Gift From God: Adult Mission Story for May 30, 2026

By Gina Wahlen

Jeanne thought she was going to die. The 26-year-old expectant mother felt dizzy all the time. Her appetite vanished. When she went outdoors, she felt like the wind was passing through her body. Everything hurt.

A city hospital in Burundi ran a series of tests but couldn’t diagnose her condition.

Jeanne went to another hospital for more tests, but doctors there couldn’t help, either.

She spent a lot of money seeking a cure, and all hope seemed lost. Death appeared to offer the only relief, but Jeanne wanted to give birth. She wanted to know her first child.

Then someone told her about a Seventh-day Adventist clinic in the northwestern corner of the country. Jeanne went to the clinic known as the Buganda Dispensary.

The clinic’s staff ran a first test and immediately diagnosed her condition. Jeanne didn’t recognize the name of the illness, but she gratefully accepted the liquid medicine that she received.

Following the staff’s instructions, she drank the medicine three times a week. It was very sweet.

As the weeks passed, her pain disappeared, and she returned to her old self. When she went back to the clinic for a follow-up visit, she received a clean bill of health.

Jeanne was delighted! A short time later, she gave birth to a baby girl. She named her Chanelle.

Time passed, and Jeanne fell ill again. Now she felt disappointed with the Adventist clinic. She thought that the clinic hadn’t been able to cure her after all and that her previous illness had returned. So, she went to five other clinics, but none of them could help her.

In desperation, she returned to the Buganda Dispensary. The doctor diagnosed her with a new illness, tuberculosis.

She received medicine, and the clinic’s staff gave her advice on how to keep herself and others safe.

Jeanne was grateful for the diagnosis, and she was happy when she later received another clean bill of health.

After that, she had no question about where to take Chanelle when the little girl fell ill at the age of two. She took her to the Adventist clinic.

A doctor ran tests and used a name that Jeanne didn’t recognize to identify the girl’s sickness. The doctor told her to bring the girl back every 10 days for an injection. Jeanne did, and Chanelle received 18 injections before being pronounced healthy.

During the time of treatment, the clinic’s staff came to visit Jeanne and her daughter at home. They prayed with her both at the clinic and in her home.

Jeanne’s heart was touched by their love for God and her little family. She decided to get baptized and join the Seventh-day Adventist. She was won to Christ through the same method that Christ used to win people to Him when He walked on the earth. Ellen White says, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with people as one who desired their good. He showed sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He invited them, ‘Follow Me’” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 73).

For many months, the clinic’s staff practiced Christ’s method: visiting Jeanne and her daughter, praying with them, ministering to their needs, and winning their confidence. Then Jeanne decided to follow Jesus.

Today, Jeanne is 40 and a faithful Seventh-day Adventist. Chanelle, who is 10, enjoys going to Sabbath School with her mother every week. For them, the Buganda Dispensary is a precious gift from God.

“By the way I was treated at the clinic and by the love that they showed me, I can say that they are God’s employees,” Jeanne said. “Even when I’m at home, they visit me and pray for me.”

This quarter, you can help the Buganda Dispensary expand in its ministry of serving as the healing hands of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. The clinic, which is located in the cradle of Adventism in Burundi, will use the funds to renovate its current building, built when it first opened in 1983. The funds also will help the clinic expand with new male and female wards, single-patient rooms, a new consultation room, a reception area, a laboratory, and bathrooms. Thank you for giving generously to this important project.