“The Nurse and the Refugee”

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.”- Paslm 117

In 2023, during the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe, a nurse from New Zealand named Annabel Ngata volunteered at a makeshift clinic on the borders of Poland. One night, a young Ukrainian refugee boy, barely 7, was brought in, shivering, speechless, and separated from his family. Though he didn’t speak English, Annabel stayed by his side, covering him with her coat and singing a Māori waiata softly to calm him (is a traditional Māori song that can serve various purposes, including expressing emotions, telling stories, and commemorating events and even lullabies). A lullaby is like “Hine e Hine" or a lament expressing grief would be like "E Rangi e". Anyways..

When the boy finally smiled and held her hand, a translator standing nearby said, “He thinks you’re an angel sent by God.”

That night, Annabel wrote in her journal: "Love transcends nations, borders, and languages. I’ve never felt God's faithfulness more clearly than I did today."