Wesley Banda pastored several villages in Malawi. The family lived in a two-room house. Because the area had no electricity, Mrs. Banda prepared the family meals outside over an open fire.
One evening after dinner Mrs. Banda returned to her fire to prepare the morning meal of sadza (a thick porridge of cornmeal). Her husband sat in the family’s front room, working on some papers. The children sat quietly in the room waiting for family devotions, but 5-year-old Joshua had fallen asleep on the mat at his father’s feet.
As Pastor Banda lit the paraffin lamp, their only source of light, the flame sputtered, and he noticed the lamp was running low on fuel. He fetched the paraffin and began refilling the tank. But unknown to him, the paraffin was contaminated with a small amount of gasoline. As he poured the fuel into the lamp’s reservoir the fumes caught fire, and the lamp exploded in his hands.
Instinctively Pastor Banda threw the lamp across the room, but his clothes had caught fire. Mrs. Banda heard the explosion and looked up to see her husband run out the door, his clothes aflame. She immediately threw a pan of water onto his burning clothes while he rolled on the ground. Soon the fire was out.
The children ran out of the house, screaming, Fire! Fire! The burning fuel had set the front room ablaze. In the excitement, nobody noticed that little Joshua was missing. Moments later Mrs. Banda looked at the doorway and saw Joshua crawling out of the house; his clothes were burning. She shrieked and grabbed her youngest child and dropped him into a pan of water. The fire hissed and went out, but Joshua was terribly burned.
The neighbors dashed out of their houses to see what had happened. They rushed to put out the fire, but most of the family’s belongings were destroyed.
Their village had no clinic or hospital, so a neighbor ran to the house of a farmer who had a car. They banged on his door and begged for his immediate help. He rushed over to drive the Bandas to the nearest hospital. Even so, it was nearly midnight when the family entered the hospital emergency room. It had been more than four hours since the explosion.
The doctors shook their heads as they looked at the burns that the pastor and his son had suffered. Pastor Banda’s burns were serious, but little Joshua was even more seriously injured. Terrible burns covered his legs, stomach, and chest. Every movement brought screams of pain from the little boy. Even while they worked to save father and son some of the doctors tried to prepare the family for the likelihood that Joshua wouldn’t survive.
We’re doing everything we can for your son, the doctor said gently. But he is so badly burned that it would be a blessing if he died."
No! Mrs. Banda said firmly. God has saved his life. Do what you must, but God will save my son."
Treating the wounds was nearly as painful as the burns themselves. Every day nurses removed the bandages and soaked the burns in salt water. Then they gently scraped the burns to remove the dead skin. This would help prevent infection. The nurses taught Mrs. Banda how to wash the wounds and apply the medicine. She stayed in the hospital with her husband and son to prepare their meals and help care for them.
After two long months Pastor Banda insisted that he could stay no longer in the hospital. His muscles were weak, and he could barely walk, but he was concerned about his church members.
After Pastor Banda returned home, Joshua and his mother remained in the hospital for four more months. Every day his mother talked gently to him as she cleaned and dressed his wounds. Her presence strengthened the boy and gave him hope.
It was difficult for the family to be separated for so many months. They couldn’t visit one another, but they could pray.
After six months Joshua was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital for another three months of physical therapy. He couldn’t walk, but he learned to shuffle along behind a walker. His mother began a new routine of daily therapy. She soaked his legs in warm water, then stretched the muscles in his legs. It was painful, but she urged Joshua to sing instead of cry.
At last Joshua was able to go home, but his mother continued treating him and encouraged him to walk. When he saw his friends playing outside, he wanted to play too. After a year of recovery and therapy Joshua was able to walk without help.
Pastor Banda’s recovery took a long time too. His damaged leg muscles would not stretch enough to allow him to ride a bicycle. And this made it very difficult for him to get from one church to another in the countryside. But his churches continued to grow in size and in faith.
Pastor Banda knows that throughout their ordeal God was beside each member of the family, encouraging, blessing, and healing. God was blessing us even during our most difficult hour, he says. When I returned to work from the hospital, the church prospered even more, and more people came into the church than had been coming before the fire.
Mrs. Banda was also grateful for God’s blessings during the terrible ordeal. I thank God for saving my husband and son, she says. This experience taught me the importance of spending more time with my family. I had failed to notice some special qualities in little Joshua that I saw when he was in the hospital. For example, he has a wonderful talent for singing that I did not fully realize until I heard him singing while he was confined to his bed in the hospital. During our long hospital stay we had time to become good friends with each other and with God.
