7.23 Prayers of Healing

This story actually begins Sunday July 18 in Albany, New York. Cathie and Patti invited me to their church service Sunday morning. I knew my parents would not attend, but I really wanted to go. My parents agreed to drop me off at church and then go out to lunch together afterward.

I was thankful for an opportunity to go to church before I left for Haiti. A lot of the themes in my prayer life were echoed during the service. I knew God wanted me to be there; I was grateful to spend time with Him.

This is what I wrote the evening of July 18: I must write about church this morning. I met Cathie and Patti at Christ Church Episcopal. We were prayed for by the pastor as well as the congregation. During the time to share experiences with Jesus, a man shared a story about prayer walks (?) on Friday evening. A woman named Jen felt that someone had right hip pain. She asked a couple if one of them had hip pain. The woman said yes. Jen touched her hip and prayed over her. With time and prayer, the woman's hip pain was gone. It was a glorious moment for God! Toward the end of the mass, the man who shared the story came up to Cathie and I. He told us to take his hand with both of ours. He said the gift of healing could be passed between people. We only had to ask. He began to pray and mentioned the gift of healing. I asked for the gift of healing and immediately I felt heat travel through my arms then to my core. I've asked the Holy Spirit to help me be silent, so I can listen and to be bold when I hear God's will. I ask to be removed from all that I do. May God use me fully. May He fill me up and pour out His love in Haiti as well as every day. I am humbled at the possibility of healing others through God. He'd use me for such a task? I've asked to remove myself so anything I do is attributed to God alone. Like Mother Teresa, who said the work was never hers. Whatever my body does in Haiti, it is not mine. It is God's alone.

Needless to say, while I was in Haiti I was looking for opportunities of prayerful healing.

On the morning of July 23, Adam, Kristen, Joel, Ally, Zick, Ernst, and I walked around a tent city. We met people and asked to pray for them. This is what I wrote about the experience: Then we met Vanessa, Dahlia, and their baby. I talked with them. Vanessa asked for prayer, because she was sick. I put my hand on her shoulder and prayed for her. My hand felt warm. I trust God to heal her. I will continue to pray for her. Then we met Alisha and her mother Geraldine. Alisha was under debris after the earthquake. She has a fever. The medicine has not helped. I prayed for her, then Ally prayed for her. Then we found out that Alisha needs surgery. Something is swollen near her pelvis. I prayed for her again.

When praying for Vanessa and Alisha, I felt led by the Holy Spirit. The words did not always flow like water, but it felt natural. I will continue to pray for Alisha and Vanessa. I trust God is healing them and protecting them.

I also prayed for a woman named Michelle. She asked we pray for her family, to keep her strong in God, and to be protected. Praying for her felt natural. It was such a blessing to walk through the tent city and pray for the people we met. They shared part of their life with us. We are all connected through Jesus--to God and to each other.

Please join me in praying for Vanessa, Alisha, and Michelle. Consider going to Haiti to live in God's presence and to make new friends in Christ.

[photo credit: Adam McLane; the picture is of me with my hand on Alisha's head]