(Miriam is a nurse who serves with Siloé Ministries in Baja, Mexico. She attends a church they call "Medanito" that she and her family started in their home for their community several years ago.)
My name is Miriam Galaviz, I've been a nurse for 25 years. I love my profession because I can help people during difficult times. In my experience people are also more receptive to hearing about God's love when they are sick and seeking answers.
When I was just beginning to work in hospitals, my longing was for every patient to hear from God and His truth that there is hope in Him to receive both physical and spiritual healing.
I wanted to take time to pray for patients, but in the hospital I didn’t have that freedom because I couldn't speak openly about Jesus and salvation through Him. So with all my heart I shared with God my desire to work in a place where I had freedom to speak openly about Him.
I lived in Mexico City at the time and as the years went by I forgot this request that I had shared with my Savior.
Several years later, I heard God’s voice telling me that I had to leave town and go elsewhere, but he didn’t mention a specific place. My husband and I started praying to seek God’s will in where He wanted to take us.
After several weeks of praying, my husband made the decision for us to go to Tijuana in Baja. I was a little nervous about his decision, but I supported him. We arrived in Tijuana in January 2007 and started working in the local church for about a year and a half. We were very content working with the groups of men and women at the church, when I heard God’s voice telling me that I had to move to another church. Our move was very surprising for everyone, including my husband and I, as we really enjoyed our work there. But we were sensitive to the voice of God and with tears we had to say goodbye.
With my older sister we began attending a church about 30 minutes from where we lived. We didn't know if this was where God wanted us to be, but we were given the opportunity to know the leaders and congregation.
We had just started attending when the pastor told us he wanted to give us a tour of the building. He was excited to share with us that they had two clinics ready to start giving general and dental medicine consultations onsite. As it turns out, and of course God orchestrated, the doctor was hoping to find a nurse to help start the project. When the pastor mentioned this, my heart started beating very hard and my husband let him know that I was a nurse. The pastor asked me that if I was interested in supporting the doctor with this new clinic.
I quickly thought of many inconveniences as far away as I was and the little money we had, it was possible that I would not even be able to pay the transport costs, but my lips answered "yes".
The pastor mentioned that she was an American doctor and my immediate reaction was to say no, because I didn't know English, but he told me that she spoke fluent Spanish, making the language barrier disappear.
I was nervous, but agreed to meet Dr Sarah in the next few days and we started working together on August 14, 2008. Little by little God was bringing patients to our small clinic, we gave them consultations but we also prayed for them.
One day a patient came with a very serious illness, as the doctor spoke to Him I felt the need to interrupt and ask him if he had accepted Jesus into his heart. He began to cry and told us that he had been a Christian but had gone away from God. We talked to him about God's forgiveness and His great love for him. That day he reconciled his relationship with God and asked Him for forgiveness. Shortly after he passed away, but we were at peace knowing where he was. It was then that I understood that we had been given a great mission to reach our patients.
Awhile later the doctor was praying for another patient, when God told me to open my eyes and see the scene that was in front of me. I saw a doctor praying for the patient taking her hand and God said to me, “Do you remember your dream, what you asked me for with all your heart long ago?” I told Him I didn't remember and He said to me, “You asked me for a clinic where you could speak freely about me and my love for my people, this is the place of your dreams.”
I started crying and thanking God. Even though I had forgotten my request and thought He had also, being in that clinic, praying and helping patients with their physical and spiritual health I realized that in God there is always hope, that He is attentive to our prayers and that no matter how long it takes, He always answers.
Now God has blessed us with a larger facility and a beautiful clinic, all of which God has built for our community. There, we are free to talk about love, grace, forgiveness and salvation in Jesus. We also pray for miracles of healing and even see some patients receive them.
Whatever your request to God, if it is in God's will, believe you will receive it. I encourage you to have faith, God never forgets anything.
In Him there is always hope!
