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The Miracle of John Paul

Writer's picture: Paula Paula

In January 2020, I experienced God in action while visiting the Sister Servants of the Visitation (SSV) in Borongan, Eastern Samar. Sister Rubi, the Sister Superior of the local congregation, invited me, my husband Tom and my granddaughter Brigid to join her and another Sister on a visit to the Provincial Hospital.

We arrived at the hospital with rosaries, baby clothes, and baby blankets to give to each of the new parents and their babies. The maternity ward is a room with about 25 beds shared by the mom and baby. Following introductions and a prayer by Sr. Rubi, the distribution of gifts to the appreciative families proceeded down the row of beds. At the far end of the room, we found a baby on a wooden shelf with his eyes covered to protect him from the fluorescent lights above his little body.

We observed that the baby had very shallow respiration, pale yellow skin, and a general lack of motion. The parents had been told by the doctors that their baby, whom they had named John Paul, was in critical condition. Four days old, he has been too weak to effectively nurse and was in desperate need of a transfer to a higher level of care in a hospital which is five hours away. According to the family, there was no ambulance available to affect the transfer.


Sr. Rubi then spoke to the charge nurse who confirmed the urgent need for the transfer to Tacloban. She also stated that the reason the ambulance was not available was because the family had no funds to pay the required fees – about $80.00 USD. Offering to provide the required budget, John Paul was quickly prepared for transfer and the ambulance arrived a short time later. The parents were so grateful. After a short prayer, we left the transfer in the hands of the hospital staff.

For two weeks, we didn’t hear any news from the family, but prayed for John Paul and his family every day. We remember Sr. Rubi saying that we had done all we could and the rest is in God’s hands. Eventually, word reached us back in the US that the parents had called and John Paul was alive and well. A few days later, John Paul was brought by his parents to the SSV home in Bato to personally thank the Sisters for their help in saving the life of their son. We were so pleased to receive pictures of a very healthy baby boy!


God is the author of all moments in life. How did we happen to be at the hospital that day? How did we happen to find the sick infant at the end of the ward? How did the Sisters know what help was needed? Nothing happens without God’s mercy and love. We are so grateful to have witnessed the miracle of John Paul.

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ABOUT US

Guardians of the Visitation is a charitable organization dedicated in prayer and service to extending spiritual, financial, and material support to the congregation of religious women Sisters Servants of the Visitation as they seek to bring the Joy of the Visitation and the Smile of God to forgotten areas of our world.  We walk with the SSV Congregation through our prayerful devotion to  Our Mother of the Visitation Mary, the most Holy Mother, and our charitable works in our communities following Mother Mary's model of humble accompaniment to the poor.

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