Praying for Odalys (4-year-old beauty with cancer)

After 1 year and 3 months of intense chemotherapy treatments, 4-year-old Odalys, with cancer, was sent home from the hospital, supposedly permanently.  The doctors say there is nothing else they can do for her – the cancer has metastasized, and she had tumors throughout her abdomen. 

This news came very suddenly for her family: she was, in fact, prepped for an innovative tumor removal surgery which supposedly would remove her one stomach tumor and have her back to full health by March. The days before the surgery, new exams revealed devastating news: the discovery of 4 new tumors throughout organs

in her abdomen.  Instead of promises of a full recovery, the doctors now realized that even more rounds of chemotherapy would not completely remove so much cancer in her body.  Medically, she was declared “hopeless”. 

Honestly, the shocking news brought tears to our eyes. However, the Lord soon reminded us that He is the God of the impossible! He is the Healer God- more powerful than any man or medicine.  And His plans are perfect for His glory. 

We visited the family- as marveled at the peace and faith of the Holy Spirit, even just a week

after receiving this crushing news.  Gaby and Oliver, Odalys’ parents, had just been baptized two weeks before, and they continue to show their faith in their sovereign God. 

Together, we prayed to God, anointing Odalys’ head with oil, and crying out to her Creator and Father for her healing, for her peace, for her family.  We await a miracle- our God answers the prayers of His people.

We also shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Odalys, her brother Jaret, and her cousin Michael.  I fought back tears as I heard Odalys repeat a prayer to trust and follow Jesus as her Savior.  The gift of hope in Jesus is so much more palpable when you sit beside someone facing death. 

Odalys, Jaret and Michael, and even their family members, were overjoyed with their Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!  Odalys gushed over each gift. When she pulled out a hairbrush, her mother said: “Wow! A hairbrush- for when your hair grows out long again.” And then she pulled out a skirt: “Beautiful! You can wear it when you

get more meat on your bones.” Odalys smiled at the idea of having hair to brush and a healthy waist on her bone-thin body.  We wait together in faith in our powerful, sovereign God, for that day.