The best of times...and the worst of times!

On Friday May 16th I led an eight person CRi team to God's garage in County Tipperary for a teaching and ministry weekend. It is one of our favorite venues because the hunger in the people who come from near and far is so strong. As the evening began I noticed a nervous man in his late thirties come in and I welcomed him. He said it was his first time at such a meeting and he warned me that he had hundreds of questions. I told him that I had hundreds of answers and we could chat sometime over the weekend. He came for prayer ministry the following afternoon where we got to talk and just half an hour later he gave his life to Christ!  As I led him in the prayer I saw his mouth tighten and I wasn't sure what was happening. I needn't have worried. He was fighting back his emotions. He said he had waited for someone to tell him the truth, and now he had it. His whole demeanor changed! How wonderful. Nearby, team member Mollie Reagan was leading another first time visitor to the Lord! I taught on 'Noah's Ark and the last days' on Friday evening, and CRi ministry manager Anne Galway did a wonderful teaching on 'False guilt' on the Saturday morning. The rest of the afternoon was the team in one to one ministry sessions in the upper room. God's Presence was tangible.

Then on the Saturday evening, just as we finished our dinner, I was seized by terrible pains in my abdomen. I knew what they were - my gall bladder again. Those who follow the last year's newsletters know that I have suffered greatly in this area, and I was due to finally have the surgery to remove my gall bladder in the Ulster Hospital, Belfast in exactly one week's time. It was the first time the team had seen me in such agony and it was distressing for them. An ambulance was called and I was driven for an hour over extremely bumpy back roads to Limerick hospital. My wife was with my sister some seven hours drive away, so Anne Galway accompanied me on the journey to the hospital where we were joined by team member David Dobbin. I have been to hospital by ambulance with gall bladder some five or six times in extreme pain over the past eighteen months, so I expected it would take the usual course and I would be discharged some six hours later. (The last attack had been only ten days earlier when I was taken to hospital at 1am and discharged when the pain had settled at 6am)

The next days were very traumatic as I was still in much pain and again using a morphine button. I was unable to eat so I was fed through a tube in my nose for several days. I confess that emotionally I broke once or twice which was quite distressing for all. Finally a week later I was taken for surgery, and it went well. I felt good the following day. Until about 6 pm when suddenly severe diarrhea started and lasted for just over two days. At this point I became very very weak and the decision to discharge me was put back another day. Finally, after a total of seventeen days in two different hospitals I got home.  I had lost a stone in weight over that time. Medically my heart condition is rated 'severe' following the virus attack in July 2005 (Dilated Cardiomyopathy with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, Mitral regurgitation and Atrial fibrillation) so a week after getting discharged and struggling to regain any measure of strength, I began to wonder whether my heart had been further damaged by the recent trauma. I have an assigned heart nurse who arranged an appointment at my heart hospital the following day and I underwent all the appropriate tests. The results showed that my heart does not seem to have been effected. In fact the result of the heart stress test was better than previous tests before the trauma. Praise the Lord!!

Linda and I were due to fly to Hungary on June 28th where I was to teach at Ellel Hungary for one week at a Croation holiday week, and then one week at a Russian holiday week. It was distressing have to pull out of that. This was the first time in twenty years of full time ministry that I have had to cancel any booking.

On the positive side, during the darkest hours in hospital I received many cards, phone calls, e-mail and texts (via Linda) that encouraged me. In fact many made me weep. Here is a sample. I think you can understand how deeply such words touched me when I was at my lowest points. I thank God for His encouragers.

Dear Ken, I've just heard that you weren't able to go to Hungary and are back in hospital. I am so sorry. I have no idea what your immediate situation is, but just want you to know that we are praying for you. You are one of the most courageous saints of God I have ever known and have huge admiration for your determination to press on and through whatever hurdle you have had to face... (International ministry leader)

 

Ken I just want you to know that because of you I am the man I am today. You have helped tremendously with my healing and deliverance and you taught me how to be a real man and a great daddy to my two girls and a good husband to my wife. I would never have known how to be like this if it wasn't for you, and all the teaching and mentoring and encouragement you gave me. My daughters and wife will have a godly man in their lives because of you. I just want you to know how much I love and appreciate you. I'm healed and delivered and I will do likewise for broken men in this dark world. Changed and transformed for God's glory. So thank you brother (ex-drug addict, and now ministering to drug addicts)

 

Ken you have been on my heart. It is only in times like these do you realize how important certain people are in your life. I would say you have impacted my life like no other man in Christ. I know we have unfinished business so when you get well we will see what that is. I know our Father in heaven has plans (Former founder of an addiction centre)

 

It's all in God's Hands. All is well.

Final update for this newsletter