Black Trainers and a Word of Faith

I was so mega blessed last week. I met someone that I haven't seen in ages. Let me tell you this incredible true story ...

We arrived in May 2000 and in the August I got a phone call from a Pastor who asked if I would visit a boy from his town who was in a hospital in Santiago. I never knew the family, the boy .. or even the pastor! Anyway, Abby and I went there to find this 15 year old guy called Bracey Calimlim.

We went to the ward and found a young man who was in a coma and had tubes everywhere. He had been having 'pretend' fights with his 3 friends on the way to school and things got out of hand. His friends beat him out and tried to throw him in a river. On the way to the water a tree branch went right through his body, almost severing his kidneys.

When we saw him the family and Doctors had given up hope. In fact, they were taking the tubes out and preparing for him to die naturally. I asked the Doctor if there was any hope. He shook his head and used his hand to show the number 0. No hope. A tragic end to a young end.

When the family saw Abby & I they asked for us to pray that he would die in peace. We went up to the bed and I started to pray over this lifeless young man. As I prayed, I felt a huge surge of power go down my arm and I spoke a word of faith ... "Bracey, you will not die but live." I couldn't believe I said it because Abby was interpreting for the family!!! Amazingly, when I ended the prayer, Bracey opened his eyes and said in perfect English, "Thank you Pastor." Goosebumps!

Abby & I decided to commit ourselves to prayer. Almost every day we went to the hospital to pray for him. It was hard... one step forward and two steps back. But in that time Bracey accepted the Lord and began to be discipled. However, things took a turn for the worst into the second month and he looked like a skeleton. One good thing that happened at this time - and this was a key - he made a conscious decision to forgive the friends who had done this to him.

But one night, he looked at me and said, "I am ready to go home now. I am tired of fighting. Before I go Pastor Mark, will you kiss me goodbye on my cheek?" I was so upset. I could see he was upset by my reaction and so I bent down to kiss him on the cheek. When I did, I felt the power of God again! I said, "Bracey, it is not time to give up. It is time to fight. You have your life ahead of you ... you will survive, become strong, go back to school, get a job, get married, have children and serve the Lord. God is with you." He agreed to fight with us.

Next day, I went to the market and bought a pair of lovely black trainers and went to the hospital. I said, "Bracey, these are for you. One day you will come to the Fire Center and play basketball with me." He smiled and nodded.

In January (5 months after we first met!) we managed to get Bracey to see a specialist in Manila. He found that his kidneys were in bad shape and there was a huge lump there and it didn't look good. I prayed for him because I had to go back to Santiago.

Two weeks later, there was a knock on my door ... it was Bracey - wearing his trainers! I have never ever ever been so happy to see anyone at my door in my life. We played basketball. He told me that when the Doctor actually did the operation they discovered that the huge lump had completely disappeared and that his kidneys looked absolutely normal. Wow!

I haven't seen him for two years ... until a few weeks ago. We drew in for fuel and I heard a knock on my window, "Remember me Pastor Mark?" I was in tears. He was looking great and had put on so much weight. Guess what? He was married and his wife was going to have the first baby. And ... his wife has just become a member in one of our Cornerstone Churches! Bracey came to church last Sunday and wants to serve the Lord at Cornerstone. Amazing. Unbelievable. Fantastic. God.

Feel blessed? Here is some lessons from Bracey's story:

* We need the Gift of Faith and the courage to speak what God asks us to speak.

* We should not be led by feelings and emotion ... but by faith. Our eyes can lie to our spirit. Our emotions can be unreliable and disable faith.

* Forgiveness is a key to healing and restoration. Unforgiveness is a shortcut to misery, pain, bitterness and even sickness.

* Your faith may need feet .. or trainers! Put action to your words.

* God is a great healer. He can do in a moment what man would take years to achieve.

* What happens to someone after they are healed are more important than the healing itself. Healing is physical; discipleship and following the Lord is spiritual.

