DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #09

News from South Africa, Germany, India

In this issue:
South Africa: Even mission leaders are healed sometimes
Germany: Jesus House rocks Europe
Just healed of glaucoma, man raises the dead
India: The Lord guards the house

South Africa: Even mission leaders are healed sometimes

"As a missionary, you experience many things, including many miracles which happen to other people. Mostly, though, other people are healed - but this time it was me! I can hardly believe it, but God healed me of great suffering!", writes Dr. Johan Combrinck from Pretoria, South Africa. He is the director of AFNET, a network based on the DAWN strategy. "In November 1997, I seriously injured my back. I simply lifted a coffee table in the AFNET office, then my back clicked and that was it! To start with, I could feel nothing in my right hip and leg. The orthopedic surgeon prescribed rest in bed, at Christmas of all times. However, it just became worse. With time, the pain became so bad that I could not sit, lie down or move; I was completely immobile. X-rays showed serious damage to one of my vertebrae, and an NMR test revealed a slipped disc. One piece of cartilage was pressing against the nerve, and another part had even fallen into the spinal column, where it was also pressing against the nerve. As the neurosurgeon saw that, he said that it was 'enough to cause pain and increasing immobility. The only solution is an operation' which could last up to 8 hours. The operation was scheduled for February 9. I had no medical insurance, because it is too expensive for me as a missionary. The operation was way beyond anything we could afford, so I repeatedly delayed it out of fear of bankruptcy. The doctors, though, told me that the only alternative would be confinement to a wheelchair. That worked - I asked many people to pray for me, all over the world. A few days before the operation, I was due to visit the neurosurgeon for a preparatory examination. As you can understand, I slept badly the night before. But as I got up that morning, I felt no pain for the first time in 3 months. I couldn't understand it, and it was 'clear' to me that it could only be a temporary reprieve. Then the neurosurgeon examined me: the more tests he performed, the less he found. His surprise slowly gave way to total astonishment, then he gave his diagnosis: 'For some medically unexplainable reason, you are healed. A natural reversal of your pathological state is impossible. The only explanation for what you have experienced is a miracle,' he said, reaching for the telephone to cancel the preparations for my operation. For the orthopedic surgeon who also examined me, it was also the first case of a spontaneous healing without possible explanation - a miracle, as he also said. Today, I can walk and move without pain. God has completely healed me. I have thanked him in tears countless times. I am speechless."

Source: Johan Combrinck; Fax (27)-12-3323824; e-mail: 100076.2414@compuserve.com

Germany: Jesus House rocks Europe

On 30 and 31 January, "Jesus House", Europe's first evangelical youth megaparty, took place in Nuremberg. 430 locations in Luxemburg, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Italy and Croatia were linked live by satellite. 1,413 Christian churches joined to make the event happen. "Jesus House" was aimed at young people between 16 and 22. And what was there to see? A mix of drama, break dancing and skateboarding, live music and messages to reach the youths with the gospel. "And it worked," says the organising ProChrist team. Marburg's Roland Werner spoke before a full house - over 1,500 people attended each evening. During the evangelistic 'altar calls', the people could hardly go forward because of the crowds. An 'overwhelming' number - 2000 people - showed interest in a relationship with Jesus.

Source: ProChrist, Kassel. On the internet at http://HFE.org,

Just healed of glaucoma, man raises the dead

"Ronny, a retired businessman, was recently healed of glaucoma, an eye disease leading to blindness, after receiving prayer in Jesus' name," reports Jimmy Crompton. Soon afterwards, Ronny went to visit his daughter in Johannesburg. One afternoon, he heard screams from the street - it was a woman, whose daughter had just been found at the bottom of a swimming pool. "Nobody knew how long she had been there, but she was completely blue, had no pulse and had ceased to breathe," says Ronny. Her mother was completely hysterical. Ronny took the mother and child into his daughter's house and started to pray as others called the ambulance. He prayed for 20 minutes before becoming angry and starting to loudly command the 'spirit of death'. Suddenly, the child turned over, regurgitated a huge amount of water and began to scream. The mother and daughter's screams helped the ambulance find the house quickly. As soon as they arrived, the medics examined the child and declared her completely healthy, but took her to hospital anyway in case of complications. Further examinations showed that she had suffered no brain damage or other ill effects. Ronny is convinced that Jesus raised the child from the dead.

Source: Jimmy Crompton; e-mail: jrc@hinet.co.za

India: The Lord guards the house

In one village in the so-called tribal belt of West Godaveri district in Andhra Pradesh state, the notorious 'Naxalites' often rule - vigilante groups which use terror attacks to ensure 'law and order' is kept. One day during the rice harvest, they decided to simply help themselves, taking the farmers' hard-earned harvest. One of the farmers, a committed Christian, had already filled his harvest into 100 sacks and neatly stacked them in front of his door, ready for delivery. Not a single grain was taken - a miracle for anyone who knows the Naxalites. God had guarded his house.

Source: Evangelist Fred Rajaratnam, Madras, Tel.+91-44-6211689

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