“All my neighbors here in this community know how I used to walk with my arm stiff. I always had it covered. People knew I could not sleep because of the pain. I could not dress myself, and my daughters had to brush my hair for me. As you can see, that is not the case anymore.”
As a team of Charis Bible College students arrived at the little village on the outskirts of Santiago, Dominican Republic, they prepared for yet another opportunity to share and minister the love of God to the expectant hearts of the people who began to surround them. One of the locals, Anna, headed straight for one of the students on the team, not realizing that this student was not only one of the two fluent Spanish speakers on the team but also happened to be a nurse.
“My plan was to pray for the little children, but God had other plans,” remarks second-year student Judy Saiz. “Anna came up to me and presented with a painful right shoulder. She stated that she had had this condition for a while and that it had progressively worsened.” Needless to say, Anna was tired of her condition and sought the only source of hope she had left—her Savior, Jesus Christ.
Wasting no time, Judy began to minister to Anna. “When I asked her what she would like Jesus to do for her,” remarks Judy, “she responded with, ‘I believe that God can heal my shoulder so that I can do the things I have to do every day.'”
After a brief exam, Judy realized that Anna had what is called a frozen shoulder and experienced limited flexion and extension in her arm. “I thought, Lord, this is a frozen shoulder. In my experience, this will require surgery and three months of intensive physical therapy. The Lord said to me, ‘Yes, I know.’
“I told her that we would have to pray in agreement, and I commanded the pain to leave and never come back. I prayed for full range of motion in her shoulder and for the inflammation to leave immediately in Jesus’ name.”
Instantly, Anna received her healing. Jumping up and down, she extended her arm straight upward and began to glorify and praise God for the healing she had received.
Anna then took the platform and told the people in the little village of Rio Seco, Jacuaga, about the great healing that had just taken place and what Almighty God had done for her. “As you can see, I’m not limited anymore,” Anna proclaimed.
Anna and Judy’s encounter is just one of the many examples of the testimonies that come from the Charis Bible College missions trips. As students continue to take the message of God’s love and grace to the cities and villages of the world, there’s no telling what God will do next!
