JOYCE'S RECENT BATTLE

"Hey, what's this?" Joyce barely got the nurse to not start an I.V. on her--what they usually do for patients just before hospitalization. She was at the hospital to get diagnosing of diverticulitis (she's had it before), not for hospitalization!

Joyce had wondered why this diverticulitis had to come at such a bad time. Last weekend was packed full of activities and responsibilities. I e-mailed my sister in the U.S. for emergency prayer. NO ONE can tell me God does not answer prayer. Her low-grade fever was yanked down such that all day Sunday it did not rise above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit! I could hear Joyce's energetic piano accompaniment online as well as her introducing the missionaries picked up at the airport the day before...

Oh yes, I had to stay at home and watch church things online from bed myself. For some reason, Janice and I felt unwell instead! Is this called sympathetic vibrations? Joyce ran around doing everything necessary that day then got home about 9 p.m.

It should come as no surprise that her temperature went up again after that, and she spent most of Mon. in bed; Tues, she managed to get to a hospital--after sticking her with needles and running lots of tests on her, they agreed with her that she probably has diverticulitis, and barely let her go home.

Joycie spent time taking care of me after my nasty spill, got used to watching out for her elderly parents for years before that, probably forgot about the special needs she herself has since she has had hip replacement surgery. Your missionaries may be reaching eternal souls dealing with spiritual needs and fighting powers of darkness, so need your prayers most there; but please remember God uses vessels of clay to work here on earth, so they could use prayers for physical battles too.