“One of the most memorable days of my life was when I had lunch with Paul and he introduced me to a young girl  (18) called Johana. Paul had met her one year before in a local hospital, on her deathbed, just hours before her death, having been read the last rites by her priest. Paul prayed with her that first day for two hours and here we were, talking, eating and laughing with her one year later after she was healed by the love of our Lord Jesus. A living walking talking breathing testimony to the work Paul does in Jesus’ name.”

Those are words written by my great mate, Paul Silvester, about a young lady whom, a year before, had been given a few hours to live, with leuchaemia and lymphoma. Paul wrote that 12 years ago: and it changed his life. Something happens deep inside of you when you spend time with people who SHOULD have been dead – even more, like China 27 years or more ago, when I shook hands with, and greeted, two ladies who HAD been dead, one 4 days, one 7 days – it’s a humbling, mend-bending experience. You can never be the same again.

If I could have taken photos of Johana when I went to the hospital to pray for her, with a friend, you would never have believe she could survive. A skeleton with skin, somehow still breathing, and a ‘look’ of fear and death on her face that will stay with me forever.

This afternoon and maybe into early evening, I’m spending it with a lovely lady Alejandrina, and her family. It’s to celebrate her total healing 6 months ago, when she;d been sent home from hospital to die. The doctors in the hospital could do no more for her, cancer pretty much everywhere, and her GP, my friend in the house I’m staying in, and who has given me such wonderful care this fortnight, asked if I’d go to her home (Ecatapec, about 2 hours north of Mexico City), to pray for her.  She’d got a couple of days to live. Alejandrina, too, had that ‘death’ look about her: sitting with her, gathered around the dining table with her husband, daughters, sons, son in laws, I confess that I know I can’t heal a cold in my own strength, and the first thing I prayed was for me – that God would remove the weight of expectation on ME from her family – a weight I wholly and utterly understand, when YOU are their last hope….

And today, more than 6 months later, she and her family (others of them were healed that day too), want to celebrate with me – but of course it wasn’t me, it was God – her healing, her life, and her joy. I think among the great rejoicing this afternoon will be a fair few tears…

I wasn’t to try and get a short video ‘interview’ with her: if we can make it work, I’ll post it here….(if I know how!!)