God’s Healing Power at Bethesda

In Kenya

The Lord is gracious and of tender mercies; and on behalf of my team here at Bethesda, I would like to share one of the experiences that the Lord has given us in the work. We have seen the mighty hand of God and how He has been blessing us. We believe that this mission story will be a blessing to you and an encouragement to trust in the mighty saving power of the God of Israel.

It all began on a Friday afternoon. I had just arrived from town with one of the brethren. The brethren had been ministering to the sick in our absence. Many of the sick had been coming to the ministry that day from morning until afternoon. On arriving, I entered our kitchen and found Brother Nathanael, our cook, and Sister Riina, our female therapist from Estonia, busy there. I told them that we should not have health guests now since it was Friday and we wanted to get ready for the Sabbath. We agreed, but on turning my back towards the kitchen door, I was surprised to see three ladies at the outside door. They had just come in. I told my friends that I was going to deal with the situation and tell these people to come on Sunday, but the Lord had other plans. On reaching there and assessing the whole situation, I realized that help was urgently needed. There were three ladies standing there. One had a baby on her back who introduced the others. She told us that she had met these two ladies on the road not far from us and knew them. Upon seeing the condition of the other woman who was actually the daughter of the other woman, she suggested that they to come to a place where she herself had been blessed, and she believed that the Lord would bless them too. This place is Bethesda. So through the testimony of this lady, the mother of the sick woman decided to come to Bethesda, our mission house. How was this first lady blessed? Let me just share her short experience.

Bethesda ministries in Kenya.

She came with her husband one day with her twins. I knew the husband already because he was the one who had written the name “Bethesda” at our entrance gate. We did some simple natural remedies on her children, and the Lord blessed them with healing. This is what motivated her to tell the mother of the sick lady to bring her daughter to us. To be honest, I was really touched by her great faith that, since the Lord had blessed her by healing her two children, she believed that the daughter of the sick lady would be blessed with healing too. This is what actually motivated me to bring the case of this sick woman to God. I pled to God to glorify His Name and also honor that faith of the lady whose children experienced healing at Bethesda.

After sharing this with me, she left the compound and was gone. The mother of this young lady then explained the whole condition of her daughter and told us that she was possessed of an evil spirit. It is a long story that she shared, and I cannot write all that she said. She shared with us that her daughter had visited her husband in another town and had come home different. She was so possessed that she burned their house. This woman believed that we were able to help her because of the testimony that the other lady had shared. So I called some of my team to come out with song books. Some of the brethren had just left the mission to go home and get ready for the Sabbath. So the rest came, and we started to sing for this lady and then prayed for her. We made some juices for her and also gave her water to drink. This lady was so tired that she lay on the ground to sleep. I then told the mother that we were going to pray for her daughter at 6 pm and that we needed time to get ready for the Sabbath. Of course, the mother was somewhat pushy and wanted us to pray for them so that they could just go home, but I told her to wait and that it was not an easy matter. At 6 pm, we were all gathered, and we asked the mother to help her daughter come in. We started to sing, and after that we decided to gather around the sick lady to pray for her. She was lying on the floor. We all prayed, and we asked the Lord to honor the faith of that lady who brought these two people to us and believed that the Lord would help them because she herself had been blessed. After prayer, we took this lady to sleep on a mattress we had in the dining room. Then something very interesting happened. The demon-possessed lady started to cry very loudly and had before been producing some sounds that were very strange. All of a sudden, she ran out of the house towards the gate and was gone. The mother was screaming at us, telling us to run after her. She told us that her daughter had been doing this, and she was afraid about it. One lady who had just come for some help and our neighbor ran after this lady, and it was not long that she came inside again with her. Of course, the curiosity of the neighbors was kindled, and some came in the compound, especially little children.

We gathered together and prayed and sang songs again, but somehow the situation did not change for the better. It was already getting late; and, since the mother wanted to go, we agreed to her decision even though earlier she had asked us if her daughter could sleep in our mission. I was not confident to accept this request. I hired a taxi for them. The taxi came, but before they left, I told the mother that we would go to church the next day, and I explained to her where she could find us. To my surprise, she told me that they actually did not live far from that place. We helped them into the taxi, and they went. Her condition was still not that good, but we trusted that the Lord would manifest His power. We then went to bed.

What a busy Sabbath beginning! Early the next morning, we got ready for church. We normally hire a taxi every Sabbath since we have a lot to carry with us, especially if we have sick people with us. Some of us had to walk to church since the car was not

A restored Kadzo.

enough for us all. On arriving at the church, we saw from far the mother and daughter and a young man who we later were told was the brother to the demon-possessed lady. What we heard was amazing. The Lord had done a miracle in our absence. The lady that was sick shared the experience herself. The change we saw in her was just amazing. She was in her right mind and was just smiling. The mother poured out her thanks to us; but, of course, we directed her to the Great Healer. After that, the mother

went away, and we took her daughter, whose name is Kadzo, with us into the church. We really praised God that day for all that He had done to this lady. Kadzo is now fully restored and comes to our ministry every morning. She smiles and is very thankful for this experience. Her mother comes frequently to us and is very grateful also for what happened to her daughter. The good thing also is that the neighbors who were there have seen the change in Kadzo. We praise God and give Him the glory. Kadzo has decided to become a Christian. We are now helping her to get to know the Savior Who has been so merciful to her.

I am reminded of a very precious promise from inspiration that the Lord gave me while in India. “The work of the true medical missionary is largely a spiritual work. It includes prayer and the laying on of hands; he therefore should be as sacredly set apart for his work as is the minister of the gospel.” Counsels on Health, 540. I saw the need of seeking the Lord with all my heart.

Here is what the prophetess also says, “Christ feels the woes of every sufferer. When evil spirits rend a human frame, Christ feels the curse. When fever is burning up the life current, He feels the agony. And He is just as willing to heal the sick now, as when He was personally on earth. Christ’s servants are His representatives, the channels for His working. He desires through them to exercise His healing power.” Desire of Ages, 823, 824.

“Through His servants, God designs that the sick, the unfortunate, and those possessed of evil spirits, shall hear His voice. Through His human agencies He desires to be a comforter, such as the world knows not.” Ministry of Healing, 106

I thank God for having given me this privilege to see the demon-possessed hearing the voice of Jesus. It is a blessing to see the sick and suffering restored to health. We once again praise the God of Israel for His power to restore this lady. Please pray for Kadzo.

By Emmanuel Kaingu. Email: emmanuel.kaingu7@googlemail.com.