I met Julia on March 1st, 2013. This was my journal entry:
As I was leaving a section of El Rosario called Paraiso (Paradise), an older lady was standing outside her doorway, waving me down.
It was the end of the day, and I knew she would be asking for something I probably couldn't give. We had no budget to buy water filters, help with medical needs, or build houses.
She had a sweet smile and seemed desperate... so I stopped.
Julia spoke quickly, which challenged my basic Spanish.
"It's ok. I'm not leaving. Can you tell me again... but slower?"
Julia explained that her mother and husband were both bedridden and sick. "Could you pray for them?"
I felt like the worst missionary ever. I almost didn't stop because I didn't want to tell yet another person, "I can't."
Her mother is 86 years old and can’t see. She's lying in bed and complaining about pain in her body.
“Where's the pain?” I asked.
“Everywhere.”
I prayed over her in English, "Take her pain from her Lord. Give her peace. Thank You for bringing me here today. I'm sorry. Help me to be more compassionate, Lord. I want to serve You. I want to love them. Show me, Lord. Amen."
She then took me to what I would call a shed. It was a small room detached from the house. It had dirt floors and no windows. It was hot and muggy. This is where her husband was lying.
I didn't ask, but Julia's husband had to be in his 80s. Maybe a little younger than her mom.
I sat down on the bed next to him.
"How are you feeling?"
He could barely get a word out, "Muriendo." ("Dying")
Julia said, "He's not eating, and he won't get out of bed. I don't know what's wrong with him." Julia looked exhausted, like she could cry at any moment.
I had no idea what I could do, so I prayed a desperate prayer. I prayed for a miracle.
I went back to visit Julia the following week and was SHOCKED to see her husband sitting on a chair outside, soaking in the sun. He wasn't only alive, but he wore a little smile as the sun hit his face.
Julia told me he started eating the day after we visited him, and this morning, he asked to sit outside. Crazy. Praise the Lord.
That was more than 10 years ago. Today, Julia's mom is 96 years old and lives in a nearby village with Julia's sister. Julia's husband lived five more years and passed away in his sleep.
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