In 2003 I went to Uganda

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

‘In 2003 I went to Uganda. I was treasurer of a charity and I went to visit the work I'd been supporting. I had never been abroad before and never gone on a long-haul flight so it was a major event for me, more so because a few years previously I'd had ME and I had been off work for 10 months. 

‘I wasn't well when I got there, and I remember one night lying under a mosquito net saying to the Lord, “You wanted me here, I'm trusting you but I don't know what this is all about.”  

‘My profession was in health promotion. I realised that God wanted me to experience what it was like to be ill and not to be able to get any help. During that time, I attended the funeral of a three-year-old girl who died of malaria because they couldn't get her to hospital. 

‘One night it was pitch black, and the only way I could see where I was going was with a torch, and Psalm 119.105 came to me, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” I thought, God's word will only show me one step at a time. That was a very vivid illustration. 

‘The next day I went for a walk through the sights, sounds and smells of the village. I felt the Lord saying, “Thelma, can you feel my heart?”

‘Now I knew why I had had to go to Uganda. My profession was public health – this was clearly absent here.

‘Shortly after my return home, I was invited by my work to enroll for an MSc in Public Health.  I thought this strange as I was approaching retirement age. I had no A-levels and no degree. Yet, I thought back to Uganda – was this the next step? After several years of part-time study, at the age of 60 I graduated with an MSc in Public Health. Within days, I was invited to be a voluntary consultant and join a group to write the health promotion strategy for a Christian charity working internationally.   

‘One step at a time, the Lord was fulfilling his plan for my life, and he continues to do so.’

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