by Suzanne Green
22 September 2011

Edward and his fellow mission workers had been involved in a ministry to Tibetan students for four years. He met with a group of Chinese and expatriate believers regularly to pray, asking God that they might see spiritual fruit. But it just didn’t seem much was happening. “Why not?” he wondered. “Where are we going wrong? Is something missing in our approach?”

Then God began to lead Edward and his friends to Tibetans on the high plateau who were ill, or marginalized in some way. Several local believers who were working with them had led the way, and were already visiting people in the hospital and praying for their healing.

Nangtu, a 17-year-old boy from the plateau, needed healing. For four years he had suffered from tuberculous (TB) meningitis, and had been in and out of hospitals. His father sold everything valuable he had—including his yak and his house—and spent all his money on treatment for Nangtu, but his illness just became more serious.

With this type of meningitis, once the patient feels better and stops taking medicine, the bug can return with resistance and a vengeance. It seems this is what had happened to Nangtu. The medicine was no longer effective. Doctors said that there was no cure now, and that he should just go home and live out his remaining days peacefully.

When Edward’s friends consulted a doctor in Beijing, they learned that surgery was a possibility, but with no guarantees. So Nangtu and his father came down from the high plateau.

At this point Nangtu was suffering greatly from severe headaches associated with TB meningitis. Inflammation around the brain was causing pressure, resulting in a terrible headache that had gone on for weeks. Edward could see that Nangtu was in excruciating pain.

So he invited the local believers and his team members to come to his apartment and pray for Nangtu. “As I prayed for the boy, I wept because my heart was breaking,’ says Edward. “And I felt God’s amazing love for him.”

Although Edward knew that God loved the people he was seeking to reach, he had never before experienced such a strong sense of love for them. “I thought the Lord would heal him immediately,” Edward recalls, “but nothing happened. Then the Lord spoke to my heart: 'They need your love, they need your love.' At that moment I didn’t really understand what the message meant.”

Edward and his friends took Nangtu to the emergency room of the biggest hospital in their city. The chief doctor, who knew Nangtu’s history, said that nothing could be done for him. However, a few days later other doctors arranged to do a VP shunt to temporarily relieve the pressure. The surgery would be very expensive, but local house groups and other believers were willing to help. Amazingly, the cost was completely covered.

As Edward visited Nangtu in hospital each day, he found that he could not pray for him without tears. He didn’t know why he felt such an overwhelming love for the boy. People at the hospital asked, “Is he your son? Is he a relative?” Edward just said no. But these people heard his prayer and they knew he was a Christian.

As Edward spent time with Nangtu, he felt the Lord asking him, “Do you really love the Tibetans—even their smell?” Once again his heart was broken. The people from the high plateau that Edward knew rarely bathed because of the severity of the cold weather and shortage of water.

But God did not want Edward to be put off loving these people because of their smell. Edward says that the Lord let him experience that smell for an entire week—even when he was nowhere near people from the plateau. “It was so strange,” he explains, “and yet every day I found that my heart was overflowing with love for Nangtu and his people.”

Nangtu’s condition improved after his surgery, and the medicine started working again. Several times his father told Edward, “This is God’s love. The local Buddhist priest doesn’t have this kind of love.” At that point Edward understood why the Lord had told him, “They need your love.”

Edward and his team continued to share the gospel with Nangtu and his father, and both accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. More than once, Nangtu’s father said, “If Nangtu gets well, I will offer him to God.” Although he may not have fully understood what this meant, Edward understood.

Nangtu has continued to take the TB medicine, and he has put on weight. Every day he looks healthier. And every day he is growing stronger spiritually as he prays and reads the Word of God. Praise the Lord!

Editor’s note: Edward and his friends are seeing healing miracles as they minister to those who come down from the high plateau. Many have been healed from their illnesses through the power of Jesus’ name. Sometimes God uses simple medicines—such as aspirin!—to heal their diseases.