On the first Thurs. of May, our nation calls for a National Day of Prayer. Adventist Midwest Health (AMH) continues to take part in this annual event by sponsoring several community events. And while employees and the community gather at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, and in Glendale Heights, Ill., for a breakfast co-sponsored by Adventist GlenOaks Hospital, we know that one day is not enough to glorify God or truly intercede on behalf of others. It takes dedicated administrators, employees, and family members to support the mission.
In health care ministry, we value the prayers that lift up physicians, nurses, caretakers, and administrators to extend the healing hand of Christ. The power of prayer gives clinicians, patients, and family members the strength when physical healing seems unattainable.
Commitment to prayer is evident in two Food Service employees at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital (ALMH). Bettye Griffin and Willie Harris begin their day with prayer. They pray they will make a difference in people’s lives and especially for the patients in the hospital to get well.
With more than 40 years of experience each at ALMH, Bettye and Willie meet together daily before work to lift their petitions and praise to the Lord.
"These dedicated, long-term employees live our mission,” notes Tim Cook, CEO, who nominated these employees to participate in the Adventist Health System (AHS) Conference on Mission in Orlando, Fla., last Feb. “They applied their spirituality to their work ethic, and are an encouragement to all at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital.”
Each day, before the sun rises, Bettye drives Willie to work and they bow their heads in prayer in the parking lot, seeking divine guidance for world leaders, hospital administration, and their lives. It’s a good combination illustrating people united in mission. Sometimes co-workers Mattie Green and Debra Lumpkin join them in prayer.
“Willie's and Bettye’s story was one of five chosen by Adventist Health System to be highlighted at the Fri. evening vespers program. The program concentrated on stories that reflected individuals 'United in Mission,'” explained Christine Stewart, AHS Corporate Communications assistant director.
The Conference on Mission is an annual event that brings the leadership of Adventist hospitals and the Seventh-day Adventist Church together to discuss important topics related to mission within AHS. This year’s conference theme was "Confident in our Identity/Committed to Inclusivity."
Prayer also supported team members on the 2006 AMH mission trip to Ghana, West Africa. According to Rodney Grove, an AMH board member and participant, “We experienced numerous problems on this trip that made it more difficult than other mission trips I’ve been on. From missing a passport and visa a week before the trip, to delays in flights, or ordered materials not arriving on time for construction, we saw the results of prayer and everything worked out well.
“We normally have a liaison in the country, but because of a change in government, everything we had prepared for didn’t take place. We had to reinvent the wheel after we arrived and we did that surrounded in prayer,” said Grove, who also is Lake Union Conference executive secretary.
In continuing the focus of healing the body, mind, and spirit, AMH encourages others to pray to connect with God as well as those for whom prayers are said.
Lynn Larson, Adventist Midwest Health public relations specialist
