What do you do when your baby is vomiting and passing blood, the local hospital can’t perform the needed surgery, your car won’t start, the ambulance driver won’t answer his phone, and you are over 500 miles from a doctor who could save your daughter’s life?

This isn’t a hypothetical situation. It’s the very situation in which we found ourselves.

The day started like any other. Our daughter Eva woke up, nursed, and fell back to sleep. When she woke up again vomiting yellow-looking bile, I knew something was wrong. She refused to nurse and quickly fell back to sleep again.

My husband Jason and I thought maybe it was just a stomach bug. But by early afternoon, she had vomited more and passed a bloody stool. We consulted a doctor friend. He suggested we leave our small town and drive to a bigger city just two hours away. We could spend the night there, just in case she didn’t improve and needed medical attention.

Jason called friends living in that city as we began the two-hour drive. They told him that a Canadian pediatrician just happened to be in town at that very moment. By the time we arrived, Eva’s diaper had filled with blood. The pediatrician said our daughter would go into shock if she didn’t have an IV immediately.

We rushed her to the local hospital, praying for God’s protection. The lab results at the hospital showed that Eva had an excessive amount of amoebas. With some antibiotics, she would begin to get better by the next day. We felt greatly relieved.

But the next morning, Eva passed another stool filled with blood and continued to vomit.

The doctor suggested taking an ultrasound to see whether she had a blocked intestine. To our dismay, it showed that her intestines were indeed blocked. She would need surgery right away—a procedure the staff at the small hospitable didn’t often perform.

We arranged for a medical evacuation flight to take us to the capital the next afternoon. There, a doctor would be waiting to do surgery.

By late evening, Eva’s condition worsened. Now she was vomiting blood. The doctor told us that we couldn’t wait until tomorrow afternoon—he feared Eva might not make it that long.

Our hearts began to break as we continued crying out to God. We could have an emergency surgery here at the local hospital, or leave now to drive through the night to the capital. Both options posed great risk. As Eva worsened, we decided to have the surgery locally.

Jason ran off to tell the surgeon while I wiped Eva down with alcohol pads, hoping to have her as clean as possible for the operation. With every wipe, I couldn’t help but feel that I was preparing my little girl for burial.

Jason found the surgical team, but they had just decided that they could not perform the surgery after all. We would have to drive ourselves to the capital.

Suddenly, our car wouldn’t start. Again and again, Jason tried, but it was dead. Again and again, we cried out to God.

The hospital offered their ambulance and assured us that they could have us to the capital by mid-morning. We gathered our belongings together, but the hospital staff couldn’t get any of their ambulance drivers to answer their phones. “You’ll just have to wait till morning.” The words hit our hearts like a sledge-hammer. We pleaded that they keep trying.

Nothing seemed to be going right, and we were losing precious time for Eva. Again we cried out to God for His help.

A faint voice seemed to whisper in our ears, “You named your daughter Eva, meaning ‘Alive.’ She will live up to her name. Just trust in Me.”

At 2:30 in the morning, by God’s grace, the ambulance finally pulled up to the hospital ready to go.

Eva slept calmly as we sped through the night. The full moon lit up the desert road, helping the driver avoid potholes, roaming animals, and broken-down trucks.

We arrived in the capital around midmorning and rushed to the hospital. A surgeon was waiting for us. He quickly examined Eva and assured us that she would be alright.

“Surgery is most likely needed,” he said, “but we could first try an air enema.”

Miraculously, the air enema worked. Eva’s intestines opened up and she began to look better right away. By the next day, she was smiling and even eating again. By God’s grace, our little girl lived!

Some people think we are fools for living in a remote and risky area far from adequate healthcare.

But is not the Creator of the heavens and earth worth it? Is not the One who gave life to our very souls worth everything we can give back to Him? Are not those who are separated from His love and without hope in this world also worthy of our service?

We don’t know if God will rescue us again when the time comes. But we do know that He is worth our everything.

We agree with the words of Jim Elliot, a missionary who eventually lost his life for the sake of the Gospel: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Pray through these verses for Frontiers field workers who face tremendous risk and suffering for the sake of the Gospel.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39) 

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**

Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/preparing-our-child-for-burial