Pastor Douglas Weiser, WELS liaison to Nigeria, shares a story about Nurse Esther Johnny, a member of WELS' sister synod Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria. Esther and her family built a one-room health clinic in front of their home in 2007 so Esther could treat sick people and dispense medications. She also delivers babies in her home. The Humanitarian Aid Committee of WELS World Missions recently gave Esther $10,000 to help her and her family add a four-bed delivery unit to the existing health clinic and buy needed medications. The letter below is from Esther's son, Iboro:

We sincerely thank you and WELS for the support towards our childbirth clinic construction. . . .

We thank the Lord Almighty for his blessings, opportunity granted my mother to save lives through child delivery and medications. We had new converts yesterday at [Christ the King Lutheran Church], Uruk Uso, as a result of Mrs. Johnny preaching to patients during treatment.

There is a story I want to share about how God used Mrs. Johnny to save a pregnant woman. She came to my mother for treatment and child delivery after treatment by traditional healers failed. My mother asked her if she had gotten treatment anywhere. She said yes, that she has been getting treatment from one of the traditional midwives. My mum questioned her again why she did not deliver her baby there. She replied that the traditional healer declared that her baby was a stillbirth (i.e. her baby was dead right inside her womb) and that the only solution is for her to go the hospital for abortion in order to save her life, after paying a huge amount to the midwife. My mother asked her if she believed in God. She said yes. After several tests, my mother encouraged the woman to put her faith in Jesus Christ. She stayed with my mother, and, as God will like it, she gave birth after two nights to a living and bouncing baby boy.

Behold, when God proved himself as a miracle worker for her, the mother vowed to serve God with us.

Editor's note: The woman mentioned in this letter did become a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church.