Category Archives: Travel

While I’ve ALWAYS believed that God will heal my knees, constantly seeing others healed – which is an incredible, indescribable delight and privilege – can ‘chip away’ at the ‘when is it my turn, Lord?’ thought process. And when successive medics all say the same thing, it’s hard to stand alone against the pressure to ‘go on the list’ for surgery. One orthopaedic consultant told me mine were so bad, she gave me her personal mobile phone number, said ‘call me when you can’t take anymore, and I’ll put you at the top of my list’. Ireland’s a bit different to England, in that respect! MANY times the ‘temptation’ has been there… The doctor I saw here on arrival looked at the x-rays of these knees, and said, ‘You only have one course of action, Paul: we can do both, you’ll be back walking normally in 6-8 weeks, and it’ll only be US$7000’…

When I pray for people for healing or a miracle, I look for a ‘deadline’ – a near-doctors appointment, a surgery date, a consultant visit…. deadlines are good, as there’s something ‘concrete’ to pin a healing ‘time-frame’ to: nothing nebulous and unknown vaguely somewhere in the future.

Here in Cali, Colombia – which I DO regard as a genuine home, spiritual and otherwise (Home is where your heart is, and all that!), I’ve always been blessed to be ‘wanted’ back: 21 years coming to Colombia, 20 to Cali (this is my 79th time here), but this trip has seen a real acceleration in my being ‘honoured’ for being here, welcomed in many churches as ‘my home’, ‘part of our family in this church’ – which I have to say I find so incredibly humbling. I’ve been in tears many times this week. These are ‘key’ pastors in the move of God in this city and nation, and it totally blows me away….

Danny Silk, from Redding, California, wrote a wonderful book on ‘The Culture of Honour’: personally, I love to honour people, build them up, drop them into things they think they can’t do, run with them while they do it. Many years ago, my friends and mentors Clive and Ruth Calver did that for me in my early years of salvation and ministry, and it rubbed off on me (including my introduction to Indian food, with Clive: he started me OFF on a vindaloo…..). Honouring others is NOT just words: it’s a lifestyle, it releases incredible waves of God’s blessing and power into the person being honoured, so that THEY believe they can do what they couldn’t do – and do it. And it brings healing. And immense blessing to the ‘honourer’…..

10 days ago, the lovely church, Mision El Abrigo Internacional, in my spirit my ‘home’ church, even from 6,000 miles/10,000 kms away, spontaneously got round me as a church, and prayed for me. I felt humbled and blessed, but didn’t feel anything physical, nor at all that Sunday, or even Monday. Still in pain, walking has been an ‘issue’! Then, the prayers kicked in. If you want to see them, they’re not long – about 3 minute and 1½ minutes, they’re here:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utaX5lLQBYE&t=108s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOK-r5QYqPw&t=6s                          (you’ll probably need to copy and paste into your browser)

By Tuesday, having thanked God every conceivable moment I could, for the prayers, affirmations, and the miracle that ‘I’d believed but had not yet received’, the change was dramatic. I COULD WALK!! I could bend my knees. I couldn’t quite keep up walking with Thanney, as he’s got long legs, and I have little trotters, but I wasn’t far behind. Yes, there’s still soreness: but it’s diminishing. Yes, the bones still crack, but a lot less, and nowhere near so excruciating. I’m ‘taking care’ of them – looking out for ‘unseen’ steps, dips in the pavement, taking stairs slowly – not step-step, though, both feet on one stair – I can do stairs like normal people right now!

THANK YOU, LORD JESUS!! I want to declare it – rather than ‘give it a few weeks to see if I keep it’ – which I believe is the quickest to LOSE it. The man at the gate of the temple, in Acts 3, didn’t slink away quietly into the background, after his 38 years, saying, ‘Let’s give it a month, see if I can walk, leap, and dance then….!’ – he took off. So thank you, Jesus, for this miracle I’m living in right now – still ongoing, but it IS just that – ongoing. I can actually SEE the shape of my kneecaps now – the swelling has begun to go down… might not sound much to you, but to be able to get out of a chair, stand up, and walk away – without using the chair to get up, standing still for about minute, to let the pain subside and get balance, and then hobbling away – is a joy!!

I don’t plan on entering the London Marathon in a few weeks, not this year anyway…. but this is the answer to hundreds of my prayers, and countless of those of other people….

Thank you, thank you, Lord Jesus!!!

A few days ago, I think I might have ‘obliterated’ what is, for me personally, one of the most significant blogs I’ve written in a long time…. with humour! ‘These days have been kneeded’…. Many of you are aware of the chronic condition that osteoarthritis has inflicted on my knees over the past 16 years or so. More orthopaedic surgeons and doctors than I can shake a stick at, have told me that I only have one course of action ahead – become titanium man, and have both knees surgically replaced.

