Life as a missionary was definitely filled with some unforgettable life changing moments. Moments that you still look back on 10 years later and think "wow God what an honour it was to be used like that."
One of those moments happened when I was co-leading an outreach team with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in South East Asia. Our local hosts had informed us that we were going to go to the local hospital to pray for the sick. We were a little taken back since being in a predominantly Muslim nation we knew that there were some limitations on how we were allowed to conduct ourselves. The host picked us up and took us to the hospital and informed us that no we aren't going to be going bed to bed at the hospital but rather there is a member of the church who is very sick and needs prayer and we were going to pray for him.
We arrive at the hospital and what a sight we must have been a group of 6 tall white missionaries walking into the ward and hone in on this one guy. From what we could understand this man was a believer in Christ and he had suffered a heart attack or a stroke or both.
Is there a manual for this?
We gather around his bed and this man is hooked up to many machines. He is unresponsive and in a coma like state. His mouth is open, his tongue and drool are coming out. The host looks at us and says "pray." The co-leader and I shoot glances at each but realise that we are now the ones in charge so we have to say "do" something quick. We decide to gather around his bed and pray for him. So there we are in the middle of the open ward we the obvious Christian missionaries, we lay hands on him and begin praying while all eyes turn to us.
In between our silence and prayers you could hear his heart monitor beeping. We took turns lifting this man up but the interesting thing is that not one of us felt to pray for healing of his physical body. We felt to pray that he would have the peace, strength and joy of the Lord.
As we began to pray, this man's body begins to respond, he begins to shake a bit and us the young missionary team totally trained in this (really not) keep on praying since we have no idea what else to do. The next moment the man closes his jaw, and then he sits up in his bed and begins to lift his arms above his head as if to grab something that we cannot see while starring at something we could not see above our heads. We all knew that he must have been reaching for his saviour Jesus.
The poor surprised doctors did not know what to do so they ran over to the man, they quickly pushed us out of the way and pulled the curtains, and all of sudden we heard his heart monitor do the long flat beep. That was it, he was gone.
What just happened?
They pulled back the curtain and sure enough the man had passed but the most amazing thing was the peace of the Lord in that room. There was such a joy and excitement that his man had just went into the arms of his Saviour and we had the blessed privilege of praying for him before he did so. I have heard from pastors that have been in the room with the dying, that when someone who doesn't know the Lord dies the room is filled with a fear and darkness, I have never experienced that, but I can say that when someone knows the Lord and dies, what a miracle.
We watched that man leave this earth and go straight into the arms of our Saviour and we were there to witness him go. This man was completely healed; he was now with the King of kings. That night we went to his funeral and knew that yes there was a body in that casket, but his spirit was praising with Jesus.
Hope for all
The truth is that one day all of us will end up in the casket. You are going to die! But you can have hope for future eternity in the arms of our loving God as Romans 10:9 says, "if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Just like this man who had put his hope into Christ, we can all have hope, Jesus is the only hope. I am so grateful that I need not fear death, for when I go I know that those arms of the loving Saviour are waiting for me. Where will you spend eternity? The reality is that there are only two options: Will it be with the King Jesus in heaven, or will you be eternally separated from Him in hell for you denied him?
Genevieve Wilson is a happily married stay at home, home-schooling mum of 3, whose passion is to see people come to know Jesus. She worked 8 years as a missionary with Youth with a Mission (YWAM). She has a heart for justice.
Genevieve Wilson's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/genevieve-wilson.html