Divine Bud: Testimonies of God�s intervention

Foreword

v Foreword “Before we go to bed, let us pray,” said Jacky. During the whole evening of May 6, 2009, Jacky, Georgina, Nadine, and Eric have been selecting the items that Georgina and Jacky would bring to Ghana for their stay in preparation to Georgina’s surgical operation. Everything was ready. They will be traveling tomorrow. For a long time, all the family had been praying for Georgina’s surgical operation. She was born with a congenital scoliosis, and this single handicap had affected the family in various respects. Our most fervent prayer had always been that God heed our prayers. I will recount the different problems we encountered in this request for God’s intervention in favor of Georgina later in this novel. I have just used the term novel, but, as my readers will notice, it is not really a novel. It is based on reality. What makes it a novel is the organization of the events. But the stories are factual. I was in the sitting room when I heard Jacky inviting the children to pray. For a long time, I had ceased praying with the family. It is not that I did not like to pray. It is just that I had decided that it was far better for me to stop praying with the family because I never wanted my children to believe that, even if you persevere in your prayers, God may not answer them. I have always believed that my whole existence would be shattered if my children were to think that I am a liar when I always tell them that, somehow, God will answer our prayers and that Georgina will get operated somehow. Despite the various efforts we had made to have her operated mostly in the States, we usually obtained negative responses. The Shriners Hospital for children in Boston, Massachusetts, vi which was our first serious hope, turned us down because they said that the operation would have to take place in three phases. Contrary to the predictions of the surgical doctor who acted as Georgina’s local Cameroonian doctor, it could not be done once and Georgina could not simply stay in the States for a period of three months. Besides, as parents, we would have to obtain a visa and have her travel to the States. Nothing could be done as long as she stayed here in Africa. Another Shriners Hospital of Philadelphia simply turned us down because they said that, in order to envisage her operation, she simply has to be in the States. As long as she is in Africa, they were not going to study her dossier. However, they are the ones who put us into contact with the Focos team, a medical organization which also makes seasonal stays in Ghana to do orthopedic operations. Dr. Boachie Adjei, its doctor, is Ghanaian living and working in the States. To alleviate the difficulties for African children who could not afford traveling to the States, his organization usually asks the patients to go to Ghana and meet him there. The patients were to get to Accra, Ghana, two to three weeks before his arrival. For this year, he was going to come on May 23, 2009 and that is why Georgina was to arrive there by the beginning of May. As I heard Jacky inviting children to pray together, I also joined them. Nadine was in bed. Georgina was kneeling before the bed. Eric was standing and I came to stand by the door of Georgina’s room where the prayers were to be conducted. It is Jackie who conducted the prayer. Among the prayers, there was the Lord’s prayer, that is, “Our father who art in heaven,” followed by Hail Mary and a Glory be to the Father. After that, Jackie started addressing her personal prayers to vii God from the bottom of her heart. For me who heard it, it was very emotional. One sensed how grateful she was to God for allowing the arrival of this day when she would finally travel with her daughter to have her operated. “Lord God, we just want to thank you for always taking care of us. For a long time, we have always prayed that this day may come, that is, that Georgina be given a chance to be operated on for her backbone problem. We simply want to thank you in our hearts...