[Faith-talk] Christian missionary woman contracts the abola virus

[Poppa Bear]

I wanted to post this because when I read it something pulled at my heart
strings and the short article caused me to glory in the grace of God and the
testimony of this woman and her husband. Even though it is brief it is a
small flash of light to me, because I know that God can be glorified through
anything even this. 

 

Nancy Writebol is a loving mother. A devoted wife. A woman of faith. A
missionary who has traveled the world to help others, and now, the world
knows her as an Ebola patient.

Last month, while working in Liberia, Writebol contracted the deadly virus.
She's one of three Americans known to contract Ebola during the outbreak
that has ravaged West Africa.

The others are colleague Dr. Kent Brantly and Patrick Sawyer, a naturalized
citizen and Liberian government official who died from the disease earlier
this week.

The missionary is expected to be picked up in West Africa and flown back to
the United States, where she is expected to join Brantly -- who arrived
Saturday -- in a special isolation unit at Atlanta's Emory University
Hospital. According to Todd Shearer, a spokesman for the Christian charity
Samaritan's Purse, she should be in Georgia early next week.

The trip will be the latest of many journeys for Writebol, whose other
missionary ventures include Ecuador and 14 years ministering to orphans and
vulnerable children in Africa. 

Since August 2013, the Writebols have been in Monrovia, Liberia, with the
Serving in Mission group, which worked with Samaritan's Purse.

Nancy guided missionaries and teams and worked with nurses at ELWA hospital,
where her husband is the technical services manager, according to the
Christian group's website. Nancy was diagnosed with Ebola on July 25.

Those who know Nancy best say that she's motivated not by any quest for
personal glory or thirst for adventure, but because she and her husband feel
compelled to act because of their faith.

As husband David explained from Africa via Skype to members of Cavalry
Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, at a recent vigil for Nancy: "We have
been blessed because of what Christ has done for us, (by giving) us eternal
life and salvation.

"What else could we do (but help)?"

The fact the Writebols left the comforts of America to live in an area rife
with poverty, instability and disease, the fact they put their lives at risk
to assist those suffering everyday, isn't surprising to those who know them.

John Munro, their friend and pastor at Cavalry Church, describes the couple
as "the salt of the Earth," the kind of people who wouldn't give a second
thought to dropping everything to help.

The only thing perhaps ironic about what's happening now is how such an
"unassuming" and "very humble" woman has become international news.

"She is ... not someone who would ever make the headlines," Munro said,
"apart from something like this."

That doesn't change the fact the Writebols have extraordinary lives.

Wherever they've gone, their lives have been centered on their church and
their family, including two now-adult sons who live in the United States. 

One of those sons, Jeremy Writebol, told CNN's Chris Cuomo that the recent
ordeal has been hard on his father. Nancy Writebol has been isolated in the
couple's Liberia home; she and David talk by phone but, given fears she
might pass on Ebola to him, they can't touch.

"It's very difficult, and we feel the emotion of that," Jeremy Writebol said
of his parents' physical separation.

Then, of course, there's the inherent danger of Ebola. The World Health
Organization reports that there have been at least 1,322 cases in recent
weeks in West Africa, some 729 of which have resulted in death.

Even before it was known his mother would return to the United States, where
she'll get top-notch care at Emory, Jeremy Writebol took solace the
mortality rate isn't even higher.

"We feel like Mom has a chance," he told CNN affiliate WCCB.