"The Spirit Told Me to Give That Lady My Kidney"

Manning, S.C. (WLTX) - It's the kind of random act of kindness you expect from family or friends. Not a complete stranger. But a Midlands woman is giving the gift of life after a chance meeting at church.

Through ups and downs, Charles and Thomasina Smith have kept the faith during their 26 years of marriage.

"We pray everyday to be faithful and treat people right and to be a blessing to others as they are a blessing to us,"says Charles Smith.

But in 2001 that faith was tested when Thomasina took ill and had to be rushed to the hospital.

"I simply thought that I had a sinus infection. I just kept thinking I was just congested in my head and chest,"says Thomasina Smith.

Doctors later diagnosed her with kidney failure which stemmed from her high blood pressure.

"I can't fathom my life being without her. She's my all and all,"says Charles Smith.

Smith went on dialysis soon after and has been on it ever since. But two years ago, a chance meeting at church changed her life.

"I wouldn't call it magic, but I feel that it was divine intervention,"says Smith.

Her husband says it was the Lord's blessing. "We were having a revival and the minister asked us to come up and she prayed with us. And low and behold, that's when Edith Phillips came into our lives,"says Smith.

Phillips was in the audience that night and was inspired to act. "I heard the spirit talk to me and he said,"I want you to give that lady your kidney,"says Phillips.

"She just came and said the Lord annointed her to give me a kidney,"says Smith.

Smith has had to wait two years to find out whether Phillips' kidney was a match. "I called her and I said I got something to tell you, I said, we're a match,"says Phillips.

Words that Smith had waited so long to hear. "I shed tears and cried, praising and thanking the Lord,"says Smith.

"It's a miracle for her. And so to speak, it's a miracle for me because I found a new friend,"says Phillips.

The surgery is planned for some time before years end. Meanwhile the Smith's have set up a trust fund to help pay for expenses that insurance won't cover.

If you'd like to donate, contact any Bank of Clarendon branch and ask for the Thomasina Smith Transplant Fund.