One evening after dinner Mrs. Banda returned to her fire to prepare the morning meal of sadza (a thick porridge of cornmeal). Her husband sat in the family’s front room, working on some papers. The children sat quietly in the room waiting for family devotions, but 5-year-old Joshua had fallen asleep on the mat at his father’s feet.
As Pastor Banda lit the paraffin lamp, their only source of light, the flame sputtered, and he noticed the lamp was running low on fuel. He fetched the paraffin and began refilling the tank. But unknown to him, the paraffin was contaminated with a small amount of gasoline. As he poured the fuel into the lamp’s reservoir the fumes caught fire, and the lamp exploded in his hands.
Instinctively Pastor Banda threw the lamp across the room, but his clothes had caught fire. Mrs. Banda heard the explosion and looked up to see her husband run out the door, his clothes aflame. She immediately threw a pan of water onto his burning clothes while he rolled on the ground. Soon the fire was out.
The children ran out of the house, screaming, Fire! Fire! The burning fuel had set the front room ablaze. In the excitement, nobody noticed that little Joshua was missing. Moments later Mrs. Banda looked at the doorway and saw Joshua crawling out of the house; his clothes were burning. She shrieked and grabbed her youngest child and dropped him into a pan of water. The fire hissed and went out, but Joshua was terribly burned.
The neighbors dashed out of their houses to see what had happened. They rushed to put out the fire, but most of the family’s belongings were destroyed.
Their village had no clinic or hospital, so a neighbor ran to the house of a farmer who had a car. They banged on his door and begged for his immediate help. He rushed over to drive the Bandas to the nearest hospital. Even so, it was nearly midnight when the family entered the hospital emergency room. It had been more than four hours since the explosion.
The doctors shook their heads as they looked at the burns that the pastor and his son had suffered. Pastor Banda’s burns were serious, but little Joshua was even more seriously injured. Terrible burns covered his legs, stomach, and chest. Every movement brought screams of pain from the little boy. Even while they worked to save father and son some of the doctors tried to prepare the family for the likelihood that Joshua wouldn’t survive.
We’re doing everything we can for your son, the doctor said gently. But he is so badly burned that it would be a blessing if he died."
No! Mrs. Banda said firmly. God has saved his life. Do what you must, but God will save my son."
Treating the wounds was nearly as painful as the burns themselves. Every day nurses removed the bandages and soaked the burns in salt water. Then they gently scraped the burns to remove the dead skin. This would help prevent infection. The nurses taught Mrs. Banda how to wash the wounds and apply the medicine. She stayed in the hospital with her husband and son to prepare their meals and help care for them.
After two long months Pastor Banda insisted that he could stay no longer in the hospital. His muscles were weak, and he could barely walk, but he was concerned about his church members.
After Pastor Banda returned home, Joshua and his mother remained in the hospital for four more months. Every day his mother talked gently to him as she cleaned and dressed his wounds. Her presence strengthened the boy and gave him hope.
It was difficult for the family to be separated for so many months. They couldn’t visit one another, but they could pray.
After six months Joshua was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital for another three months of physical therapy. He couldn’t walk, but he learned to shuffle along behind a walker. His mother began a new routine of daily therapy. She soaked his legs in warm water, then stretched the muscles in his legs. It was painful, but she urged Joshua to sing instead of cry.
At last Joshua was able to go home, but his mother continued treating him and encouraged him to walk. When he saw his friends playing outside, he wanted to play too. After a year of recovery and therapy Joshua was able to walk without help.
Pastor Banda’s recovery took a long time too. His damaged leg muscles would not stretch enough to allow him to ride a bicycle. And this made it very difficult for him to get from one church to another in the countryside. But his churches continued to grow in size and in faith.
Pastor Banda knows that throughout their ordeal God was beside each member of the family, encouraging, blessing, and healing. God was blessing us even during our most difficult hour, he says. When I returned to work from the hospital, the church prospered even more, and more people came into the church than had been coming before the fire.
Mrs. Banda was also grateful for God’s blessings during the terrible ordeal. I thank God for saving my husband and son, she says. This experience taught me the importance of spending more time with my family. I had failed to notice some special qualities in little Joshua that I saw when he was in the hospital. For example, he has a wonderful talent for singing that I did not fully realize until I heard him singing while he was confined to his bed in the hospital. During our long hospital stay we had time to become good friends with each other and with God.