“Please pray for a friend. Her heart stopped and the doctors are having a hard time re-starting it.” I was in the middle of the second week of training at AFM when I read those words on Facebook. My heart went out to the friends and family of this person who was struggling to live. As I kept scrolling through my Facebook feed, I saw one friend after another posting the same thing, then saw that someone mentioned the girl’s name. My heart froze as my mind put the pieces together, realizing that my friend was the one who's heart had stopped. I started praying for my friend and for the doctors who were working on her. A little while later, I enlisted my friends that I’m in training with to pray with me on behalf of my friend. A few hours later, I received word that she had passed away. My heart broke as I thought through the many times she shared an encouraging word with me, how many times she would just turn and flash me a beautiful smile filled with the love of Jesus, how many times she would excitedly share what Jesus had showed her in her devotion time that morning. From what other people shared on Facebook, she did the same with everyone she met. Tears rolled down my face as my mind struggled with the question, “Why, Lord? Why her?” I realized though, that the beauty of her death is that she died knowing, loving, and serving Jesus - whereas many people around the world are dying every day without knowing or ever hearing about Jesus. Sharing the love of Jesus is why God has called me to serve overseas. My prayer is that Jesus with exude through me to the people I’ll be working with like my friend exuded Jesus to me.
