Don’s Miracle Calf

Don’s Miracle Calf

Two weeks ago during a Friday evening snowstorm, Don Benson, head elder of the Ashland Adventist church, noticed a cow gave birth to its calf out in the snowy, wet, muddy pasture. He thought that the mother cow would get it up on its feet and off to a bedding of hay he had put out there for the cows, but unfortunately, she did not. Finally, he decided he needed to go out in the storm and use a toboggan to bring the calf in from the cold and the mother would follow. In transit, the calf fell off the toboggan into a puddle of cold water, but finally he got the listless calf into the warm barn with its mom.

But the calf would not nurse or suck milk from its mom. It laid there with its mouth clinched shut. Dons wife, Lorraine, and son, Troy, were with him trying to help as well. Lorraine managed to get the side of the calf’s mouth open a bit, but it still would not nurse. Troy tried to get it to suck on his finger, but it would not eat. Finally, they decided to pray over the calf and left it with its mom. They all felt the calf would be dead in the morning. There was nothing more they could do. Don said they did continue to pray that evening.

Sabbath morning when Don went to see how the cows were doing, imagine his surprise and joy to see the almost dead calf up running around in the barn and drinking its mother’s milk! “Even though we prayed, I didn’t expect the calf to live,” said Don. “I’ve seen calves in bad shape like that before and they just don’t make it. This was truly a miracle.”

Florence Schacht, Ashland SDA Church with Juanita Edge, Wisconsin Conference communication director

Before Prayer

After Prayer