Mandy's Ministry
By Eva Marie Everson

During the early months of 1999 I was asked to teach a three-week class on Etiquette for Young Christian Men and Women.  As I stood before the twenty or so men and women, I thought I was there to effect their young lives with my "knowledge" on etiquette.  Never could I have guessed the impact that one of them would have on me.

After the first class I was stopped in the foyer of the building by a beautiful, large-eyed girl of nineteen, Mandy Bradshaw.  I knew of Mandy.  Her parents and I had met at a Super Bowl party a few months previously and I had heard her sing at a church production a few years earlier.  However that was all I knew.

"May I ask you a question?" Mandy asked in a voice that can only be described as vivacious.

"Certainly!" I said.

"Okay, when you are at a formal dinner party," the questioning began.  We stood dead center in the cacophony of young voices as they chattered and laughed around us, discussing the art of fine dining.  As we spoke, Mandy twisted a small band of white gold on her left ring finger.

"Are you married, Mandy?" I asked, noting the ring with my eyes.

"Oh, no!" she laughed easily, then extended her hand.  "See?  This band is engraved True Love Waits.  That's how I feel.  I'm not ashamed to stand here and tell you that I'm a virgin and I plan to stay that way until I get married!  I wear this as a testimony to others and a reminder to myself. 
I've made a commitment to God that I never plan to break!"

"Good for you!" I exclaimed.  "You are certainly a rare and special treat, Mandy Bradshaw!"

A few months later Mandy joined the worship team of our church.  Each week as she stepped out onto the stage and behind the music stand she looked down at me (sitting in my regular front row seat) and winked.  I'd wink back.  It was an unspoken language we shared; our hearts seemed to be bonded in a way I couldn't explain.

I heard a lot about Mandy as the days and weeks of 1999 continued.  Mandy had a personal ministry of drawing people together, making strangers feel welcomed, the unloved feel loved, and the hopeless feel hopeful.  Whenever I was at the church I saw her sprinting here and there, her eyes wide and her mouth spread in a smile and a conversation.  How could anyone not love Mandy?

On August 3rd, as Mandy and her friend Erika were on their way to an evening church service, a man driving in the opposite direction suffered a seizure, crossed over several lanes of traffic and hit Mandy broadside.  The car was crushed by the impact and spun around to finally rest heading in the opposite direction.  Traffic came to a halt.  As only God could orchestrate, within the cars of the now backed up traffic was an emergency medical technician and a nurse, both carrying medical items that would prove necessary.

Erika was safely removed from the car, but getting Mandy out would take skill.  Time was of the essence; an artery in Mandy's arm was severed, her teeth were clenched (a sign of head injury), and she appeared to be losing the battle of life and death. 

As the paramedic and nurse removed Mandy from the car, people began to step out of their cars and into the August heat.  They stood in huddled masses and began to offer up prayers to God, asking for divine intervention while the paramedic performed an emergency tracheotomy and the nurse applied a tourniquet to Mandy's severed arm.  A short while later, Mandy was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

I received the call within hours.  "The hospital looks like Northland Central," the caller reported.  "Everyone is praying! Could you put out the word in your Internet prayer group?"

My Internet prayer group consisted of several hundred prayer warriors from all over the world.  "Of course!" I said.  "And if you see Rick and Pam tell them I'll see them tomorrow."

Over the course of the next three weeks, Mandy lingered in a coma in ICU. 

"I've never seen this many visitors for one patient and never heard this many people pray" said the hospital's liaison to the media, Joe Brown. 

During their appearance (and win) on Destination Stardom, Mandy's friends Amy and Emily Pratt said to the entire world, "We sang this evening for a very special person, Mandy Bradshaw!  We love you, girl!"  Mandy was famous!

Over the next twenty-two weeks Mandy went from ICU to PCU and then to specialized units for brain injury patients.  During that time, as the flow of well-wishers continued to visit, Mandy miraculously survived pneumonia, staph infection, and major surgery to remove a piece of IV tubing that had snapped loose and lodged in her heart.  All the while, as she lay helpless in the cupped hands of God, the faith of all who love her grew from mustard seeds to mountains!

Last night I sat in Mandy's living room, a cozy room now dominated by a hospital bed, medical paraphernalia, and a special wheelchair that supports Mandy's head.  Her large eyes looked at me with recognition, revealing a thousand things inside though she is still unable to articulate what lies inside her heart. From a medical perspective I know that Mandy shouldn't have survived the accident.  From a spiritual perspective I know that Mandy's ministry has continued in ways we can scarcely comprehend.  Mandy proves every day that God is still in the healing business as she continues to bring people together through the voices of collective prayer.  Even automobiles in the Central Florida area are subject to Mandy's ministry as they carry small flyers with her photograph and the words Pray For Mandy!

Later in the evening, in the quiet of my living room, I am privileged to hold the journals signed by well-wishers during those first few days after Mandy's accident.  As I turned the pages I was struck by the number of people who called Mandy "sweetheart."  Each page records another testimony of how she touched their lives. 

"We are all pulling for you every minute of every day," her friend Beth wrote.  "You have made such a difference in my life!"

Cory wrote, "Know how much God is working in this whole situation. You have hundreds of people who are pullin' for you.  Just remember how much God has done!  He is awesome!"

Joane added, "You have sparked so much love and happiness all around you!"

Finally, in a tribute that truly exemplifies Mandy's ministry, Jay wrote: "Jesus has so much planned for you. You have already touched lives uncountable and will continue to be lifted up to the Lord.  Healing will come and God is faithful and His love endures forever!"

I don't know why God allowed me the privilege of knowing Mandy, but every day I am so thankful, not only for her life but also for being a part of a ministry that could not be stopped by tragedy.  It only served to make it stronger.

*Taken from Stories for the Extreme Teen's Heart, Alice Gray, Ed., Multnomah Publishers, 2000.