* Some battles are sealed in a day .. but some battles last for months or years. The important thing is to never give up. You may be at the edge of a miracle!

* God's word and promises are so powerful.

* 'No Hope' doesn't exist in the vocabulary of God. Impossible is nothing.

Selah ....

Tabitha

Hi stranger! My fault ... not yours! I just want to thank everyone who prayed for Josiah. He was discharged from hospital on Saturday morning and since then his eating has improved, he is gaining strength ... and he certainly has his singing/shouting voice back again! He is a real character ... a wee comedian!

Been down in Manila and the Scottish Team are well and truly home now. We had a great couple of weeks and my two kids loved having other Scottish kids around. We had a really good programme organised for them - a mixture of ministry time, kids time and learning time. I will write a blog with a report on all the great things that happened.

In the meantime, I want to totally inspire and encourage you by an amazing story that happened here this week. As you know, one of our ministries at Cornerstone Church is our Hospital Ministry every Wednesday morning. I asked the Lord, "If you came to Santiago, where would you go?" I felt in my spirit that He would go to the place where there is the most helplessness and need ... the local Government hospital. A terrible place. Every time we go there, desperation hits us in the face.

For example, the lady at the bottom of this blog was in a desperate situation. She had to have a cesarean as there were complications with her twin babies. She had the operation and the kids were healthy. She, however, was not. She had an infection that was so severe she was at the point of death. Listen to this .. when we talked to her she told us that she had to sell one of her twins just to pay the medicine to keep her alive. Tragic. This week, Pastor Danny said that she was not there. We don't know if she is even still alive.

I have been challenging the leaders, and myself, not to pray 'safe' prayers - "Lord, I pray that by this time next week he'll be out of this hospital" or "Lord guide the hands of the surgeons" or "may she wake up tomorrow feeling better". Know what I mean. We are excellent at safety. Keep our pride and dignity at all costs.

But ...we need the Peter & John anointing - right here, right now. In the Name of Jesus ... walk, be healed, blind eyes open, asthma be gone, high blood pressure become normal, heart disease flee etc. I have been challenging the leaders to ask "How do you feel, what is happening" after they pray. These people literally need a miracle now. Some of them are teetering at the edge of life and death ...

There was a little boy called Joshua, only 8 years old from Santiago City. He cut his thumb on a piece of rusty iron and it became infected. In the UK, tetanus jab, no problem. In the Philippines ... life threatening. His thumb became black and septicemia began to run through his body. Two weeks ago Pastor Danny, Pastor Winston along with David & Grace Strachan from Peterhead prayed with the boy and his family. David left a card with a verse on it to encourage them.


Last weekend, wee Joshua's conditioned worsened and his family was called to the hospital. They watched helplessly as the poison took the last breath from the little boy ... he died. The Doctor pronounced him dead and the family were distraught.

Five minutes after he died something amazing happened. Joshua's grandmother began to hold this boy in her hands and began to cry out to the Lord. She said that she began to 'pray the same prayers as the Cornerstone people'. She rebuked the sickness and cried out "God, if you are there ... have mercy on this boy and hear my cries."

Whenever she prayed this prayer, Joshua's eyes opened. He was back! Over the next few days the poison in his body began to disappear and last Wednesday his grandmother was waiting to tell our pastors the amazing story. Look at the picture at the start of this blog. His thumb is completely healed! No puss. No black poison. Our God is a healing God. Hallelujah! The book of Acts is still being written ....

Well, that's OK in the Philippines... but it wouldn't really happen in the West. Really? Who prayed? Who had the faith? Who believed against the odds? An old grandmother in the depths of despair. She wasn't a member of a Pentecostal Church. She wasn't in a cell group. She isn't even an evangelical. But she thought ... only Jesus can hear me.

In Scotland, England, Ireland & Wales .. in the USA or Australia ... wherever you may be, God is searching for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him .. so he may strengthen them. Why don't you ask the Lord, "Lord, if you came to my town ... where would you go?" or "lord, can you use me?"

