It was the thirteenth day of pain in her stomach.  "But the kids need to eat breakfast," she said to herself, though today's pain was acute.  "But the kids need to have their lunches made."  Now the pain began to surge.  "But I've got to walk them to school."  These must have been some of the thoughts in Sara Yee's mind as finally her 68 year-old body could no longer deny the effects of the tumor she was unaware she had.  She would fall on the table that morning, on top of the lunches she was preparing for her four grandchildren.  Later, her family discovered that she must have had acute pains for two weeks.  True to her heart to serve, she kept meeting her family's needs, not telling anyone of the pain she was experiencing.  It's what the men did for the paralytic in Luke 5:17-20 and what epitomizes the heart God gave Sara Yee.  

Born August 25, 1904 in Canton, China, Sara came to Oakland, California at the age of two.  She was always meeting needs for her five children, working endlessly at an Oakland Chinese restaurant.  Tragically, she became a widow and also outlived two of her three daughters.  As her 31 year-old daughter Jeanette passed away, she left behind her five small children.  Sara and her daughter Yvonne realized that four of the children would become wards of the state, so they adopted them.  After having raised her own five children, Sara became a mother all over again in her late sixties.  She and Yvonne saw the children grow up and do well for themselves.  Her unselfish, serving heart influenced her grandson Ed Marquez to the point of encouraging him to learn about Jesus, the ultimate selfless servant.  Ed was baptized as a student at UC Berkeley in August of 1984 and vowed to help his grandmother know Jesus.

Although she studied the Bible for a short while thirteen years ago, Sara did not choose to follow Jesus at that time.  In August 2002, at Sara's 98th birthday party, Ed noticed that her health was deteriorating at an alarming rate.  "I saw that there were physical needs I could meet, but up to that point I just visited her once a month.  My family had shown her much love, but her Alzheimer's and other conditions took a turn for the worse as she became bedridden and could no longer walk by herself.  The constant care she now needed was overwhelming to the family members she lived with.  I knew that I had to repent of my lack of love to meet her physical needs as she had always met mine."  Soon thereafter Ed decided to move to a larger apartment with his wife and two children in order to have Sara stay with them three to four days a week. 

After moving in with Ed and his family, Sara responded well to the consistent efforts from the whole family, kids included, to help her walk and exercise.  She began to study the Bible with varied responses.   "Some days you could smell the waters of baptism coming.  Other times she would blow off the disciples.  She would have moments of clarity one minute, and then not recognize me the next," remembers Ed.  Studying the Bible with Sara or even communicating with her in general was complicated by her poor eyesight and hearing.  Ed and his family write questions on a dry erase board, and then Sara reads them and answers back.  Scriptures were typed up and printed in large letters during the Bible studies.   "Our challenge was not to lose heart but to see that faith is unconditional, and that if you do what's right and love people by serving them, God can do the rest."  

Eventually, a breakthrough came when Elena Fernandez, a 75-year-old disciple, moved in to the Marquez household.  God used Elena's maturity to give Sara a friend and companion who could relate to her.  Sara began to get in touch with her sin and the need for God's forgiveness, and baptism looked imminent.  The next day, however, in a study with the ministry staff she was tight-lipped and seemingly not open.  "With her Alzheimer's and health we weren't always sure if she was ready, or if she understood what was going on."  On Sunday, January 12, 2003, however, God had prepared Sara.  Jesus was ready to say, "your sins are forgiven".   Sara woke up with unusual mental clarity and read the Scriptures out loud, responding to questions, wanting to obey what she was reading.  Ed said,  "We knew she was ready by how she was humming gently in the morning.  She just seemed at peace. We called for advice on how to study with her.  She saw her need for God and wanted to make Jesus Lord. We were glad that she could be so stubborn at times because it demonstrated that she wouldn't agree to become a Christian just to please us.  In fact, she would often put up a fight when we gave her a bath.   When we baptized her in the bathtub, she never hesitated.  She was truly surrendered and ready to be a Christian!  She spent the afternoon with her great-granddaughters as a saved disciple doing what she did with me when I was a child - watching the Oakland Raiders win."   As Jesus healed the paralytic not just physically but spiritually, Jesus healed Sara Yee spiritually in the waters of baptism at the age of 98.