As a storyteller, who loves to relate stories of what Jesus is STILL doing, it is such a blessing when you see it impact a group – or, as over this weekend – groups of people. It raises faith, it gives hope, and it brings healing. I occasionally – perhaps more than occasionally – get ‘told off’ by people for raising people’s hopes. I truly find that hard to understand, as, if I, or someone very close to me, were to be terminally ill, I know that I’d rather die HOPING than spend my last days, weeks, or months, HOPE-LESS. Proverbs 13:12 says: ‘Hope deferred MAKES the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life’.

This weekend, and today especially, God has really turned up with His precious Presence. During the worship, Rut (Ruth) and Simon took us into the Presence of God, and then, at one particular point in my time, the Holy Spirit totally impacted all of us in the room. And, as a result, people were healed….

Sarita, unable to lift her right arm above horizontal, and that with extreme pain, had her arm vertical in moments. Oh… names… help! A lovely couple, in their 70’s, were both sick: the wife with fibromyalgia for 34 years, in great pain, and totally exhausted, drained, and weary, but with a wonderful sparkle in her eyes despite that, had her pain levels decrease markedly. She’s going to ‘risk'(!) leaving off her pain medication…. Her husband – Pelle, I think – had severe pain in his spine and lower back. My new good friend Tomas got down the ‘feet’ end, and, of course, one leg – the right – was a good couple of centimetres shorter than the left. But only for a few moments….and, consequently, the pain level subsided.

A number of people with major-league sleep issues came back today to say they have slept, right through, for the last couple of nights…. if you’ve never suffered sleeplessness, as I’ve said already in posts this weekend, you’ll have no idea what that means to the person concerned. It’s like being relieved of a huge weight on your head…

A couple more backs were relieved of pain, Tomas – suffering with his eyes as a result of an old (somewhat psychedelic!) history, saw an immediate change. A lovely man named Rolf was healed – how absurd, this time I remember a name but can’t remember what was wrong! – and a lovely man named Magnus I prayed for last night, for his diabetes, wrote me this today:

• I just want’d to thank you for praying for me and for my diabetes at the saturday evening meeting. I believe that I have started to get complete healed although the blood level was a litle bit too high this morning but in the afternoon it was at normal level, praise to God.

I’d never tell anyone to stop taking medication – I don’t believe that’s my prerogative – but I’ll often say to people ‘you’ll know when you can do it’ – with diabetes, a normal level blood sugar would be a good place to begin that!

And many more… then a great afternoon, lunch with a bunch of great young people – Tomas and his wife Rut, Cornelia, Simon, Lotte, Vello, and Ingalill (both young at heart 😉 – then back to their house for wonderful chat about what Jesus has done this weekend.

And, sadly, my wonderful few days with Vello and Ingalill in Orebro comes to a close tomorrow…. but only for a great few days with Bjorn & Maria in Boras ahead….

Looks, too, as though I’ve gathered my ‘team’ for Cali, Colombia, in October/November! Erik, my lovely translator friend, and Tomas & Ruth, with already ‘booked in’ Simon Allaby – I just think it’s wonderful to be gathering teams from ‘the nations’ to take to my second home – 3 Swedes, two Brits: to go with 2 Brits, 2 French, 2 Mexicans, and a Dutchman next month… and already 2 French for July….wonderful!!!