“Jessie’s stay at the hospital was dragging on into weeks. Rosie and I started to get to know some of the staff. Housekeepers, technicians, cafeteria servers and cashiers all made up our ever-growing group of acquaintances.

“Sunday was one of the worst days that I had experienced with Jessie. She had 8 seizures during that day plus signs of agitation, distress and pain. There was nothing I could humanly do about it. Talk about an exhausting day…

“When Jessie finally calmed down and fell asleep for a bit, I left the room to visit the cafetería. After all, it was close to dinner time. In fact it was almost too late as the cafeteria closed at 6:30 and I got off the elevator at 6:29. The doors were closing as I was walking up. As the cashier added up my order, she commented, ‘I’ve seen you quite a few times.’

“I told her about Jessie. After finishing, with a tear in her eye, she said, ‘I’ll pray for you.’ Normally I have the sensitivity of a brick and would have just said ‘thank you’ paid for my food and sauntered away. However, this time I asked her if she is a Christian. Her response was telling. She wasn’t sure. There we stood at her cash register for the next 20 minutes as I answered many of her questions. This couldn’t have happened if I had gotten there any earlier. We agreed to meet again the next day. After another hour or so of sharing the gospel, she prayed to receive Christ as her Savior.

“That Sunday seemed to be a turning point in Jessie’s recovery though we would spend another three weeks at the hospital. Rosie and I were able to give ‘the cafetería lady’ a Bible and encourage her in those days to follow. We discovered that Rosie had already established a friendship with her.”

(Skip & Rosie Kite’s daughter, Jessie, has Rett Syndrome. They have a children’s ministry in the USA.)