Ministering in Unlikely Places
by Sarah Sutton
Several summers ago, my family was visiting Glacier National Park in northwest Montana, and we were staying in the remote Many Glacier Lodge. Around 11 p.m. one night, mom decided she wasn’t feeling well. The manager called the park rangers who promptly arrived and determined she was exhibiting symptoms of high-altitude sickness. She needed to be transported to an emergency room for treatment.
The ranger looked at me and said, “Ma’am, you have two options. We can air flight your mom in a helicopter to Kalispell (over the Rocky Mountains in the darkness), or we can call an ambulance from the reservation 30 miles away.”
I gave him a look that said I would consider neither option.
He said, “Look lady, I know what you’re thinking. But if it was me, I would call the ambulance and take her to that brand new hospital 30 miles away staffed with doctors onsite.” Thirty minutes later, ambulance drivers “Turkey” and “Goose” arrived and sped off with mom and my husband, Dave, as they careened down a dark mountain road. I followed in the car so we would have a return ride. We arrived around 1 a.m. and were immediately given a bed in the pit group of beds that shared a nurses’ station.
A short while after treatment, mom perked up and began a conversation with her nurse, who was named Running Deer. He was consumed with grief because his brother, while intoxicated, had run over and killed his own son. Mom began to share the hope she had in Christ and how healing could come for his brother by studying the 12-step class in Celebrate Recovery based on the Beatitudes in Scripture. Halfway through her explanation, he crawled in bed next to her to further seek comfort from this mother-like figure he had found who could finally offer hope.
An hour later, I had to make an adjustment on my insulin pump. Mom didn’t miss a beat and also used this opportunity to minister. Knowing that Native Americans have a higher incidence rate of diabetes, she asked the nurses if they had ever heard of an insulin pump. They had, but no one had ever seen one. At that time, they just simply had no access to this newer technology. I proceeded to show everyone how it worked and what all was entailed in wearing one. They were fascinated. I prayed that short time of actually seeing one would spur them on to using them for treatment. In our three-hour stay, we became great friends with the doctor and all of the nurses because mom was the only patient that night.
We headed back to the lodge around 4 a.m. and were treated to an amazing display of constellations. We felt so close to the stars that it seemed like we could pluck them out of the sky. God had that special treat planned for us after such a nerve-wracking night.
Anytime mom is in the hospital, she actively looks for opportunities to minister. At the height of the popularity of the book titled The Purpose-Driven Life, she was in orthopedic rehab for several weeks. I made countless trips up there hauling boxes and boxes of those books to everyone she had going through the study—patients and employees alike.
We have found that anyone who works in an industry that deals with emotional, spiritual or physical trauma is probably going to be open to something that will also help them. It is exhausting to deal with such a heavy burden of illness almost every single day. Mom has a knack for opening conversations, and before people know it, they are spilling their deepest needs to her. That’s right where she wants them—desperately seeking the peace only Jesus can give.
Romans 12:10-16 says, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”
The next time you are in a hospital room, the ER, doctor’s office, a lobby or even a parking lot (yes, some man came up to her one time in the Home Depot parking lot desperate for spiritual help), start a conversation. And be ready to respond to what the Holy Spirit will work through you in that person’s life.
Author Bio
Sarah gave her life to Christ as an 11-year-old in a tiny town in northern Montana. As a junior at OBU, she surrendered her life to Christian service and has served at CRBC for over 30 years. She plays flute in the orchestra, caters to her Savannah cats and grows peonies. She and Dave love to photograph sunsets on whatever remote location the latest airfare sale leads them and have learned the more lost they are, the better the adventure!