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April has been a real month of blessing. First a visit to my hospital consultant - my first since leaving hospital. He was simply amazed that I was leading a normal life. Walking 1000' up a mountainside, swimming a length of a pool underwater, and running the full circumference of a football pitch without stopping! He wants to do another ultra sound on my heart as he said 'clearly something has changed in your heart condition' |
He then told me (for the first time) that according to their tests my heart was only pumping 10% of its atrial chamber volume, barely enough to stay alive on.
Two weeks later I was attending the hospital again, only this time for my first appointment at the heart failure clinic. The two nurses were in awe and wonder at my health. They said they were expecting a debilitated, breathless and somewhat depressed man. The senior nurse after examining me said that I was someone who should be telling their story on television. She said that she normally gave patients her contact number for emergencies but in my case there seemed to be no point. Kidney test, blood pressure level and heart beat were all good, and my chest was completely clear from fluids.
They asked me if my remarkable recovery was due to 'mind over matter' but when they then asked me what I did it was a joy to tell them that I was a Christian who was in full time ministry as a Bible teacher.
Our annual Autumn /winter school has produced some excellent potential team members and these folk are now receiving further training and experience in ministry. We need a larger team but we recruit slowly, prayerfully and carefully.
In early April Pastor Clive Carr and I did a Saturday seminar at Open Arms Fellowship, a large multi national fellowship some 35 mile outside Dublin. The seminar was on evangelism and spiritual warfare. Clive Carr is probably the best evangelist I know and it was an honour to work with him again. I was the speaker at the Sunday morning service and both events produced a record number of tape requests at the church which was encouraging.
On the third third weekend in April the team and I put on a Father heart of God seminar at the Commons Inn in Cork.
It was certainly virgin territory for us as we only knew 4
people in the city and its surrounding area. We were told that Cork people are
suspicious and would not come to hear people they did not
know. Then when we arrived on the Thursday night we were told that someone was spreading rumours about us and had put
the few who were coming off. We had booked the Inn's conference
suite plus bedrooms for the team, plus a ‘faith
guesstimate’ of 50 dinners and evening meals for delegates, all of
which would have to be paid for if no one came!
God is SO good. Some 70 people came, mostly from Cork, but some from
as far away as Offaly, some 120 miles away. The response to the ministry was wonderful
and most delegates plan to be coming back for the second conference in 4 weeks
time, where we teach and minister into such issues as the Lordship
of Jesus, Forgiveness. soul ties, rejection, fear and inner vows.
The best bit of the weekend for me was the fact that my youngest son David and
his girlfriend Jill (both having just completed the NETS five month
prayer ministry training school in England) joined the
team for the weekend and did fantastically well. The team has
unanimously agreed that both should be brought onboard as full team
members.
A proud Dad!
