A Manitoba worship artist who spent years in prison ministry is now in Florida waiting on a miracle in her battle against Lyme Disease.
Catherine Plett lives in the Winkler area with her husband and three boys. Sharing the gospel is her passion and it's been brought down to sharing His word on social media after Lyme Disease has taken so much away from her. Plett has been a songwriter for many years, releasing music that she says God puts on her heart.
"My latest album is called All Rise and is on my YouTube channel," says Plett. "When you write (songs) you can feel it's like 50 per cent God and 50 per cent you. But I chose the songs I knew it was like 90 per cent God and 10 per cent me. There are a lot of stories behind each song."
Plett and her mother have been doing prison ministry across Manitoba for roughly 20 years.
"We had some friends, they knew we did music ministry and they asked us if we wanted to come into the prisons. They said, 'You'll love it or you'll hate it.' We fell in love and God has opened doors to us that they said were not possible to be opened. I've seen one of Manitoba's top gangsters totally change. You can not even think about why they're there and (instead) pull the gold out of them and see Jesus inside of them."
For the last six years, Plett has been battling bizarre symptoms that became so debilitating that she had to stop doing ministry. It started with Plett clenching her left fist, then it went up her arm, then her leg and the whole left side of her body. She lost the ability to play instruments, sing, walk more than the length of her house, drive, and even the ability to chew. Many trips to the doctors left her more confused as they couldn't find out what was causing all these symptoms.
"I ended up here (Florida) because of a dream I had that me and my sister went to Florida to a clinic. I had no idea there was a clinic in Florida. A few days later she messaged me and asked, 'Would you allow me to take you to Florida to a clinic I found?' It's literally been like getting out of the boat and walking on water because it's very expensive. I'm here getting treated for Lyme Disease and other gut issues."
Plett has been at the clinic in the U.S., leaving her family behind, since March 1. The program runs roughly between three and six months and will cost roughly $116,500.
"I tune in with my church family every Saturday and have a supernatural connection. The Spirit knows no distance. I'm leaning on friends and family and sometimes I ask them, 'Can I mooch off your faith today?' I also look back on all the promises God gave me because God promised me my healing so I have to stay focused on what He told me."
For people looking to help Plett, they can check out her GoFundMe page or transfer her at catherineplettmedicalfund@gmail.com.