by Halle Johnson, Student Public Relations Writer
For Sydney Mason, a Cedarville University junior studying 工作室艺术, her high school years were plagued by doubts about her faith until a brush with death led to a miracle. In 2018, 作为一名高二学生, Mason’s church took a group of students on a mission trip to help build new dormitories at the Praise Valley Camp and Retreat Center in Saltillo, 墨西哥.
“I came into the trip with heavy doubts about Christianity,梅森说。. “I felt like I knew deep in my heart what was true, and I desperately wanted to believe wholeheartedly, but I had so many doubts about who Christ was and what being a believer encompassed.”
抵达墨西哥三天后, Mason and the five other high school volunteers from Heath, Ohio were painting the outside of the new dormitory as men prepared to pour a concrete roof.
煤渣砖, which had fallen two stories from the roof, had struck Mason in the back-left side of her skull. 然后被送往当地诊所, Mason was surrounded by the group who immediately began praying, 西班牙语和英语, 为她.
这家诊所普遍人手不足, 但在那天, Mason was able to be seen by a local doctor who stitched her wound.
“There was no clean water, so they could not even wash the blood out of my hair to see the injury. The nurses used iPhone flashlights so the doctor could put in five emergency stitches through my hair,梅森说。. “当我回家的时候, my doctor told me I should have needed over a dozen stitches for a scar that size, 但那些缝线还在.”
Mason was then driven to the largest hospital in Saltillo, 大约两个小时的路程, in order to check for potential brain injury.
奥尔加, 营长的妻子, drove Mason to the hospital and later explained that the healthcare system in 墨西哥 is confusing, 即使是当地人. 而不是一个中心医院, Mexican healthcare tends to have many smaller hospitals for specific people groups. 结果是, 奥尔加 had no idea where to take Mason for treatment and prayed the entire way for direction.
“I remember the car slowing down at every fork in the road while 奥尔加 prayed for direction,梅森说。.
Mason was driven directly to the emergency room and was seen by a doctor within 10 minutes of arriving.
一个又一个奇迹, Mason’s doctor told her she needed no more stitches and the bleeding had slowed. After an MRI, Mason was told she had none of the expected brain or skull damage. After telling her doctor that she was in 墨西哥 on a mission trip, he chose to waive the visit fee- yet another miracle in light of the high cost of the medical bill.
The doctor prescribed Mason painkillers, even though throughout the entire experience she had felt no pain, and she even continued to work at the camp for the remainder of the trip.
“I woke up the next morning without any pain, not even a headache!梅森说。.
After arriving back in the United States, Mason went to see her primary care doctor, who informed her that she had no infection and that the wound would heal perfectly. 事实上, Mason had no long-term brain or spine damage- a shock considering that if the block had hit even an inch differently, 她可能已经瘫痪了, 失明或死亡.
The experience is one that has had a long-term impact on Mason’s faith. .jpg?sfvrsn=491dcab3_2)
“Anytime I have doubts now I can just feel my scar and know I have a tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness,梅森说。. “在我怀疑的时候, he literally hit me on the head and said, “我在这里。, 我是忠诚的, 我在场.’”
作为一个 工作室艺术 major at Cedarville, Mason used the experience for inspiration 为她 art. In her woodworking class, Mason chose to create a 2-by-1 wood sculpture of a cinder block.
“I named the piece 恩典的恩赐,’梅森说。. “God took a rough material used for building and used it to smooth and perfect my relationship with him. I wanted to reflect that in my piece and let it serve as a testimony to his faithfulness in our periods of doubt.”
位于俄亥俄州西南部, 沙巴体育是一所认证的大学, 将其人化的, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 5,082年本科, 研究生, and dual enrolled high school students in more than 175 areas of study. 成立于1887年, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, 严谨的学术课程, 包括单身汉 艺术工作室, 高毕业率和留校率, accredited professional and health science offerings, and the #4 national ranking by the Wall Street Journal for student engagement. For more information about the University, visit 斯德维尔.edu.