We’ve now spent our first few days here in this amazing city, my favourite of all I’ve been to, I think: and I’m grateful to God to say that I’ve been hundreds, in 110 countries – the boy who didn’t want to travel, didn’t want to ‘go’, didn’t want to eat unknown foreign stuff….the boy who’s been blown away discovering that God’s plan and purpose, his destiny for my life, was INFINITELY bigger, better, more amazing, mind-blowing, astonishing – than anything I could have ever dreamed up. How I’ve limited God….how I STILL limit him, though I hope that the shackles are off when it comes to moving into the new, and out of my comfort zones….and who, when I got the first invitation to come to Colombia, in 1996, my mouth was saying yes, and my head saying ‘not a chance!’… And then God spoke to me through a sticker I saw in a music shop in the USA: ‘Fat people are harder to kidnap’ – funny, yes, but it was a prophetic word that was the cause of me saying yes, and coming here. To say I’ve never looked back would be an understatement.
The first few days here have been hot: we’ve had some incredible rainstorms, thunderstorms (I love them here as they reverberate and echo around the Andes!), though one of the consequences of such heavy rain has been losing the internet connection 🙁 – isn’t it amazing how “disastrous” that has become in the modern age! When I first started travelling in the 80’s, everything – invitations, acceptances, phone calls – were all ‘snail’ like, and the thought, then, of being able to type a blog on a laptop (what WAS a laptop in the 80’s??) and to have it read the other side of the world seconds after posting it, was pure fiction!
The internet is back – sort of, comes and goes, slow – but I thought I’d get this post in before it goes again! The first 2 or 3 days were primarily for Thanney to get together materials, steel girders, and equipment that we hadn’t taken with us. We met up with pastors, too, and their families, and Thanney got underway -really – with exciting things to me (NOT!!) like cutting and welding steel… in between unbelievable rain and thunder storms (he’s working in a roof!).
Saturday afternoon, we were with the church of my friend Pastor Jefferson Herrera – the church is ‘Hoy es Tiempo’ – ‘Now is the time’: many lovely things have happened in his church over three visits, and this meeting was no exception. Thanney shared excellently about how and why God brought him to Cali, and about the amazing miracles that God had done through him in praying for people in October and November. If you want to hear a ‘life-changing’ story, it’s here: (NOTE: you’ll need to copy and paste the YouTube links into your browser!)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlPZ3tXXp8k
Praying for people is my passion, you know if you read here regularly! A lady, Doris, shared her testimony of what happened 2 years ago when I took a team to Jefferson’s church. 30 years suffering chronic head to foot osteoarthritis, not able to work, hardly move, let alone walk. Her story is here…. the translation is quiet, but it’s hearable:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jIJYcq9OQY
Lots of miracles previously: and on Saturday evening, too. Thanney was first up with God invading a lovely elderly lady’s life, as he prayed for her, suffering from VERY obvious Parkinson’s disease, shaking uncontrollably, fingers, curled and knarled, and in much pain, helped to walk by her grandsons holding her firmly, and walking sticks. Within moments the shaking subsided, her fingers uncoiled, and when she got up to walk away, strode through the church, no grandsons – no sticks – like she’d never been sick…. A woman, paralysed with a seizure down her left side, little feeling, couldn’t raise her arm above shoulder height, major problems walking, her jaw cracked badly every time she opened her mouth….a few minutes of Thanney praying, she said to Wilmar (translating) ‘It’s gone’ – and raised her arm vertically, and walked away without problem…and was opening and closing her mouth silently without noise, cracks, or pain…. and there were others, too, these are just ‘samples’ of what God does here.
My ‘first’ was a lady with – yep – osteoarthritis, Maria Eugenia had terrible spinal problems 2 years ago, and had to wear a specially made brace for her back. That night, she took it off, never worn it since…. osteoarthritis then kicked in elsewhere, and Saturday God healed her…
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3_8jo3Usr8
Maria Paula and her mum came for prayer, but primarily to say thank you – Maria Paula was born with chronically flat feet: 2 years ago, in seconds, God created the arches in front of their – and my – eyes. That’s happened a few times now, and Thanney saw it it November when we prayed for a young man, Samuel, together. Here’s Maria and Maria Paula’s story story…and Maria Paula’s feet!:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU5c-SnVuHU
There were more… I could write more paragraphs of the testimonies, but it takes more time than you’d realise just to write the blog, upload the videos, and make it coherent and not too long!!
