by Steven and Kari Jo Shephard
20 June 2011

Does God act in the lives of ordinary people? We sure think so! As we prepared to leave for Nigeria, we saw God work in unexpected ways, confirming his Presence in our lives and his plan for us to serve in Nigeria.

Evangel Hospital in Jos, Nigeria, is lacking quality ultrasound equipment in the maternity department. A good one would greatly enhance diagnostic capabilities and treatment plans for pregnant patients and gynecology patients. Prior to our departure, I had a friend explore the possibility of acquiring a good used ultrasound system for the hospital. Most ultrasounds are large and heavy, so I qualified that I wanted a portable one, roughly the size of a laptop computer.

Buying such a system would cost at least $10,000, and likely more. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided the value of the ultrasound exceeded the financial cost. Furthermore, one of the purposes of our move was to provide services that were lacking, such as this. So I decided to try to find and buy one with funds from our ministry account – money given by supporters specifically for purposes like this.

Over a week later I received a call that my friend, who works in sales of medical imaging equipment, had found a potential machine. She added that she had prayed the night before that God would provide an ultrasound and show her where to find it. She had also asked God that it come from a reputable source, preferably Christian.

She had spoken with the dealer, sharing that the purchaser was a Christian missionary doctor going to a mission hospital in Nigeria. The dealer then agreed to lower his price!

When the dealer called me to arrange the details, I learned more. He was a Christian, and had dropped his price such that he was not taking a profit. He was actually getting the ultrasound from another seller, he said, and when he told the seller that it was being purchased by a missionary doctor, the seller dropped his price, too! (And he is not a Christian!) This was all wonderful news, but God was not done! He had more blessings to bring, showing more of his glory!

Meanwhile another friend decided to speak to some of his friends and coworkers about us, to see if any might be want to pitch in toward this cost. Over the next few days, gifts designated for the ultrasound showed up in our ministry account, due to this friend’s Spirit-led invitation to others to contribute.

Then came an email from a supporting church. Prior to Easter, this church had decided to give 50 percent of their Easter offering to our ministry. The email said that a check would be coming to our account in excess of $6,500! “Amazing, God!” I thought, as I made the calculations in my head, “You have just given us nearly $10,000 to pay for this ultrasound! You rock!” But God was still not done!

Two days later, I got a phone call from a supporting family. “A few days ago God laid it on our hearts that we should write you an extra check,” he started. “But we didn’t know how much. Today we were praying, and felt God tell us to write you a check for $2,800.” I laughed out loud.

“Do you have a minute?” I asked, and proceeded to tell them the story of how I thought I was going to buy an ultrasound out of our ministry funds, but God chose to demonstrate again how much he loves us and wants to be involved in our lives. “With your check, we now have exactly the right amount to pay for the ultrasound completely.”

We praised God together on the phone. When I hung up, I felt like I had a huge adrenaline rush, and I still do today whenever I tell this story of our living God, his love for us, and how he still acts in the lives of real people to show us who he is. We just need to be looking!

image courtesy of Joni Byker