I’ve battled with that, as you can doubtless imagine, having prayed for literally hundreds, well into four figures in fact, of other people’s osteo-attacked knees, and seen just about all of them healed, mostly instantly: certainly all in the last four years, when mine have been at their worst, and I’ve been determined to shove the arthritis back in the enemy’s face on their behalf. Having experienced their pain on a daily basis, I don’t wish that pain on ANYONE. It really is excruciating. There have been days when I’ve sat in my living room at home, wanted something from the kitchen, all of 5 metres away, and thought, I can’t get up and get it yet….

I’ve battled, too, with the prospect of surgery: hips are pretty straight-forward, but knees have a significantly lower success rate, and I don’t know personally anyone who has had even one knee replaced, who is glad that they had it done. Let alone two knees. It’s also impossible to live alone, as I do, and have replacement knee surgery, especially in a house with steep, narrow stairs going to the (only) bathroom & loo, and bedroom….

For the past few years, I’ve heard surgeons tell me, ‘You shouldn’t even be able to stand up on those knees, let alone move’ – and other similar, really helpful comments! I’ve been determined that my life wouldn’t revolve around surgeon’s observations, and pain killers – heavy duty stuff the doc gives me, 8 a day of one, 2 of another: I’ve ‘survived’ generally on 2 of one, and 1 of the other…. and the quarterly cortisone/ steroid injections right into the knee (yes, it makes you squirm while you’re having it, too! – and it really IS the oddest sensation). Sometimes, those jabs work, normally for little more than a few weeks, maybe 6 if you’re lucky. Sometimes, as with the last ones I had back home in the UK, my knees were actually WORSE immediately after I’d had them.

When I arrived here, I’d battled again (!) – two weeks….even as little as a few days …. before I flew to Colombia, I thought, I just can’t go, can’t do it. But I WANTED to be here: and I knew I HAD to be here, for Thanney, though I’m sure he could have looked after himself ;), but when the third member of what would have been our Irish trinity couldn’t come, I knew it was a must.

I saw an orthopaedic doctor here 18 months ago, and he gave me cortisone injections – I’d have to say that they were among the best and long lasting that I’ve ever had. He also gave me anti-inflammatory injections to help the muscles. I pre-booked ahead of this trip, with another surgeon, for the day after I got here: more nice needles in the knee, and the anti-inflammatory injection I can buy over the counter in the pharmacy…. the injections didn’t really do anything, perhaps just took the extreme edge off the pain, which was both disappointing, and worrying for the rest of the trip. Preaching is something I just can’t do sitting down: and I’m the only preacher on this trip! Thanney was listening to my bones cracking even as I was standing still!

BUT THEN……Wow – THANK YOU, GOD! And I’ll make this another blog post!!

Wonderful meeting yesterday morning at Iglesia ‘Agua de Vida’ – Water of Life Church, Napoles. Yet another church it’s my privilege to visit regularly, pastored by the lovely Angela Mondragon and her husband Jesus Osorio, in Napoles, on the edge of the city. God always blesses there: they have a lovely spirit, it’s a church with a beautiful atmosphere. When people come up for prayer there, it’s always, first, to tell of what God healed on the last visit. That’s so encouraging, such a blessing. All sorts of things – hernias, arthritis, diabetes – one young lad had type 1 diabetes in November, and now no longer has it….

Thanney has been great at setting the tone for each ‘preach’ and ministry time, yesterday was no exception. People are loving hearing the testimonies he has from October – November, esepcially after he tells them that he never had any thoughts of praying for people on that trip, as he’d never done it before!

The day had begun a little earlier than we’d anticipated, as at  8 am., we had a lovely couple come to the apartment here for prayer: Ana Maria and Ricardo: and how it happened was lovely. Revelation 19:10 says that ‘the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy’. So when you tell of what Jesus is doing, as well as what he did, it becomes a prophetic word for you to claim for yourself. Ana Maria and Ricardo had seen the testimony on my blog/facebook of Carolina, last Sunday, telling of how she and her husband had long wanted children, and how, in November, Thanney had prayed for them, with Carloina now 4 months pregnant… Ana Maria and Ricardo have longed for kids for 10 years, and through their pastors, Ana Lucia and Juan de Dios (the dentist and her husband) – were put in touch with us. We had a super time with them for over an hour: and look forward to hearing of the ‘fruit’ in the weeks ahead….

And so to ‘Agua de Vida’ – such honouring again, from the people and pastors: God’s blessed me so amazingly this trip with the public honourings I’ve listened to….perhaps it’s because I’d begun to think a year or so ago that, after 20 years, I’d reached my ‘best before’ and ‘sell by’ dates here…. God knows the love have for this city, this country, and – much more important – the people, who have been friends for two decades….

If I’m honest, with the lovely man in the picture above, I’d have chosen his sight to come back first…. God didn’t do that. Instead, he proved that he was a work in his spine, and all the pain in his spine, back, shoulder, and arm went. He hadn’t been able to lift his arm above horizontal – and only then with excruciating pain – and he picked up my Bible bag: it’s pretty heavy – Bible, full bottle of water, phones, gadgets to charge the phone, cistomary breath mints (for ministry times!!) – and at full length, he lifted it from the floor, arm extended, above his head…. no pain, no restrictions, no limitations. Without the bag, he could hold his arm fully vertical…. and he’s in complete faith that God will give him sight back (so am I!) if he’s done this much healing for him. Jesus never half heals….

