2018/2019
Vol. 14

Heart of God

1974; Panama City, Panama

Years ago, in the Central American nation of Panama, lived a ten-year-old girl who was about to discover her passion for medicine. One day Anabela’s teacher brought a heart model to her class — the girl was amazed by the intricacies of the human heart. A fire had been lit in Anabela’s heart and mind — she discovered her love for medical sciences.

The moment Anabela arrived home from school, she told her father that she wanted to grow up to become a heart doctor. Anabela’s father supported her dream and even went so far as to buy her a microscope. The little girl was ecstatic about her gift and immediately set about obtaining interesting samples to observe under her microscope. She scoured her neighborhood for plants to observe — she even took some hairs from family members to study!

Anabela, with her family’s love and support, studied hard and graduated at the top of her class. She went on to attend college, using scholastic merit scholarships.

Along with the support of her family, Anabela found a guiding hand along the road to her dreams — God. She was extremely faithful and even dreamed of becoming a missionary. Anabela attended church services, but she couldn’t understand the preacher because her native tongue was Spanish. She was very worried about starting medical school when she was still struggling to learn English, but the missionaries reassured her and implored her to not be afraid, because all things are possible through God.

Anabela attended medical school in the United States of America and had to work very hard to learn everything. She had to attend her classes, translate all of the coursework into Spanish so that she could effectively study it, and then prepare herself to be able to take tests written in English! Despite the difficulty the language barrier presented, Anabela persevered through faith and hard work.

Over the course of her time in medical school, Anabela became proficient in the English language, which made the coursework easier for her. She graduated with her Doctor of Medicine degree with a specialization in cardiology. Anabela had achieved her childhood dream of becoming a heart doctor! In the years that followed, she was commissioned in the United States Navy, married a fellow cardiologist, opened her own heart practice with her husband, and had two daughters. Although she never became a missionary, her faith in God has remained strong and has been a pillar of strength throughout her life.

Lauren Lee, daughter of Anabela; Alabama, USA

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