Becky

I have a friend from Sri Lanka, Anna, who I have known for about three years. Anna’s 20 year old daughter, Nina, is chronically ill with an incurable disease called lupus, or SLE. Anna’s sole reason for being in the UK is to earn money (as a cleaner) so that she can pay for her daughter’s medical treatment.

It is a heart breaking situation. Anna cannot go back to Sri Lanka, even for a visit, as she would not get a visa to return to the UK. This would be a death sentence for NIna; without the drugs her mother’s earnings pay for, Anna could not survive. Yet Nina desperately wants her mum to be with her.

Things came to a head recently when Nina's condition deteriorated. She was bed-ridden, incontinent, and unable to walk or even talk to her mum on the phone. Her hands were clenched into claws and she was suffering from fits. Anna was in the grip of a tragic dilemma. She knew that going to Nina would mean the end of the life-saving drug treatment, but NIna was begging for her mother to come. If Nina were going to die, Anna had to be there.

Anna and a friend came to see me and my husband. They were desperate. The four of us talked and prayed all evening, putting this impossible situation before God and asking him to heal NIna and to reunite her with her mother. As we finished praying and Anna started to leave, my husband asked her what time it was in Sri Lanka. She answered, “Four in the morning.”

The next day, Anna called me.

“You will never believe this,” she said. Her words were tumbling over themselves in excitement. “At 4 o’clock this morning, Nina jumped out of bed and started sweeping the house!”

This was the exact time that we had finished praying!

“She’s a bit better then?” I said cautiously.

“No,” she said, “you don’t understand. She is completely better!”

Since then, Nina has remained well. Our understanding is that she is still diagnosed with lupus, but the symptoms have gone.

Our priority now is to reunite mother and daughter in the UK. It’s proving difficult because technically, Nina is not entitled to a visa – but we are determined to keep trying. We’re sure that God will answer the whole of our prayer, as well as the part for healing!

Please pray for her, and we hope to be back with some good news soon.