One dear lady was totally healed of osteoarthritis all down her left hand side: having been healed of it all down her right hand side in November! It was funny, as there were probably about 30+ people in the meeting, but Thanney and I – along with Wilmar and Johan – reckoned we prayed for at least 50% more than that – people were coming in off the street (the church opens onto the main street – I love that, too! – and others were going home to bring people back. Lots of miracles, healings – from Thanney too – and such a blest, powerful morning of being in the presence of God.

I love Jesus and Angela dearly: they are an amazing, delightful Pastor ‘team’ in their church, so kind, so hospitable, welcoming, generous, hospitable. It’s such a poor neighbourhood where their church is – you might recall from October-November’s blogs about the barrio, Siloe – well, it’s sort of an extension of Siloe, as is the village we were in last night, La Sirena. I so want God to prosper this lovely couple, and he is, and he will. God willing, Jesus is helping Thanney tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Foundation, with the construction. I’m so glad that they’ll get to spend time together, even if one doesn’t speak Spanish and the other just a little English. Their spirits will ‘rub off’ on each other….

Twenty years ago, I came to Cali: I spoke at a Youth with a Mission school, and had the pleasure of being translated by Dutchman Hein Hoere. Hein and Teija have been missionaries here for almost 30 years, and over the years, it’s been a pleasure and privilege and to get to know them. They’ve opened doors for me: and I’m thrilled to say I’ve been able to reciprocate for them, in Northern Ireland, through bringing Irish friends here.

Hein and Teija are apostolic and evangelists, pastors too: and great fun. Before I came here, they’d planted Mision El Abrigo Internacional – and it’s been a joy to be involved with them for each of the twenty years I’ve been coming here. Sunday was the middle day in a church ‘weekend away’ at a finca (farm) in the Andes, a beautiful place, and Thanney and I were there to take part in their Sunday worship. One of the hallmarks of this church is its worship: It is so sweet to be in the presence of the Lord with them.

I’ve been truly flying by the seat of my pants preaching the last few days: heading out on Saturday evening, I had one thing in mind, and God had other ideas. Same Sunday, at El Abrigo: I thought I could utilise my new sermon from Saturday – and did, to some extent, but it ended up pretty different. In the King James, which is my ‘memory verse’ translation from my childhood (which was, of course, all of 20 years ago 😉 !!), Samuel says, in his first book, chapter 7, ‘Heretofore hath the Lord blessed us….’ after the Israelites had trembled in fear in the face of the enemy Philistines, yet again…. and the Lord THUNDERED. I would so love to hear that – and be terrified in doing so – but there are issues I’m wanting God to thunder against, and a world that I love that needs the enemy to flee at the thunder of his voice.

At the end, I felt it would be right to have the people who’d never prayed for the sick, never seen a healing or a miracle, to pray for those who were sick. And they did. Thanney and I prayed for a few: and Thanney’s prayer to God, before we came, was that he’d see a young couple, who couldn’t have children when he prayed for them in November. He’d heard from Wilmar that within weeks Carolina had discovered she was pregnant, and Sunday, she was in church, and testified to God’s miracle, now 4 months pregnant. Here’s her story, as she’s joined by Thanney as she shares it:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDsW1616jUg

And then they humbled, honoured, and blew me away….. with their prayers.

Not in the whole of my ‘ministry’ life have I felt – or been – as honoured, as I was yesterday, at the church ‘Mision El Abrigo Internacional’. In all of the years of leaving the United Kingdom, as well as ministering there at ‘home’, if I’m honest, I’ve never truly felt ‘sent’ by the churches I’ve been part of. In the early days in different churches, yes, I did: but it was never long for the heart of mission to cause ‘stress’ with the ‘stay at homes’: the gift of healing – most unfairly – to be the cause of controversy: and my passion for the world (that I never had before God spoke to the CHURCH that I was an Elder of that it was to be a mission church) to cause dissent… that WAS 30 years ago, so maybe it’s changed!!

I feel incredibly blessed to have been allowed by God to do what I’ve done for the last 38 years. There have been indescribable blessings: there have been unbelievable ‘lows’ – but the blessings eclipse the lows exponentially. Yesterday, after 38 years, to hear wonderful apostolic pastors, tell me, ‘You’re part of this house (church), it’s your home’, totally blew me away, as they prayed for me and my knees!)…. I was blessed and wrecked (in a lovely way…)

The English translation does kick in if you want to listen… it’s not very long, but more than long enough to make the world of difference to me…. two separate prayers:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utaX5lLQBYE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOK-r5QYqPw

Mision El Abrigo, I FEEL that you are my home: 20 years of wonderful friendship with you has grown and grown, and I feel among you are very dear friends. I’ve told many people the same thing, along with ‘wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home’… Cali – and your church – is where my heart is. Thank you for your love, in accepting this wandering Englishman and his cohorts on so many occasions. My friends all love you, too….