WEBVTT 00:00:00.521 --> 00:00:02.769 How many ears do you have? 00:00:02.769 --> 00:00:03.770 Two! 00:00:03.770 --> 00:00:05.769 How many ears do you need? 00:00:05.769 --> 00:00:07.503 That's a trickier question. 00:00:07.503 --> 00:00:11.802 Of course, a boy or a girl can hear with only one ear. 00:00:11.802 --> 00:00:15.985 Ales was born in Belarus with hearing in only one ear. 00:00:15.985 --> 00:00:18.407 Ales was born a month early. 00:00:18.407 --> 00:00:20.772 He didn't weigh as much as other babies. 00:00:20.772 --> 00:00:22.568 When he was three months old, 00:00:22.568 --> 00:00:25.118 his mother took him to a doctor for tests. 00:00:25.118 --> 00:00:27.252 During those tests, the doctor found 00:00:27.252 --> 00:00:30.802 that Ales could only hear with one ear. 00:00:30.802 --> 00:00:32.836 Ales' mother was shocked. 00:00:32.836 --> 00:00:34.823 She worked with children who were deaf. 00:00:34.823 --> 00:00:38.791 She loved them just as much as she loved children who could hear. 00:00:38.791 --> 00:00:41.753 But she never imagined that her own child 00:00:41.753 --> 00:00:45.187 wouldn't be able to hear with two ears. 00:00:45.187 --> 00:00:48.219 She thought that the doctor must have made a mistake. 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:50.902 Because she worked with children who couldn't hear, 00:00:50.902 --> 00:00:53.840 she also knew how to run hearing tests. 00:00:54.022 --> 00:00:57.629 So, she ran a hearing test on little Ales. 00:00:57.629 --> 00:01:01.811 The tests showed that Ales really couldn't hear with both ears. 00:01:02.152 --> 00:01:05.154 But Ales' mother still didn't want to believe it. 00:01:05.154 --> 00:01:06.981 She took him to a special hospital 00:01:06.981 --> 00:01:09.114 for children with hearing difficulties. 00:01:09.291 --> 00:01:11.124 The doctor ran his own test. 00:01:11.124 --> 00:01:13.836 Ales' mother watched the tests on a monitor. 00:01:13.836 --> 00:01:16.310 She saw deep inside Ales' ears. 00:01:16.586 --> 00:01:19.660 One ear looked normal; the other one didn't. 00:01:19.902 --> 00:01:22.620 She saw that nothing could be done to help. 00:01:22.836 --> 00:01:24.319 She began to cry. 00:01:24.718 --> 00:01:27.900 The doctor, however, didn't want to see her tears. 00:01:28.177 --> 00:01:30.720 "Why are you crying?" he said, gruffly. 00:01:30.720 --> 00:01:33.902 "Your son can hear with one ear, and that's enough." 00:01:34.049 --> 00:01:36.945 Back home, Ales' mother cried and cried. 00:01:36.945 --> 00:01:38.578 Then she talked to God. 00:01:38.885 --> 00:01:41.827 "Why did You allow this to happen?" she asked. 00:01:42.053 --> 00:01:45.078 After a while, she turned on some music on her phone. 00:01:45.197 --> 00:01:47.309 A beautiful hymn started playing. 00:01:47.309 --> 00:01:50.736 It was called, "Nearer, My God, to Thee." 00:01:50.736 --> 00:01:54.877 Ales' mother had heard the hymn many times since she was a little girl. 00:01:54.877 --> 00:01:57.211 But for the first time, she understood 00:01:57.211 --> 00:01:59.747 that God really was near her. 00:01:59.930 --> 00:02:02.734 It felt good to know that God was near. 00:02:02.927 --> 00:02:04.640 But she still didn't want to believe 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:06.958 that Ales would never hear with one ear. 00:02:07.777 --> 00:02:09.732 She kept on talking to God. 00:02:09.732 --> 00:02:12.379 "You can do anything," she said. 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:15.470 "If You gave life to my son with only one ear, 00:02:15.470 --> 00:02:19.260 You could heal him and give him life with two ears." 00:02:19.737 --> 00:02:22.900 Three months passed, and Ales' father had a birthday. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:24.852 He didn't want a cake for his birthday. 00:02:24.852 --> 00:02:26.555 He didn't want any presents. 00:02:26.555 --> 00:02:29.755 He only wanted Ales to hear with both ears. 00:02:30.204 --> 00:02:32.600 "Our son will hear," he said. 00:02:32.600 --> 00:02:35.664 "God will do this as a gift for my birthday." 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:38.601 They prayed and took Ales to the hospital 00:02:38.601 --> 00:02:40.319 for another hearing test. 00:02:40.550 --> 00:02:43.223 There was nowhere to sit while they waited. 00:02:43.223 --> 00:02:45.497 Ales' mother carried him in her arms, 00:02:45.497 --> 00:02:46.995 and he felt so heavy. 00:02:46.995 --> 00:02:48.938 Finally, the doctor called them in. 00:02:48.938 --> 00:02:50.776 When he finished the test, he said, 00:02:50.776 --> 00:02:53.811 "Your son can hear perfectly with both ears!" 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:57.769 Ales' mother couldn't believe her ears. 00:02:57.769 --> 00:02:59.637 She was so happy. 00:02:59.637 --> 00:03:02.812 "This is a miracle of God!" she exclaimed. 00:03:02.812 --> 00:03:05.097 Indeed, it was a miracle. 00:03:05.097 --> 00:03:08.299 Ales' mother had seen inside his ears on the monitor 00:03:08.299 --> 00:03:09.753 three months earlier. 00:03:09.753 --> 00:03:12.641 She had seen that no doctor could help Ales. 00:03:12.641 --> 00:03:15.187 But the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, 00:03:15.187 --> 00:03:16.436 had healed her boy, 00:03:16.436 --> 00:03:19.461 and now he could hear with both ears. 00:03:19.461 --> 00:03:22.670 Ales' father wept with joy at the news. 00:03:22.670 --> 00:03:24.869 He was so happy that God had given him 00:03:24.869 --> 00:03:27.687 such a wonderful gift on his birthday. 00:03:28.290 --> 00:03:30.842 Today, Ales is six years old, 00:03:30.842 --> 00:03:33.857 and he can hear perfectly well with both ears. 00:03:33.857 --> 00:03:36.502 He uses his ears to learn Bible verses. 00:03:36.502 --> 00:03:39.171 He uses his ears to learn songs. 00:03:39.171 --> 00:03:42.854 He would like to use his ears to learn to become a doctor 00:03:42.854 --> 00:03:45.155 and to help other boys and girls. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:49.849 He knows that his hearing is a gift from God.