Almost a year ago, these words appeared in Compassion’s monthly prayer calendar: Pray for an 11-year-old child in the Philippines, who had successful emergency surgery to repair a ruptured brain aneurysm but is still unable to walk. Pray for complete healing.
Two sentences. They could barely contain the fear, the pain and ultimately the hope that this little girl’s story held. But those words, lifted up in prayer by thousands of people around the United States, had power. Power that Jenny Mae, the 11-year-old we prayed for, would know firsthand.
But let’s start at the beginning.
It was midnight when Jenny Mae collapsed on the floor of her family’s home. Her mother, Josephine, was frantic when she realized her daughter wouldn’t wake up. But she remembered that at the Compassion-assisted child development center that Jenny Mae attended, staff had told Josephine that if she ever needed anything, to call them.
And Jenny Mae needed a miracle.
Compassion staff traveled with Josephine and Jenny Mae to the closest hospital. There, doctors diagnosed her with a ruptured brain aneurysm, and Jenny Mae underwent emergency surgery. The surgery was a success, and Jenny Mae’s family and all of her friends praised God. But Jenny Mae was only at the beginning of her journey. She would have to learn to walk and talk all over again.
Jenny Mae’s story spread throughout Compassion centers across the Philippines, and staff and children lifted her up in prayer.
That request made it to the Compassion Philippines country office – and from there, to the monthly list of prayer requests that each country office sends to Compassion’s headquarters in Colorado Springs. Each month we create a calendar filled with requests like Jenny Mae’s – real children, with real, desperate needs. Those calendars go out to thousands of people who make up Compassion’s Prayer Network, advocates committed to lifting up the prayers of children, families, staff and communities around the world.
This year, we want to tell you the stories behind the requests.
We want to update you on the active, vibrant way God is answering prayers. And to ask you to keep praying. Because the journey to healing is long for many.
Jenny Mae is still on that journey. She struggled for months, physically and emotionally. She wondered why this happened to her.
“Why can’t I walk? Why did I suffer? These are some of the questions I asked Jesus,” says Jenny Mae.
There are no easy answers to these questions. But in the past year, as she has recovered, Jenny Mae says she can see how Jesus is working in her life, in her healing.
When we requested an update from the Compassion Philippines office, it came immediately. Almost as if they couldn’t wait to share the good news!
Jenny Mae has improved a lot in just a very short time. Her doctor was surprised by her very fast recovery. She is back in school, and is very active.
She is a reminder to us of God’s second chances. Her family has been so appreciative with the church and the center. God is truly awesome. We continue to pray that she will grow with a heart of gratitude and that she will be a living testimony of the miracle she and her family experienced.
We can’t wait to bring you more follow-up stories of prayer requests on the blog in 2020. If you’d like to join Compassion’s prayer network and receive monthly prayer requests and praises, click here.
Field reporting and photos by Edwin Estioko.