It will open your eyes and change your life. In the meantime, there are people in hospital right now who need the same miracle as Joshua; they need love' ... they need to know someone cares. The church MUST break out of her four comfortable walls and begin to walk the streets. For there you will find needs you never knew ... and at the point of need you will find a saviour waiting for His people to speak faith into the most helpless of situations.

Got a cup of water? An old jacket? An extra meal? A bit of time? A letter of encouragement? An shoulder to lean on? A prayer of faith? (Please read Matthew 25:34-46)

Go ... the world is waiting for you. If you won't go ... what will happen to the Joshuas of your generation? Miracles are waiting for you ... only believe.

Selah

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42

Easter Weekend Remembered!

Wow, right now the heat is killing us over here. I know that it has been hot back home .. an answer to prayer to many of you! But here, we are praying for clouds and rain ... funny world eh? Keith was telling me today that his thermometer touched 40C (104F) inside!

I know that Easter has come and gone, but I forgot to share about the wonderful Cornerstone weekend we had at Sefton Village on April 7-8. We met on Sunday afternoon and had an afternoon of games and sports. The Helga Mosey aunties won the volleyball tournament ... but I did point out that they were playing 'at home!!'


The church supplied the meals for our members and we enjoyed fellowship. On the Saturday night we had great Celebration in the Fire Centre and Keith preached. Afterwards, we had a fun/talent night followed by a bonfire. Check out our Cornerstone actors!


We woke up at 4:30am and started our Sunrise service at 5:15am. The guys took up all the instruments and we had a great worship time on the volleyball court! The sun rose and we were filled with thankfulness and awe. We went straight to the pool for our Easter Sunday Baptismal service... yup, at 6am!!!


I had the joy of baptising around 20 new believers. Fantastic. One funny moment ... one of the guys getting baptised had just come from the hospital where he had a small operation to his arm. He was desperate to get baptised but wanted to make sure his arm did not go under the water! (see pic below) I told him we believed in total submersion and that we would baptise his left arm at the next baptismal service!! Pastor Marlou dunked him while I held his hand in the air...the things they didn't teach you at Bible School!


After breakfast we had our Easter celebration and it was full of testimonies, songs and drama. I preached about the Power of the Cross, and around 12 people responded to the Lord for salvation. I have discovered that when I preach about the cross ... amazing things happen and people always respond to the message. We prayed for many who were sick. What a wonderful weekend we had. What a celebration!

Jesus .. STILL IS the resurrection and the Life! Let me share an amazing story that proves that there are no hopeless cases with God! In one of my first ever blogs, I asked you all to pray for a lady called Pastora Julie ... remember her? She ministered in the mountains around an hour from where we lived and had planted a church there. She became very sick after the birth of her 3rd child and the pain would not go away.

She went for tests at the beginning of 2006 and they found a huge malignant tumour. She underwent two sessions of Chemotherapy, but her body was too weak. In April, the Doctor sent her home to die. he wrote in her records that she was a 'hopeless case' and that he did not expect her to live very long.

When I found this out, I felt in my spirit that she would be healed! We texted her to come to the House of Refuge in the Fire Centre. They had to carry her in - she could barely speak and was so weak. As me and two other Pastors prayed, God showed us we must rebuke the spirit of death. As we did this, Pastora Julie felt something happen in her body.

For three months we prayed and prayed ... and she got stronger and stronger! She began to walk, her hair began to grow and her appetite returned. When we came back to Scotland last July .. she went back to her family ... healed!

Well, I hadn't seen Pastora Julie for nine months - but at the Easter Convention we saw her again! She said to me, "Do you know who I am" This threw me, as I did not have a clue. But when she smiled, I knew. I could not believe it! Her hair was beautiful and she had put on weight. She was doing great and feeling strong. Isn't that amazing?

He was, still is and always will be ... the resurrection and the Life! Trust Him....

13 ... And Certainly Not Out!

