessed people, but because I want to see God’s miracles.  I was so caught up in the drama of what was unfolding in front of me that I didn’t pay attention to the people that were there needing other healing.  It was a very powerful experience.  It is hard to write this blog because my thoughts are so scattered and unsure.  I don’t really know how to end this so I will just post a few pictures.

Yebsira Girma

In one day Yebsira Girma’s life changed.  She just finished eating dinner with her family and then it happened.  She had a grand mal seizure.  Her mom, Yesunesh, didn’t know what to do.  She had never seen a seizure before.  Yebsira’s mom, brother, and sister were able to carry her to the clinic that is approximately one-half of a mile from her home.  The doctor gave Yebsira medicine to stop her seizure.  When she woke up and saw her mom’s worried face she started to cry.  She was just an eleven year old girl who had no idea what happened to her.  All she knew is she woke up to see her mother crying and praying over her.

Three years later, Yebsira is a very sweet, fun sixth-grader.  Yebsira has been through many struggles these past three years.  After her first grand mal seizure she went through many tests.  The doctors were not able to find a cause of her seizures but they did find something.  They found a heart condition.  Yebsira has a hole in her heart that causes the blood to back up in her heart before it flows through her arteries.  Other than making her tired, her heart condition does not cause her any problems right now so the doctors are only monitoring this condition for any change.

Yebsira’s mother was overwhelmed with not only one diagnosis for her young daughter, but two.  Yesunesh is unable to work because she cares for her father who is very old and can not do anything for himself.  Yesunesh moved her three small children into her parent’s home when her husband died ten years ago.  Yesunesh kept asking God “how can I provide the care for Yebsira that she needs?”.  Yesunesh’s situation may look bleak to some but she knows that God will not forsake her and her family.  Yebsira’s life is precious and Yesunesh believes that God will provide for all of their needs.

Yebsira has had to have specialized care over the past three years.  Her seizures were getting out of control and there seemed to be no end in sight.  Yebsira wasn’t just having one seizure here or there, she was having as many as six in one day.  The average number she would have in one day was four and then three or four days later she would have approximately four more seizures in the same day.  The seizures were beginning to take a toll on her young body.  She was having intense headaches, memory troubles, and muscle spasms.  

Yebsira’s mother was desperate to find help for her daughter.  Before her seizures started, Yebsira was admitted into the Blessing the Children (BCI) program in 2008.  After her seizures started missionaries began to ask how they could help Yebsira and her family.  Over the years, missionaries have helped to pay some of Yebsira’s medical and drug expenses.  But even with all the help from the doctors and missionaries Yebsira’s condition started to fail.  Yesunesh decided to step out in faith and take Yebsira to a specialist in Addis.  

Yesunesh was given some money from Blessing the Children Canada (BCC) but she still didn’t have enough.  She decided to borrow money from friends and family.  The medical tests were very expensive and even though the doctors still were unable to find a cause for her seizures they did change her medicine.  Yebsira was given the new medicine approximately three months ago and her life has been radically changed since then.

It has been three months since Yebsira has had a grand mal seizure.  Yesunesh never gave up on her child or God.  Even though she couldn’t afford it, she fought to find help for her child.  Recently, Yebsira was down to her last pill and the family didn’t know where the next supply would come from but they never doubted God.  After Yebsira took her last pill they got word that a long-term missionary in Debre Zeit had just sent Mussie (Missionary Team Coordinator and Assistant Director for BCI) to Addis to pick up a new supply for her.  

Yebsira is a wonderful girl that is strong in her faith.  She is a fighter.  She tries her best not to let her condition affect her quality of life.  When asked how much school she has missed due to her condition she said that she always goes to school.  Not only does she not want to miss school but she doesn’t want her other relatives to know about her condition.  

Yebsira, her mom, and two siblings live in Yebsira’s grandparent’s compound.  Yebsira’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are not believers in Jesus Christ.  She doesn’t want her family to know about her health issues because she doesn’t want them to doubt God.  She is afraid that they will say “if your God heals people, why won’t He heal you”.  God may choose not to heal Yebsira but Yebsira is now able to tell her family that God is providing for her medical care when it looked impossible.  She is now able to tell her relatives that her God does the impossible.

