Author Archives: Paul Bennison

Spent about 90 minutes at the hospital, during which time we prayed for a large number of kids, and their worried, concerned parents/grandparents. It’s always wonderful there to see visibly God touching the lives of the kids, and more especially the parents, and just the fact that ‘gringoes’ (all foreigners are gringoes here!) take the time, touble, and effort, to go and pray is actually part of the process for the kids and parents.

One stand-out story today: a young lad, we estimated about 10, named Duvan Abadia Garcia, was massively touched by God, looked transformed, so did his mum. Duvan had obviously had some major birth trauma, amongst his ‘problems’ (and this is where I’m glad there are doctors with me!!) were: Myelomeningo cele (spina bifida), tetralogy of fallot (heart surgery for conenital heart problem), neuropathic bladder, taliper equinovarus (club foot, bow legs), and optical atrophy. A fair list, you might say…

Well: the ‘bottom’ end of his body is a work in progress, but after he’d seen my neurosurgeon friend, we’re told he was healed of all, with the club foot and bow legs still to be worked on by God…. absolutely astonishing to see the transformation and hear the news – even more to see mum’s face, smile, and gratitude to God.

We also prayed for a small baby with exactly the same problem as baby Jose Luis had, 18 months ago: with mum, quite astonishingly, sitting in exactly the same chair in the waiting room as dad Jose Luis had sat in when we prayed over baby J-L’s x-rays all those months ago. I told her in my best Spanish what had happened then, and hope and delight spread over her face… we await further news!

Two churches tonight: one in Barrio Cordoba, with a pastor who was in last night’s meeting, and the other in an Assemblies of God church in the north west of the city. Benny, bless him, will come to that one, where Katie and I will be going, straight from the airport after his trek from Mexico City….

Last night, a lot of people wanted prayer for family – it’s amazing how many have drug addict/imprisoned/gang members in their families: but of those healed, we all agree that at least 80% of the people prayed for were healed. I tried to keep out of the way during the praying, as I always want the people I bring with me to go home with THEIR stories of what God did, not the stories that they saw me involved in.

But, because I know Hernan and Aida so well, I couldn’t escape last night (!), and though I only prayed for about 5 or 6 people, including the wrecked knees, every single one was healed….

In, of course, a church that has grown by 400% in a year…..God is so flipping fantastic!

….tiring and exhausting, but simply amazing. In the morning at the Social Security Hospital (Nueva EPS) close to where, once upon a time, my mate Paul & I rented an apartment, in Los Cambulos. 18 months ago (I mentioned this in an earlier post), the hospital Director asked if we’d pray for her and her staff. All the other Social Security hospitals have closed, or will close this month. This one is prospering….

Prayed for many people, with yours truly as the translator! One lady, who’d brought a wheelchair-bound relative, suffered herself from osteoarthritis. She was healed head to foot. A lady with chronic arthritic hands was healed. I must say I love it when God heals arthritis, as I think he’s having a bit of a game with me, seeing if I’ll keep praying for it even if mine remains! The guys all individually saw God heal people…

…then on to lunch with the wonderful pastors William, Hendrik, and Wilmar to discuss more – many more! – opportunities to preach, pray, share, and give away what God’s given to us. William Castano Baron is a highly regarded pastor in many South American countries: Hendrik, too, especially in Bolivia and Curacao. Wilmar pastors ‘El Abrigo’ church, and is, genuinely, one of the loveliest men I’ve ever met. Wonderfully for him, but sadly for us, Hendrik heads off to Bolivia Thursday with his wonderful wife Teija.

This evening, we were in one of the cities highly dangerous barrios – Simon Bolivar. To be honest, if it had been ANY other church than the one were scheduled to go to, I might have stayed home, as my knee has been….er….awful (and more!) today! But Nacer de Nuevo (New Birth) church, an AOG church, is so lovely, I had to go. Pastors Hernan & Aida (Helchie) Gonzalez are amazing. I first went to this church maybe 3 years ago: poverty stricken area, there were 8 people there, including the 3 people I’d taken, and me. Last year, there were 18. Tonight, there was a congregation of between 80-100. Still poverty stricken, Hernan & Aida run a little street stall to generate some income for them, and their lovely son Hernan the third, and, as God has blessed their church, so he has blessed the stall.

BUT… success in the streets means they have attracted the interest of the drug gangs/siccarios (cheap hired killers), who want ‘protection’ money, and a cut of their income. To put that threat into context, Pastor Walter Torres was driving through that area a couple of months back, and an old couple stepped off the pavement, into his path, and stopped. He stopped, obviously, to avoid hitting them: at which point 5 young armed thugs appeared, and while one held guns to the heads of the old people, they robbed Walter….

Tonight, at least 15 gave their lives to Jesus. Dozens were healed, and, in line with God’s ‘game’ with me, I got the ‘knee’ people! Two crippled elderly ladies, both with acute osteo arthritis, had their knees totally healed, and all pain went…. I almost asked them to help me get up from the edge of the platform…;) Lee saw someone with a frozen shoulder healed, Chris and Katie – and Lee & I some more – all saw people healed. Hernan & Aida were deliriously happy, so were we!

Looks like one or more of us will be back there before we go home….

And tomorrow, Benny arrives: so looking forward to seeing him, it’s his first time in Colombia, and South America, I believe. God things are going to happen, as God has miraculously provided the means for him to be here.

And….finally tonight…. I still have to pinch myself, even after 49 visits, that I’m in Colombia, high up in the Andes, and having the utter blessing of seeing God move…..

As I went off to sleep last night, with my (usual!) difficulty at achieving that particular goal, I was thinking about the three meetings we’ve done here so far: My take on it is that AT LEAST 75% of the people we’ve prayed for have been healed, and all the ‘Christians-in-Waiting, as lovely Samuel Lamb in Guanzhou, China, called not-yet-Christians), have been saved… it is SUCH an immense privilege to be in meetings where God does ‘the stuff’ (John Wimber-ism there) and to be the fortunate, blessed geezer sitting listening to people pour out their hearts, their pain, personal things – and then seeing God invade every aspect of their lives.

Last night, for instance, people sat and wept as they talked about their pain, their families, their hurt: and left, healed, with hope, and laughing. It was an amazing church last night – if only because it was a ‘new’ one to me, with lovely, lovely pastors, in a tough situation, with circumstances all around them troubled, and mostly in extreme poverty. Such a blessing: thank you, Pastors Zamora and your lovely church, Iglesia AGC, Valle Grande, for allowing me, Chris, Katie, & Lee to have the privilege of being involved with you.

It’s always good for me, too, to bring people here, and for THEM to discover that praying for people in a couple of meetings in a day is totally, utterly exhausting, and draining. I try and explain that to people who’ve never done it, and the response is like ‘Oh yeah? That’s a breeze’…. last night, we were ALL mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physical worn out: but, good Colombia sausage, a beer or two, and friendship, are amazing aids to recovery!