It was 9 years ago, I think, that I first had the privilege of visiting the church, Church of Faith and Hope, in La Sirena, a small mountain community on the edge of Cali up in the Andes. The church had a banner under the church name saying ‘Today is the day of your miracle’ – a truer statement had never been made! It was an amazing night – the church, pastored by the lovely Alcides and Leidy Valentierra Perea, was packed to the doors, with a large number outside, too – they could hear through the windows, as there’s no glass (too hot!). Dozens were healed there and then, including cancers, TB, diabetes, asthma and much more. Near the end I got to pray for a young man, 21, in a wheelchair, with a few (3 if I remember right) days to live, with AIDS and TB. If I’m honest, I didn’t know what to pray for him – hard to pray for someone o young with so little life while he was alive, and no future beyond the following Wednesday….so all I did was hold him, hug him, and talk quietly to him about how much Jesus loved him, and he made a commitment to Jesus as we hugged (I’m sure I heard my mum whispering from 6000 miles away that I might catch AIDS and TB! – but that wasn’t why I was there, and I’m not in faith to catch what I’m praying for). Behind the reading stand is a little room – so behind Hein and I and this picture – and late into the night, Pastor Alcides asked me to pray for a lady who’d obviously been carried up the mountain laying on a door, and put in the room. I thought she was in a coma or a very deep – maybe medication-induced – sleep. I prayed for her, twice, and nothing seemed to happen. I did learn from China (again!) that it’s not possible for God NOT to answer prayer in whatever way he chooses, but I left the church with her still in a coma…..
Or so I thought….it was six – SIX! – years before I got to go back to that church. I’d always wanted to, but couldn’t remember the name of the church, the name of the Pastor, or the village: all I could remember was that the Pastor looked like an (only slightly!!!) older Morgan Freeman, the wonderful actor! When I saw La Sirena on the programme schedule in – I think – 2016, I was over the moon, as God had done so much that night in 2010. Alcides introduced me, and asked ‘Why haven’t you been here for 6 years, Paul?’ – I had to explain (!) that my memory had failed me. I’d gone with my dear dear friend Wilmar Gomez, and my great mate from England, Chris Spark this time…..Alcides reminded me and the congregation of some of the miracles six-years earlier, which included cancers going, and so many incurable diseases going. I asked him what had become of the 21-year-old young man who’d only days to live 6 years before. You could have knocked me down with a feather…. ‘He phoned me today to say he wasn’t going to make it to the meeting tonight as his boss wouldn’t give him time off work, but he wanted to come and see me to say thank you…. totally healed of AIDS and TB, doubtless Hepatitis too…..I cried…
Then I asked him about the lady ‘on the door’ in the back room who’d been in a coma. ‘Coma? She wasn’t in a coma. She was dead. SHE rang me too when she heard you were here, but is staying with her sister in Bogota, and she’s so sorry, as she wanted to thank you, too….’ If I’d cried about the AIDS young man, I wept at the resurrection…. God turned up in power in the meeting that evening, as you can imagine….