am part of a local team called Treasures of the Heart, a non-profit organization serving orphans, orphanages, children’s hospitals, street kids and low vision schools in Russia, the Republic of Georgia and India. A fellow team member shared information about Treasures of the Heart with a missionary named Greg Jenkins in Tbilisi, Georgia, while on a recent visit there. (The country of Georgia is located in southwestern Asia and borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia.) My colleague told Greg about the many ways that God opens doors for Treasures of the Heart by supplying them with donated medical supplies from various hospitals.

During their conversation, Greg mentioned that there was only one respirator in the entire country of Georgia. Members of Treasures agreed to pray and search for one for the hospital. When I heard of this, my first thought was whether CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth possibly had a used respirator in inventory that was no longer being used. Before I contacted Shelly Cooper, the hospital’s director of Respiratory Care, I prayed to God that I would be able to find the respirator so badly needed. I called Shelly to inquire about any unused respirators at CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth. She said the hospital did not have any at the time, but that she would try and get the name and phone number of a sales representative who worked for the vendor that provided respirators for CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth. Again, I prayed.

The next day, Shelly called with an unbelievable message. For no particular reason, the sales rep just happened to stop by that day. In passing conversation, he had asked Shelly if she knew of any organizations that could use a respirator. Apparently, his company had several unused respirators that needed to be moved out of storage. Shelly hastily replied that she did, in fact, know of someone looking for a respirator and gave the vendor my name and phone number. After speaking with the sales representative, I was thrilled to learn that he had not only one, but four respirators that he was willing to donate! I asked God and believed that He would lead me to find one respirator, but He gave four!

A fellow Treasures member drove to Houston and picked them up. Unbeknownst to us, Greg had already scheduled a shipping container for delivery to Georgia that summer, so shipping was provided at no cost to Treasures. The respirators were delivered to the amazement and joy of the hospital staff in Tbilisi, Georgia. Greg wrote to tell us that because of the donation of the respirators, the director of the hospital allowed Greg to place a Bible, written in the Georgian language, by each hospital bed and that the orphans at the orphanage he serves would receive medical care for free going forward.

I continue to stand in awe of the faithfulness of God and how He carefully orchestrates our steps, putting people together at just the right time, in just the right place. While my goal was to provide “The Breath of Life,” God’s goal was to provide “The Bread of Life.”

Phyllis Barrington
Administrative Assistant,
CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital