Reconocer (Recognise), the drug rehab house in Cali, is a wonderful, wonderful place. The man who runs the ministry, Enrique Leal, has become a lovely friend over the years, and it is always a blessing to go there. He’s generally got about a dozen guys in at any one time, and this evening, we had the honour of speaking to them all – Brian getting more and more confident to speak without notes and for longer as the week has gone by (!) (good, as he’s preaching at least once in a real sermon rather than just testimony over the weekend!!), Robert slipped back into the groove her found here last year, and I rumbled on as I do…. 🙂 – actually I really felt inspired this evening, and was on a roll….
And then of course, came to the offer to pray for them. That’s when about another eight people suddenly appeared ‘out of the woodwork’ for prayer! Rob and I prayed together, with a lovely guy from the centre to help me with translation, Brian and the meeting translator, Maria, prayed for others.
Esteban, who helped us, had a terrible limp – he’d been shot 8 months ago I guess as a result of drug issue: and he had astigmatism in one eye and myopia in the other. He walked better after prayer: no immediate change in his eyes, but he was in faith for the miracle to happen over the next few days.
Enrique, the ministry leader, had only 10% vision in his left eye, with macular degeneration: within moments, he testified to a big improvement in his sight, at least another 30%, and getting better. When we left, he said it was ‘a major improvement’. Thank you Lord! A super young man, also an Esteban (Stephen), wanted prayer for his mum: bless him. 15 years old, he’s been at Reconocer for 8 months, and a heavy user drug addict/ substance abuser since he was 9…. such a sad history so many people in this city have.
Rodrigo, in a wheelchair, only has one leg: Robert was desperate for the other one to grow (Rodrigo had diabetes which he never got treated and abused badly, as well as being an addict. He lost his right leg through gangrene – he did describe it to us, but I won’t spoil your lunch/dinner by describing it here! The leg didn’t grow out: but God brought back to my mind a Smith Wigglesworth story that I haven’t recalled, or re-told, in years. That story is of Smith staying with a minister, somewhere in the north of England (Bradford I think), who ha no legs, and was obviously in a wheelchair. Smith told him to go to the shoe shop the next morning and buy a pair of shoes…. having got of his anger at thinking Smith was playing games with him, God told him ‘Do as my servant has told you!’. So he did: long story short, and much to the astonishment of the shoe shop staff, he put the first shoe on one stump, and his leg grew: then the other shoe, and that leg grew too…. so I told Rodrigo, as it came to me like I said for the first time in years…. we wait and see when he puts his shoes on in the morning, or goes and gets a pair, as he probably only has one…
We prayed for a number of others, and so did Brian: he’ll post them to my homepage on Facebook I’m sure! Great night!
Tomorrow, we go to two somewhat ‘dodgy’ areas of the city, Ciudad Cordoba and Mohica: when I was last in Mohica, I discovered that I was preaching in an open gazebo in a circular public park. Roads went off of the circle like bicycle spokes, and at the end of each street, the Colombian equivalent of a British police ‘Black Moriah’ were disgorging a good 6-8 armed, helmeted, flak-jacketed policemen – armed with what from a hundred yards or so, looked like AK47’s! I asked what on earth was going on: to be told that they were there because I was there – a gringo in a place gringoes don’t go…. the pastor was healed before the meeting began, loads got saved, many healed, and I hurried home to change my trousers…. 😉 So tomorrow will be – er – interesting! Robert and Brian are going to Ciudad Cordoba, which is only a ‘barrio’ or two away from Mohica, but I think less risky!
Your prayers, please!
