Unwrapping Lazarus
sunken back in their sockets; her skin had lost its elasticity and her pulse was rapid. If I had been back in England I would have admitted her to hospital immediately where intravenous fluids, antibiotics and full supportive care would probably have guaranteed a happy outcome. But that was not available here. I was not even confident that anything she drank to try to rehydrate her would not be contaminated by those wretched amoebae. I was also aware that she was probably beyond the point where drinking alone could rehydrate her sufficiently. I was so frustrated. I knew how to save her life, but the facilities were not available. However, we had already seen an amazing miracle that day; surely it was time for another. We started to pray, fully expecting to see the child recover in front of our eyes. But it didn’t happen. We prayed but nothing seemed to change. How could this be? Pressure mounted as nothing happened and time passed. There was still a large queue of people waiting to see me, so reluctantly, after a period of time, I agreed that we needed to stop praying for this child and carry on seeing the rest of the people. We gave the mother the appropriate antibiotics, but I knew they would not work quickly enough; the child was nearing the point of no return. As the mother walked away, cradling her daughter in her arms, I said to the people around me that the child was going to die and probably before the day was out. I struggled to understand and struggled with my emotions. But being a “true professional� I put my feelings aside and carried on with my work. But my mind kept returning to that little girl. Eventually, everyone was seen and most seemed content that they had seen the doctor. We stored the plastic bags and I put away my stethoscope and other medical equipment. We went inside for a meal, which was very welcome after a long day. That evening there was going to be a church meeting in the chapel, worship, Bible teaching and praying for the sick, and I was the guest speaker. I was happy to try and help these people in any way I could, and telling people about Jesus is the best news that I know. If they would enter into their own relationship with God through the good news of Jesus, then they could start to discover for themselves all the resources of God available to them in their situation. I was excited 18
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