I mentioned earlier in the week that I was going with Benny to pray for a lady who has been sent home by the hospital she was in, to die, as she has cancer pretty much everywhere, along with, it turns out, a pretty severe blood circulation problem. Man alive, even Benny thought it was a long way north to get there! Even though we’ve only just got back (11.30 pm – early night!!), we left at 6 pm with Paty, too,

I have no idea of the name of the city, except that it was way past Ecatapec, which I DO know, as, in 1996, that’s where I ate my first cow’s eye taco…! I’d been under pressure from my Mexican friends to eat one for the whole two weeks, I guess as it had been an amazing evening all those years ago, with a lady getting miraculously healed in the Zona Rosa, part of the city ‘centre’, where we’d been doing some evangelism, and it was late, I gave in when we saw a little taco stall still open, 2.30 am., and I said ‘let’s do it!’. I had to be part of the process, so I donned the taco stall owner’s hat and apron, and chopped the eye up myself with this lethal cleaver, and down it went… it was GROSS, chewy, rubbery, slimy… but I did it! Odd swallowing something that’s looking at you on the way down into your gut….

We got to the lady’s house: Alejandrina: her whole family, it seemed were there. It also seemed that God had begun the healing process before we arrived, but we prayed for her, I had a very clear sense that she’d know she was healed, and that within a short period, even by tomorrow morning, the discolouration in her legs, due to the circulation problems, would have – at least – begun to fade. It seems that there WAS until tonight a spirit of death seriously on this whole family – Yvonne, one of Alejandrina’s daughters, had died 3 years ago with a major kidney disease: lots of other close relatives have died, some very suddenly, in the same period. So I prayed into that, broke its hold on the family, and the fear that goes with it (the spirit of death invariably arrives when cancer is diagnosed anyway). Yvonne’s other daughter, Jessie, has major kidney problems, too – I guess she is about 15: kidney reflux, which means that the urine reverses back up from the kidneys rather than down to the bladder, and (I didn’t specifically ask this!) but guess she has to be catheterised. Of course, with her sister dying so young, the fear was immense. She just looked transformed as we prayed for her (my usual supply of Kleenex for this very situation, came in very handy tonight!). I’m believing, and told her so, that I think she’ll be peeing normally in 48 hours…. God, do it! She’ll come to faith when it happens, of that I’m sure.

Another of Alejandrina’s daughters, Martha, had chronic breathing issues, not helped by a very high blood pressure. She got saved as Benny shared with her, and then – we were all sure, I know – healed.

A revolutionised household: maybe 10 people there tonight, so – as I put in the last post, size doesn’t matter. God’s interested in the ones and twos, and I’d come here for them.

This morning, I had the privilege of being at a pastor’s breakfast, right in the south of the city (extremes today!), hosted by long-time lovely friend Enrique Cardenas, who planted and leads a fantastic church, and they’ve seen God provide quite remarkably for their premises. It’s a fantastic place. A good number of pastors there, listening to Enrique share about a men’s conference that he’s hosting in November. His passion to see men set free from the ‘namby-pamby’ spirit that afflicts so many Christian men, is wonderful – my heart too – and it was great to meet some of the other pastors. Enrique’s wife, Norma, made the most amazing cup-cakes… I could quite easily have smuggled a few out, but didn’t have anything to put them in, or anywhere to hide them!

What is, for me, very humbling, even after 27 years ‘on the road’ around the world, is that pastors actually WANT me to go their churches. This morning, Benny, who has wonderully organised my schedule here this visit, and who is busy both as Senior Pastor of his church, and a lawyer, to help increase the family income, said to me, ‘Next time, you must come for 3-4 weeks, with lots of Sundays, and bring a team, like you do to Cali’…. I’m so blessed by that, and I’m already looking at trying to get that together for February next year.

Tomorrow, I’m at a church – a long way north again! – in the morning, the pastor was there this morning, Richard: Enrique planted the church (I think) 3 years ago, and Richard & his wife lead it: it’s over 600 people, quite amazing in 3 years, but of course, size doesn’t matter… I’m as nervous in front of a handful last night, in a family home like tonight, as I am in front of 600 (it has been 5 figures occasionally in the past!), so it makes no difference to me!

In between times, we went to the ‘dangerous’ market, Tepito, which I just happen to love…. 🙂

A wonderful day…. low key, but EXTREMELY powerful, and very, very worthwhile.