Pull Down the Powers of Heaven

What do you do at three in the morning when the phone rings. You answer it of course. It is a sick Elder. He has been vomiting and having diarrhea since 1100 last night. I found myself frantically calculating (4 hours-OK). " I am feeling dizzy and weak." Not so good. This was Elder Bateman, a very large Elder, in an area about 1 ½ hours away. OK, let's start getting some fluids back in him. I talked to the companero. Gave him instructions on how to make a rehydration fluid from juice they had. All they had was orange soda. "Watch him closely; start him taking sips of fluid. Let's see how he does. I will call you back in about 1 hour." 15 minutes later the phone rings. "The Elder has collapsed. He is unconscious. We can't arouse him." Is he breathing was my first question. "Yes". Call an ambulance! "We don't have a number for an ambulance; our cell phone is almost dead. We'll call a taxi and get him to the hospital."

I started praying as I have never prayed before. Please, Please, get some help there. I did not have a number I could call for help. There is no 911 system here. This was an area not covered by our ambulance service. How can they possibly get him in a taxi. He is a huge Elder. I just kept praying and pleading.

45 minutes later a call came. They had uncovered a phone book in their apartment. Had reached an ambulance. They had come, started iv's, given some medication. He was still unconscious. At 0500am, he was conscious, doing much better. My prayers had been answered. There is a God watching over these missionaries.