We asked for a room…He gave us a HOUSE!
The post was written. Everything was together. I was ready to hit publish, but I didn’t. One interruption after another kept me from finishing what I started. I was on a timeline to get this post out there, so I thought. Little did I know that God had already answered our prayers and didn’t need my help at all.
Here’s the story of: “the little blog that never was”…
Meet Ernesto:
Ernesto Najarez is 30 years old and has a five year old daughter. He is currently battling chronic kidney disease. A little over a year ago, Ernesto’s kidneys stopped functioning and he was in a coma for two days. His only option was to start dialysis or to die.
As many of you know, the main source of employment for men living in north-western Nicaragua is to work in the local sugar plantation. The chemicals that are used on the sugar cane cause chronic kidney disease leaving these men unable to work to support their families and ultimately takes their lives.
Ernesto made the courageous decision to start in-home dialysis and he is still with us over a year later! It’s incredible what the Lord has done and how he has sustained him through this grueling process. Ernesto walked to his mother’s home daily to do his dialysis treatment because his house had dirt floors and was made of tin and plastic. Conditions that only heighten the chance of infection. During the rainy season he walked through the mud to reach his mother’s home. Sometimes he has had to miss treatments because the weather was so bad.
His treatment lasts for several hours and is repeated throughout the day and night. Every day. A process he’ll have to continue the rest of his life. He has a port inserted in his abdomen and he performs the dialysis on his own. To look at him now, you would think that he is totally healthy but one infection could take his life.
Hearing a story like Ernesto’s is humbling. It’s one that propels you into wanting to take action. So, last December a small group of us from VN set out to help raise money for Ernesto to have an addition constructed on the side of his house so he could continue his treatment from home. An addition to his house would provide a cleaner environment for his treatment and lowers his chance of infection tremendously!
We prayer over this and felt that through blogs and Facebook that we could reach out to people quickly and raise the funds needed.
Before the blog could be written our prayers were answered. Through word of mouth there was $1,000+ raised toward Ernesto’s addition to his house. So much so that with the extra donations Ernesto was able to not only have a new room to his house, but a NEW HOUSE COMPLETELY!!
Ernesto’s House BEFORE….
How many times do we come to God who promises he will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19) asking for a room when he wants to give us a HOUSE?!
Ernesto’s House AFTER…
Our God is a maverick of a God who answers prayers in ways that continually show His faithfulness to His children. Not only did Christ answer our prayers, but He went ABOVE and BEYOND what we could have asked, thought, or imagined! (Eph. 3:20)
This past March when I was given the official tour of his new house he informed me that the sugarcane plantation came to him and offered to build him a room on his house for dialysis. Meaning, now he and his wife can sleep in the original dialysis room. Allowing him to sleep soundly and without worry of infection! Above and beyond.
He’s good! He can be trusted and He’s always faithful!
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Matthew 11:24