It is absolutely impossible for Yesunesh to purchase the medicine and laboratory tests that Yebsira needs.  Here are the medical costs that Yesunesh must find a way to provide for:

*Yebsira needs a checkup every three months.  Just to get in to see the doctor is 100 birr ($6).

*The doctor may order laboratory tests during these checkups.  The cost varies but the average is 280 birr ($16).

*Yebsira has to have a brain EEG every seven months.  This costs 500 birr ($30).

*Yebsira’s new medicine costs 1200 birr ($71) for a month and a half supply.

There is no possible way that Yesunesh can afford the above costs.  Even if Yesunesh had a job she still wouldn’t be able to afford it.  The average income of an unskilled woman in Ethiopia is approximately 500 birr a month ($30).  BCI is also unable to cover all of Yebsira’s medical costs.  We need to find someone who would like to help Yebsira by purchasing her medicine every month and a half.  If you would like to help Yebsira, either by giving a one-time gift or a monthly gift, please contact Melissa Strawn at melissa@blessingthechildren.org.

When asked how this condition makes her feel Yebsira said “I feel sad because it makes me different from everyone else”.  Yebsira is a young girl that has a lot of dreams and ambitions but she can not succeed if she is having four to six seizures a day.  Yebsira needs to stay on this new medicine, this is not an option.  When asked how her life has changed in the past three months she said:

“My life has changed a lot since receiving the new medicine.  I am able to play football with my friends.  I love football but I could not play before because of my seizures.  I am also able to learn now.  I always went to school before but I spent a lot of time sleeping in the nurse’s room.  I am now staying with my classmates and learning.  I enjoy school.  Civics and English are my favorite classes.  I want to be a doctor so I can help poor people.”

Yebsira is a determined girl that refuses to give up.  She is very thankful that people have helped her and she has faith in God that he will continue to provide for her.  She knows that even when the situation looks bleak, her God always shows up.

Care packages

Lately, I have had a few people ask what the kids and I need/want over here.  I thought I would post it publicly in case anyone else was wondering.  

Care packages are always welcome! Here are things that are always needed (for the kids):

*Children's chewable vitamins (this is a HUGE need)

*Dry-erase markers

*Arts and crafts supplies

*Underwear for kids (especially teenager-sized)

Here are things that are always wanted (by me):

*Canned meat (tuna, salmon, chicken-packaged in water)

*Tuna in the single-serving packets like Starkist or Bumble Bee

*Spices (garlic salt, garlic powder, minced garlic, onion salt, onion powder, minced onion, chili powder, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, etc)

*Nuts (almonds (plain and flavored), pistachios, walnuts)

*Starbucks VIA

Care packages can be mailed to:

Blessing the Children

c/o Jonnett Barrick

PO BOX 1465

Debre Zeit, East Shoa, Ethiopia

The best way to send packages is through the US Postal Service with their flat rate priority boxes.  I know shipping is costly but all care packages are greatly appreciated (probably more than you know!)!

Ineffectiveness

Do you ever feel ineffective?  Do you ever match your talents and skills to someone else’s and think “Why am I here trying to serve when there are others who are more talented?”.  That happens to me sometimes.  I don’t let these thoughts permeate my brain because I do know that they are lies from the devil but sometimes he is sneaky and he gets in my head.

It usually happens when I have a specific project to do or something important to work on.  When these thoughts happen I try to focus on the gifts that God has given me.  Sure, on the outside they may not look as “great” as other peoples gifts but I have to remind myself sometimes that God uses everyone and he doesn’t think some gifts are better (or worse) than others.  The Bible tells us in Romans 12:4 that the church is like the human body-all parts are necessary and one part can’t perform the function of the other part.  So whenever you think that you are not “good” enough to serve God just remember that He has called you for a specific purpose.  He has not called you for someone else’s purpose-He has called you for your own purpose.

These are just my random thoughts for a Sunday morning.  Let’s keep the devil and his lies out of our minds and focus on why God has placed us where He has.  Let’s open our eyes and view the world around us and find opportunities to serve God.  And maybe He wants you to serve in a capacity that you never dreamed possible.  If this happens just have faith that if God has called you, he will equip you.