Dolly with her sister Sarita (8), and her sons, Diego (4) and David (3 months).

The Bible study had ended and it was beginning to get dark out in the rural Paraguayan town of Sanha Pyta, near Caazapa.

SIM missionaries, Paul and Becky Dreiling, were preparing to leave the López family home when Francisco asked them to take a look at their 12-year-old daughter. Becky is a nurse and this kind of request was not unusual. Dolly was terribly thin and she had a cyst at the base of her spine. As Becky examined the young girl by flashlight, it seemed to her as though the cyst had been there since birth.

She asked the parents, "What did the medical staff say about this cyst when Dolly was born?" Francisco and Petrona replied, "They said she would need surgery at some point, but at that time, her heart was too weak to withstand it." It seemed as though the cyst was perhaps not Dolly's biggest problem. Becky took her stethoscope out of her bag and listened to Dolly's heart. Her heartbeat was very hard and irregular, and Becky was worried because this young girl was clearly very ill.

God Intervenes

The following day, Paul and Becky took Dolly and her father to Asunción, the capital city, to see the doctor. As soon as the doctor examined her, he knew her life was in danger and it was imperative Dolly see a cardiologist right away. He organised an appointment that very day at the new cardiology unit in the hospital. She had to have lots of expensive studies done, but time after time, the doctors and technicians doing the studies would refuse to charge for their work. They would say, "I don't know what is going on here, but I don't want to get in the way of what your God is doing."

Within six days of Dolly arriving in Asunción, she had life-saving surgery to replace one of the valves on her heart.

Paul and Becky had received a phone call just days beforehand from good friends of theirs in the States, saying they had a sum of money they wanted to give for a medical need. It turned out to be the exact amount of Dolly’s hospital bill. "It was so clear that God had that whole situation under control," says Becky.

Dolly recovered well and grew up in good health, though she still had the cyst at the base of her spine.

Big Responsibilities

Then, when Dolly was 18, her mother died in childbirth. Since Dolly was the eldest daughter, she became mother to Sarita, her new baby sister, as well as her other siblings living at home. She also had to look after her father, who was becoming ill.

Just two years after her mom died, her dad went to be with the Lord after suffering congestive heart failure.

Dolly got married soon after that and she took Sarita to live with her and her husband Roney. Her four other siblings were given into the care of her oldest brother, who was married. Everybody thought that would be the best solution for the children.

Soon, however, the church became aware that this brother and his wife were exploiting and abusing Dolly's younger brothers and sisters. The children were malnourished and overworked, and they were not allowed to go to school. So, after much prayer, the church decided to try to remove the children, one at a time, from their brother's home, and give them to Dolly and Roney to look after. It was a long and difficult process, but after lots of prayer and frequent visits to the brother’s house, the church persuaded them to let the children leave.

Becky says, "It's obvious that God wanted Dolly to live so that she could take care of the family once her parents had passed away."

Then, when she was 24, the cyst at the base of Dolly’s spine became infected and once again, her life was at risk. She was rushed to hospital a second time and had the cyst removed.

Now, along with Sarita, Dolly and Roney have two children of their own. The rest of the siblings are living with relatives and friends.

Dolly has seen the hand of God on her life. She says, "I know that on my own, I cannot do anything. I’ve gone through a lot and God’s been with me always. It was very difficult when my parents died, but God comforted me. Then I was very worried about my younger brothers and sisters, but I prayed and God opened the doors. Now I know they are taken care of and I am very thankful."