(I wrote this blog a few days ago, on the day if happened, but I didn’t have internet to publish it until now.)
This morning while at ministry, the pastor received a phone call that there was a man waiting for him at the church and that we should hurry because they were not sure if he would live.
We arrived to find him sitting in a chair, shaking and coughing violently. The cough was unlike any I’d heard before. He couldn’t speak above a whisper and so the pastor leaned in to hear him. You could tell that the man was having a lot of trouble speaking and when he was done the pastor prayed with him that Christ would come into his heart.
I think in America, that’s probably where this story would have ended. We might have driven him to the hospital, or started a fund to pay for the surgery he needed, and maybe we would have even prayed for healing.
Here the story had barely started. The pastor told us that the man has fluid in his heart and the surgery is very expensive. He was a Muslim but he heard that we could pray for healing and when he shared his plan to come see us, his uncle kicked him out of the house. Last night he slept in the police station and they helped him get to the church this morning.
The pastor explained to us what he’d been told and asked us to lay hands on the man and pray for him.
We prayed like I’ve never prayed before. Loudly, all at once, desperately. Several of us thought the man might die while we were praying. He continued to shake and cough; at what point he convulsed so violently that he came out of his chair and went stiff as a board. Brooks and I grabbed his shoulders and supported his head to try and keep it from hitting the ground. Amanda later said that she saw his eyes roll up into his head at that point.
The pastor bid the evil spirits to leave the man in Jesus’ name. After awhile the convulsing and coughing stopped. He told us that he felt like he’d had a rock on his heart and that it had been lifted while we were praying.
He was still having pain and so we prayed again. Once again there were moments where he convulsed and it seemed like there was a battle going on within him. Then again, there seemed to be relief. He told us that time that there had been some sort of tumor on his rib and that he had been in pain for years, and now it was simply gone.
We ended up praying again for his breathing, and then once more for the deafness in his left ear; something that had started right after the heart issues. When we were finished and he seemed to have relief, the pastor sanctified a cup of water and gave it to him.
After drinking four cups of water and resting, the man shared more of his story with us. He told us that he had been in and out of the hospital since 2009 and that this final time they had given him a piece of paper to take to his mosque to ask for donations towards the surgery he needed to live. Since his last hospital visit he hadn’t been able to drink even one glass of water. He had had a dream in which he was surrounded by muzungos (white people) and was healed.
Part of the reason I wanted to do the race is because I wanted to see if miracles still happen and the power of God when we leave space. This man had no hope without God; he couldn’t afford the only treatment they knew. Seeking healing from God cost him and was a leap of faith; we were amazed to see it so rewarded in not just the heart being cured but all his ailments and his being left with a joy and a peace from the Holy Spirit’s presence.
All of his family are Muslims and he will most likely lose them for his decision to turn to Christ but he had faith that he could be healed and was. The church will give him a place to live until he is able to get back on his feet.
By the time we left, he was running around the church joyfully.
I’ve been so blessed to be here and to have your support. I still need more funds in order to make sure I’m able to complete all 11 months and continue this work. If you are interested in supporting me financially, please click the support me button on the left side or top of my page.
