Testimonies
Prince
I still vividly remember the day I met Prince. It was in October of 2018 when I had the most shocking and heartbreaking first meeting with him. The day I met Prince was a divine appointment from God. I was out walking with the pastor’s wife of the church I was serving at when we came close to where Prince lived. The pastor’s wife told me that we should stop to greet this woman that was outside because it had been long time since she had seen her. The woman seemed surprised that we were there. Mama, the pastor’s wife, asked about one of her children who used to be sick a long time ago. The woman proceeded to tell Mama something in the local language of Ewe. Mama then informed me that the one she was asking of is still extremely sick after a long time. She did not realize that he was still sick after all these years because it had been long time since she had seen him. Mama asked if we could see him, and the mom seemed hesitant at first. She disappeared behind a wall which lead to a room at the side of the house. After a few minutes, she came back and asked us to follow her.
When we got to the area where she had brought Prince out for us to see him, I remember having such overwhelming feelings of shock, sadness, and even anger. Prince was leaned over a stool on the ground. His body was fragile and stick thin. He could not talk or make any form of communication. He could only lay there over the stool where he made different sounds of pain and discomfort. I examined him and found huge wounds on each hip bone from laying on the concrete floor. I could wrap my hand around his thigh. I had never seen anyone in such a serious condition up close and personal before. I remember thinking that the boy would soon die of what looked like serious malnutrition and neglect. I found out that his name was Prince and that he had been in this condition for the past 8 years.
The mother began to share his story with deep conviction and emotion. She shared that when he was 10 years old, he came home from school complaining of a headache. Soon after that, he began to suffer from convulsions and his condition worsened. There were many mysterious aspects of her story. When it comes to the reality of the truth, it I obvious they had no money to take him to any doctor, let alone a specialist. Prince’s father died when he was a young child before this condition. The mom struggled to provide for him, and his other 3 siblings who are also boys. She turned to selling alcohol and even drugs to provide for her family. That is how she met her current husband. After not receiving any help from the local church, she turned to the traditional practices of fetish priests and sacrifices. Nothing was helping Prince’s condition. It became even worse. That is why I say it was divine appointment from God that Mama and I were able to meet Prince and get to know his situation and hear his story.
God had a plan for his life all along. When his family had lost hope and given up, God was there ready to act! It was not a fast or easy journey that we started with Prince. It took days, weeks, and months to see small signs of hope, but through it all God was actively moving and working in all our hearts.
Prince is a miracle. After two different weeklong hospital admittances, several different doctor visits, scans, and medications, Prince started showing drastic changes. He put on weight, started eating solid foods, started having mobility in his joints and his motor skills started improving. His wounds were being healed from the inside out!
I will never forget when I heard him laugh for the first time. It was right after we sang a worship song in the local language of Ewe with him. It was such a glorious moment. After that special moment, it was like he came to life all over again and so did his family!
His mom had a renewed faith and joy that her son was alive and becoming healthier by the day. He was no longer hidden away in a dark room but put on display for all the community to see the transformation God had made in his life! We were able to arrange for he and the family to travel to the church together to worship God in fellowship with other believers which displayed God’s glory in his life even more!
People who knew Prince before this condition, and knew that he had been extremely sick, they could not believe the transformation. I know that so many people’s faith was strengthened by Prince’s story. For months Prince went to physical therapy with another child from the community who also has a physical and mental challenge. Prince would always impress the doctors there with his ability to do more and more each week.
Everywhere Prince went, he was an encouragement to others. His smile and laugh are contagious. I pray that all who come to know Prince’s story will be encouraged and have faith that God is a miracle worker not just physically, but He transforms us from the inside out! By His grace we are saved! Prince is a living testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
