“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty…” Isaiah 44:3

A Cup of Water

Monday morning staff devotions are one of my favorite times of the week. About 50 staff as well as some of our guests (patients) gather on the covered veranda of Kimbilio Hospice and spend one hour to begin our week by worshiping the Lord with song and listening to His Word. This morning, Pastor Ijeji (our chaplain) made this statement about Kimbilio: “Kimbilio Hospice is a well that people want to draw water out of. People who are thirsty, come.” He went on to encourage and challenge us: “May God quench someone’s thirst through you.”

Mary came to the “well” on February 21 this year. She was “thirsty.” A mother of two, 44 years old, Mary started becoming sick in 1999 after her first child died shortly after birth. For the next 15 years, Mary was in and out of various hospitals, sick but not knowing with exactly what.

In 2014, she was finally diagnosed with Rheumatic Heart Disease with deep veinous thrombosis when she was referred to a mission hospital located four hours from her home. The doctor told Mary that only one of the valves in her heart was working and she was too weak to undergo any type of operation. Upon hearing this, Mary’s husband abandoned her in the hospital.

Her emotional pain began to exceed her physical pain. Mary’s relatives and her church family surrounded her and supported her through the next four years of continuous hospital check-ups, admissions, and treatment. In January of this year, Mary was admitted to the Cardiac Care Unit at the referral hospital in Eldoret. She was close to death; and the doctor said her only chance of survival would be to amputate both of her lower limbs. Mary continued to pray and cry out to God for healing and relief from the pain. The surgery was done, leaving her and her family mentally and emotionally distressed.

As Mary was recovering in the hospital, someone told her of a place where she could heal spiritually, mentally and physically – Kimbilio Hospice. She agreed to come. She was given a cup of water, literally and figuratively. And then she was given more.

Mary says, “The morning after I arrived at Kimbilio, the caregivers washed me, clothed me, and gave me a cup of tea. For a moment, I forgot that my legs were gone. But I was so afraid and troubled in my heart. I didn’t want to talk or look at anyone. I continued to cry and cry out to God. Another patient at Kimbilio, named Lydia, saw the state I was in and took time to encourage me. The chaplain sat with me and listened to my story. He prayed for me. I am grateful because God has given me a heart to forgive my husband, which has given me courage to share my story with others like you. I thank God for how far He has brought me.”

Mary has experienced physical, spiritual and emotional healing at this well through the water that has been given to her. Our physical therapists, Moses and Nancy, have been working with Mary and are now exploring the possibility of prosthetics for her.

Give a cup of water. And then give more. As Pastor Ijeji shared this morning, “Give jerrycans of water” (large containers that are commonly used here to hold about five gallons of water). In other words, give generously. May God quench someone’s thirst through you.

“Father, thank You for those who give generously of their resources and possessions to make ministry possible. Would You provide for those who are so deeply in need. Amen.”