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How many ears do you have?
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Two!
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How many ears do you need?
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That's a trickier question.
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Of course, a boy or girl
can hear with only one ear.
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Ales was born in Belarus
with hearing in only one ear.
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Ales was born a month early.
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He didn't weigh as much as other babies.
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When he was three months old,
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his mother took him to a doctor for tests.
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During those tests, the doctor found
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that Ales could only hear with one ear.
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Ales' mother was shocked.
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She worked with children who were deaf.
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She loved them just as much
as she loved children who could hear.
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But she never imagined that her own child
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wouldn't be able to hear with two ears.
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She thought that the doctor
must have made a mistake.
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Because she worked
with children who couldn't hear,
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she also knew how to run hearing tests.
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So, she ran a hearing test on little Ales.
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The tests showed that Ales
really couldn't hear with both ears.
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But Ales' mother
still didn't want to believe it.
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She took him to a special hospital
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for children with hearing difficulties.
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The doctor ran his own tests.
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Ales' mother watched
the tests on a monitor.
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She saw deep inside Ales' ears.
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One ear looked normal,
and the other one didn't.
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She saw that nothing
could be done to help.
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She began to cry.
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The doctor, however,
didn't want to see her tears.
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"Why are you crying?" he said, gruffly.
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"Your son can hear with one ear,
and that's enough."
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Back home, Ales' mother cried and cried.
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Then she talked to God.
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"Why did You allow this to happen?"
she asked.
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After a while, she turned on
some music on her phone.
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A beautiful hymn started playing.
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It was called, "Nearer, My God, to Thee."
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Ales' mother had heard the hymn
many times since she was a little girl.
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But for the first time she understood
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that God really was near her.
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It felt good to know that God was near.
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But she still didn't want to believe
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that Ales would never hear with one ear.
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She kept on talking to God.
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"You can do anything," she said.
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"If You gave life to my son
with only one ear,
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You could heal him
and give him life with two ears."
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Three months passed,
|and Ales' father had a birthday.
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He didn't want a cake for his birthday.
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He didn't want any presents.
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He only wanted Ales
to hear with both ears.
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"Our son will hear," he said.
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"God will do this as a gift
for my birthday."
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They prayed and took Ales to the hospital
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for another hearing test.
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There was nowhere to sit
while they waited.
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Ales' mother carried him in her arms,
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and he felt so heavy.
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Finally, the doctor called them in.
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When he finished the test, he said,
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"Your son can hear perfectly
with both ears."
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Ales' mother couldn't believe her ears.
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She was so happy.
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"This is a miracle of God!" she exclaimed.
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Indeed, it was a miracle.
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Ales' mother had seen
inside his ears on the monitor
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three months earlier.
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She had seen
that no doctor could help Ales.
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But the Great Physician, Jesus Christ,
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had healed her boy,
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and now he could hear with both ears.
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Ales' father wept with joy at the news.
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He was so happy that God had given him
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such a wonderful gift on his birthday.
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Today, Ales is 6 years old,
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and he can hear perfectly well
with both ears.
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He uses his ears to learn Bible verses.
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He uses his ears to learn songs.
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He would like to use his ears
to learn to become a doctor
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and to help other boys and girls.
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He knows that his hearing
is a gift from God.
Team Adventist
