One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the maternity 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 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.
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 medicine stores 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. 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 the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African
children. "Please, Allah," she prayed, "Send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, Allah, as the baby
will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a corollary, "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, "Ameen?" I just did not believe
that Allah could do this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Holy Quraan says so.
But there are limits, aren't there? The only way Allah could answer would be for a package to arrive 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 veranda, was
a large twenty-two 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 cotton 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 sultanasthat
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 Allah to
send it; I had not truly believed
that He could.
The ten year old was in the front row of the children. She rushed
forward, crying out, If Allah 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, Mummy, and
give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Allah really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former school class, whose leader
had heard and obeyed Allah'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 for prayer, I will answer all prayers!"
Allah wants us to ask of Him…and he will surely answer.
Please share this amazing story with as many others as you can.
Our Allah really is………AWESOME !!!!