Yesterday we had a happy day ... we celebrated the 13th Birthday of Pepito Castigo here in the Children's Home. He is a trophy of grace and he has touched the lives of so many people who have met him. He is the best friend of my son Josiah and even though there is a great difference in age .. there is not so great a difference in height! They are inseparable (even sharing the chair at Pepito's Birthday Party! - above) and Pepito feels like an adopted son because he is in our house so much!

He has almost gone to be with the Lord on a few occasions but the Lord has spared his life. I believe his life has a purpose and Pepito is doing great in Cornerstone Church. There are great days and good plans ahead .. but there are also difficulties and big issues because of his health problems. But he is doing well health wise. He has a very strict diet and has only a few tablets to take daily now. He still gets regular monthly check ups with Dr Francisco.

We are desperate to find Pepito a family. We had a family who really wanted him but two years have passed and there are no signs of progress. He is available for international adoption now and so we are praying that this special little guy finds a place to call home.

If you have a message to send to Pepito on his birthday, or if you have met him and want to share about him ... then please leave 'comment' at the bottom of the blog.

We have a lovely close friend from Cornerstone Singapore called Maureen. She has been to Sefton many times and last year she did her 2 month placement from Bible School at Sefton. She loved Pepito and wrote a wee article for her church magazine about him. I leave you with her words to challenge and inspire you.

Cry of Faith: The Story of Pepito Castigo Junior

By Maureen Low

Pepito Castigo Junior was five months old, malnourished and ill when he was admitted to the Helga Mosey Children’s Home in Santiago, Philippines. This ministry was run by Pastor Mark Ritchie and his wife, Mary.

Four years ago, when Pepito was eight years old, he came face to face with death. He fell very ill and was admitted to a hospital for two weeks but showed no improvement. His frail body continued to swell and bloat up. The hospital discharged Pepito and Pastors Mark and Winston decided to take Pepito to another hospital in the city of Manila.

On the way to Manila, Pepito suddenly lost his sight and suffered a seizure. To prevent him from biting off his tongue, Pastor Mark immediately stuck his wallet into Pepito’s mouth. The pastors were at a loss as they were travelling on a mountain and the closest hospital was more than an hour’s drive away in San Jose. Both pastors wept and cried out to God for help.

They finally arrived in San Jose but were not able to locate the hospital. Pastor Mark approached a man for directions who turned out to be a security guard at the hospital that they were looking for. The man offered to direct them to the hospital where Pepito was admitted to the emergency ward. The guard followed them into the hospital but subsequently disappeared. The pastors wanted to thank him but were unable to find this man. Interestingly, no one in the security department knew who he was. Could he have been an angel?

As Pepito had suffered a seizure for a long period of time, the doctor feared that his brain could have been damaged and proposed a transfer to Manila for further checks. When Pastor Mark heard the news, a sudden surge of faith began to rise up within him and he declared that, “Nothing that happens tonight will damage the life of this child!”

Pastor Winston rushed down to the City Hall for an ambulance and with God’s favour, a paramedic agreed to send Pepito to Manila and one of the nurses accompanied them in the ambulance.

In Manila, Pepito was warded at the Intensive Care Unit and it was discovered that 67 per cent of his kidneys had been damaged. Pepito was treated and slowly the swelling subsided, with no trace of damage to be found in his brain as well. This was indeed a miracle!

Many missionary friends of Pastor Mark came to know about Pepito and soon he had many visitors, some of whom blessed him with money. One morning, Pepito asked Pastor Mark for the money and explained that he wanted to give the money to the girl lying next to his bed, as she had no money for her treatment. Pastor Mark was very touched that, despite his own ordeal, Pepito could still show love and care for others. Finally, after three weeks of treatment, Pepito was discharged from the hospital.

Today, Pepito is 13 years old and up and running. He is currently on medication and a strict diet but despite his physical conditions and limitations, Pepito has not uttered a word of complaint. He wears a smile across his face all the time.