DAWN Fridayfax 1996 #28

DAWN News from Finland, USA, Sudan, England

Finland: 2 small children healed of food allergy

"I don't know of a single child born completely healthy in our part of town in the last few years," says 25-year-old Sanna Urvas from Espoo near Helsinki, Finland. But when she visited pastor Cesar Castellanos' church MCI (Mision Carismatica Internacional) in Bogota, Colombia, with his family, both his children, Lauri (11 months) and Aarne (2 1/2 years) were completely healed of a serious and "unhealable" food allergy after prayer.

The allergy had caused eczema and constant diahorrea. Sanna Urvas grew up on water and honey because of a similar serious allergy. Six years ago, not only was she healed of brain cancer through prayer, but her back, damaged in a car accident, was also healed. She is now a dance teacher.

Both children, Lauri and Aarne, had to keep to a very restrictive diet and frequently had to be taken to hospital. The special food and medicine which they needed cost the family around $900 per month, of which only a small part was paid by the state.

Since receiving prayer in the Colombian church on 28 June 1996, the children have been able to eat everything without complications. "It was simply wonderful to see them able to eat tomatoes, yoghurt and other things without having to pay bitterly for it," said their happy father, Antti Urvas. "We are convinced that God wants to give us something of this revival in Colombia to take with us for Finland," the family told us shortly before returning home.

Source: Urvas, Hanikka 47, 02369 Espoo, Finland Tel (358)-0-8886045

USA: fewer crimes in New York

According to the New York police's statistics, the rates of murder, robbery and other crimes have sharply decreased recently. It is not yet known whether this is directly connected with the prayers during the 1996 March for Jesus.

Source: New York Times; DAWN Friday Fax

Sudan: united churches prevent blood-bath in Rank

We have just heard that united action by churches in Rank, an isolated area in the northernmost part of southern Sudan, about 12 hours by bus from Khartoum, prevented a massacre in February 1996.

The Sudanese government is continuing its attempts to turn the country into a Moslem state; one of their strategies is to 'convert' pupils between 6 and 12 years old in school. The region's government representative asked the churches to open their doors for Islamic teaching. When the churches refused, he threatened to use force, to which they replied "So, use force."

When the official arrived with the army, he found the members of all the local churches around the building. Because a military action would have caused a blood bath, he thought better of it and withdrew after arresting some of the leaders, who were released a week later. The Rank churches celebrated this as a great victory in the face of the permanent persecution in Sudan.

Source: name and address withheld

England: 'Oil on your hands' - new phenomenon in London

Superintendent Brian Richardson reports that the Pentecostal church "Kensington Temple" has been experiencing a new phenomenon in the last few weeks. "On 19th May 1996, head pastor Colin Dye spoke about the anointing of the Old Testament priests. Afterwards, a number of people told us that their hands were unexplainably partly or completely covered with a film of oil. Pastor Dye interprets this new phenomenon as 'a sign from God that these people are called to minister to others'."

Since that Sunday, according to Richardson, the phenomenon has been experienced in people's homes as well as during the services. The phenomenon occurred again during a service on 9th June 1996 and, according to the pastor, a number of people were healed of physical illnesses. Since then, the phenomenon has been recorded on video, which is available to those interested. Richardson pointed out that similar phenomena are recorded in church history.

The Kensington Temple church, part of England's Elim Churches, has a weekly attendance of around 12,000 in the mother church and 90 newly-founded satellite churches. "Our vision," according to Richardson, "is to plant 2,000 new churches by the year 2000. We plant two or three per month at the moment."

Source: Brian Richardson, Kensington Temple, Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill Gate, London W11 Tel. (44) 171-727-4877 FAX (44) 171-937-8335