US Evangelist praises SA doctors for helping his daughter while on tour

An Evangelist from the USA recently praised South African doctors after his one year old daughter became gravely ill upon arriving in the country.

Clayton Jennings, his wife and their beautiful daughter, Arabelle, arrived in South Africa on the 23rd of September 2018, just one day after Arabelle’s first birthday. Clayton is an Evangelist and he came to South Africa to do talks for the Christian Family Church International, right here in Johannesburg.

An Evangelist is someone devoted to preaching the gospel, they do not have one congregation, instead, an evangelist will travel to preach and work closely with local churches. Their aim is to convert people to Christianity through powerful and meaningful sermons.

This is the reason Clayton and his family have come to South Africa. Arriving a week early to have a little South African break before his scheduled tour, they got settled in. Just hours after arriving, their world came crashing down!

Arabelle was having trouble breathing and was rushed to the emergency room where the family spent 12 intense hours hoping for her to make a recovery.

“We have been in the ICU here in South Africa for the last 12 hours. Arabelle started having a hard time breathing when we landed in Johannesburg. We ended up rushing her to the hospital where we found out there is a build up in her lungs and an extremely serious issue with her blood. The doctor told us that had we arrived even an hour later, she wouldn’t have made it through the night alive.” – Clayton Jennings

Jamie, Clayton’s wife, spent 3 days without a moments rest, at her daughter’s side. She witnessed the incredible efforts made by the nursing staff at the hospital and urged Clayton to ask his followers to pray for the staff as she was so thankful for their unfailing efforts.

Dr De Wit, a paediatrician from Kempton Park, was the doctor who took on Arabelle’s case. He encouraged the family to have faith and that she would be ok. He never failed to keep them informed and spent every waking moment making sure she got the best care. Clayton was moved by the dedication Dr De Wit showed and personally thanked him for his efforts.

“This man is an angel. He has been by Arabelle’s side all through the night and all day today. When another told him to get some rest, I overheard him say he wanted to see our baby get better first. I’ve never been more scared in my life, but this man has given us so much comfort and encouragement. We will never forget what this man did for our little girl in our greatest hour of need.”

The family has had a hair-raising 72-hours in South Africa but thankfully, Arabelle is on the mend. It is unclear how much longer she will be in the hospital or what the family plans to do once she has been released but the one thing that is clear, is how thankful and happy they are for the South African doctors and nurses that worked tirelessly to make sure she was okay.

Arabelle is finally sitting up, laughing and playing with her toys again. Clayton and Jamie have been so thankful to their followers for the support and well-wishes sent in as well.

“We cannot thank all of you enough for your prayers and outpouring of support. We felt your love from all around the world.”

“The doctors and nurses here treated our little girl like she was their own. Arabelle’s lungs and her blood are doing better, but we still have a long road ahead of us with treatment”

“Thank you for loving our daughter with us”

One thing Clayton and Jamie will take away from their trip to South Africa is how welcoming, open and loving our people are, not to mention, hardworking and dedicated!

We are so happy to hear the good outcome for his daughter and incredibly proud of the calibre of doctors and nurses we have in South Africa.