DAWN Fridayfax 1995 #16

News from Malaysia, Switzerland, France, Korea

Bishop: Raised from the dead...

The Rt. Rev. Tan Sri John G. Saviramathu, now 66 and bishop of West Malaysia, reported in "New Life," the Malay church newspaper how he was raised from the dead at the age of 6. His younger and older brothers both died from the same illness from which the doctor declared him dead too, but his parents prayed all night for him. During the funeral the following day, the boy stood up alive and well out of the coffin, shocking and exciting all who were present! For this reason, he says, his parents dedicated him to God.

...and healed of heart pains

The bishop should have had a bypass operation in January 1994 because of serious heart pains, but the operation was postponed for the 3rd time on 19th March 1994 due to further complications. Savarimathu put his life again in Gods hands. Suddenly, he reports, he clearly heard a voice, first in Hebrew, then Tamil, his mother tongue, saying to him "I have healed you. You dont need an operation any more." He felt as though an electric current passed through his body, and in his own words, "how something extraordinary happened to my heart. I could breathe properly for the first time since my heart attack in 1986. Two weeks later, the specialists told me that my heart was normal again." According to the church paper, many people are now being healed of physical suffering in the bishops services. In Perak, 200km north of Kuala Lumpur, up to 10,000 people came to hear the bishop speak about the gospel. Malaysia is more than 40% Islamic, and evangelisation is officially forbidden.

Source: Office of the Diocese, 9 Jalang Tengah, 50-50 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fax (3) 2416460, via Keith Gerner, POB 1, Newcastle, Co Down, BT33 0EP, Northern Ireland, CompuServe 100543,3150

Swiss pastor and wife help prostitute

Aurore, once a prostitute from Lausanne, reported in the French-language magazine "L'Illustré" of 12th April 1995: "I became a prostitute for revenge against my father. As a small child, I always wanted to hear from my parents that I was loved, but I never heard the words. So I became a prostitute. In 1985, I was imprisoned, beaten, burned and humiliated for 5 days before being taken by my torturers to Marseilles to be sold by them, 2 pimps and 2 other prostitutes." In the meantime, Emanuelle, as she is now known, became a Christian. She came into contact with the Reformed pastor Jean-Pierre Besse and his wife in Lausanne. "There I received the love which I never had from my parents. I have become able to forgive both my parents and my torturers."

Source: Yves Lasseur, L'Illustré of 12 April 1995

France: Growth plans

The number of evangelical Christians in France doubled between 1965 and 1990. In the past 20 years, 1000 evangelical churches have been founded. Among the approximately 3000 churches in France, the main growth is in the pentecostal churches, particularly the "Assemblies of God," who have tripled their membership in the same period. The main part of the growth is among Gypsies: almost half of the Gypsies in France are now Christians. Daniel Schaerer, leader of YWAM Paris sees "a historic hour for Frances churches" this year: "France chooses the President to take the nation into the next millennium. The church leaders also have the chance to lead with a clear evangelistic vision. The aim of the evangelisation," according to Schaerer, "must be to found a biblical church in the cultural, sociological and geographical reach of each person in France." For this reason, a consultation is taking place on 13-14th June 1995 in Chantilly, under the leadership of "AUBE 2000," with the aim of bringing the churches together under a common evangelistic strategy. The results of detailed research into the spiritual situation in France will also be presented there.

Source: Daniel Schaerer, FAX (33) 7505130, CompuServe 100041,3615

Raised from the dead - Now a missionary in France

In 1974, the Korean pastor Yonggi Cho (Seoul) was urgently called to go home from an elders meeting. When he arrived there, he found his 5-year-old son dying. At that time, fruit in Seoul had been poisoned by a deranged person. As Cho was called to his son, 30 other children had already died of the poisoning. Cho told us at a conference: "I simply did not want to accept the death of my son. After hours of intense prayer and crying, he died anyway. Beside myself, I had to watch him grow cold and stiff, yet I still could not give up. I told God I will not leave this room until you give my son back. And my son lived!" Cho's son told his father that he had met Jesus in heaven and that he had seen many dead Christians from Chos church there, who shouted "Look, here comes the pastor's son!" Jesus told him: "I cannot keep you here, because your father will not let you go, so I'll send you back to him." The now 26-year-old is a missionary in Paris and learns French.

Source: David Yonggi Cho, Seoul.

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