I could see Farissa’s headache was beyond my capacity to handle.
Lining the seashore, small huts met my gaze as we neared La Island. Reaching the shore I saw that many of the huts stood on stilts above water. Children dove into the sea from windows. And women lowered containers on ropes to retrieve water for washing their kitchen wares. Men in boats were returning home to hand their day’s catch to their wives to cook.
So this is where I will be working for a year, I mused. The scene was deceptively peaceful. But La Island is known for pirates. It is not a safe place.
I am a nurse, a graduate of Mountain View College, and I already could see that the island was too big for me to handle.
Just a few hours later we met a mother with a sick daughter. Farissa had been suffering from a severe headache.
“How long has she had it?” I asked.
“Almost a week now,” the mother replied. “Today she was not able to sit or sleep because of the pain. She has had two analgesic capsules, but still she shouts in pain. I am about to call the tawal-tawal, who practices witchcraft, to ease my daughter’s suffering.”
I felt my body stiffen, and my mind raced back to my college classes. What was the best course of treatment for a case like this? I considered the options. The hospital was an hour away by boat, but it was dark now, and the waves were huge. Medical help was out of the question, even though I could see Farissa’s headache was beyond my capacity to handle.
“I don’t want to fail my God,” I thought.
Then I heard His voice in my heart. “I am the Great Physician. Do not worry.”
Supported by the silent prayers of my companions, and with my hand guided by God to do massage, I prayed: “Lord, this is just a simple massage. I am not a physician. I do not have any medicine to relieve the pain. But You have performed miracles to ease pain, and You have even restored life to the dead. Please help.”
Then I heard Farissa say, “Thank you. I am now well. The pain has left.”
She sat up and thanked me again with tears in her eyes. I could not hold back my tears either.
The news spread across the island. People—even those about to be rushed to the hospital—came to seek help. We had an opportunity to teach the people about natural herbs and how to maintain and care for their health.
It can be difficult to mobilize and motivate people, but God makes all things possible. Jesus said, “And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22).
Pray for the work in the islands of Tawi-Tawi, where safety is found not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of God.
Gospel Outreach helps sponsor about 10 student missionaries from Mountain View College in the Philippines.