BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE

My time in Elbasan, Albania has come to an end and I am currently processing through all that I experienced there. The sweet friendships, ministry, kids, adventures, and little moments were all such a blessing. While I continue to reflect the little moments I want you to hear about the greatest miracle of God I have yet to witness here on earth. The time I saw God bring someone back to life. Here’s a journal entry from the day I processed this miraculous event!

Names will be removed for the privacy of others.

February 11, 2024

Wow. Today has been filled with so many thoughts and emotions. To say the very least, I truly believe God brought someone back to life.

I am still trying to process it all, as it has been a lot to take in. This morning at church in the middle of worship a member in the congregation fell to the ground unconscious. Everyone reacted promptly, two women were immediately at her side. I evaluated the situation and nobody in the room was a medical professional. At this moment I knew that I needed to do all that I knew how to do. I checked for a pulse on her right wrist… nothing. I checked her left wrist… nothing. I checked her neck… nothing. No pulse. I watched her chest and there was no rise or fall. Nothing. It was really hard. I truly thought she was gone. Her body was still, nothing seemed to be alive. Everyone was praying. And as I put my hands on her body, with an expectation to start CPR, I prayed God would bring breath into her lungs, and within seconds she coughed. We rolled her onto her side, I checked for a pulse again, and this time it was there. 96 bpm. It truly doesn’t make sense. She was really out of it for a while. She didn’t have any strength in her hands or feet, wasn’t really following commands well. When I told her to squeeze my hands and push her toes down against my hands it was an ever so faint and gentle squeeze and push. She was not well. After about 15 minutes she asked quietly to sit up, and about 5 minutes later the EMS arrived. About 10 minutes later she left with EMS to go to the hospital. She walked out.

I realized afterwards that I have never been in a medical situation so “alone” yet somehow feeling the most “stillness and peace”. Back home in the hospital with a team of highly trained medical professionals around me my heart would race and I would be filled with so much fear and anxiety in those high intensity moments. Yet in this moment today, God gave me peace. I was able to do the little I knew calmly, and able to truly seek Gods face for help. It doesn’t make any sense, but God really did give me strength to do so much in that moment. The church body was rallying together in prayer, Emma was still singing and worshiping God. One thing we knew we could do well was pray, and we did. And He did it. From no heartbeat to walking out on two feet. God truly made a miracle happen, I feel so confident in it. Today, Jesus brought a person back to life!

As I sit down and post this today, this event has remained a miracle as it is evident the hand of God was upon her and she is doing very well! Thank you, Jesus! He truly is a miracle worker! I have no doubt He will continue to reveal more of His character to us!