THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE MISSION TRIPS THAT  MY WIFE, BARBARA AND  I HAVE BEEN ON.

MISSION TRIP TO COLUMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA

COLUMBIA. SEVERAL DRAMATIC CREATIVE MIRACLES

 Barbara and I spent two weeks in Columbia, the first week was with our local church, Eastridge church, and the second week with Global Awakening ministry, well known throughout the world for evangelism and miracles. The final miracle is that we arrived safely back home, the day before covid broke out in our area. If we would have waited even one day to leave Columbia, we might still be there.

NOTE: PICTURES TO BE ADDED LATER TO COLUMBIA MISSION TRIP.

Below are just a few miracles thatthe Lord used us in.One evening after church, we headed back to town where we had dinner at a restaurant very close to our hotel.  I had been praying for dramatic miracles, even creative miracles and what follows was certainly a divine appointment orchestrated by the Lord.After we finished dinner we walked back to the hotel.  I was in the very back, lagging behind, and talking to Jimmy, the missionary who was hosting our team.  At dinner, I had ordered two chicken wraps thinking that I would eat one of them the next day.  So, I had one in my bag.  As it turned out, there was a young man perhaps in his early 20’s selling some items next to our hotel.  There are many poor Venezuelans just trying to exist from day to day.  Anyway, I asked Jimmy if I could give him my extra wrap and he said yes.  I gave it to him, asked his name, which was Ricardo, and introduced ourselves.  I asked if we could pray for any pain or medical conditions and he said yes.  We ended up praying for his right side where he said a part of his lung was removed.  He was obviously having difficulty breathing.  So with his permission, I put my hand on his shoulder and commanded the area to be healed in Jesus’ Name.  I asked him how it felt and he said that all the pain was gone.  I was so grateful Jimmy was my interpreter, and without him, this incredible miracle may not have happened.  I probed a little more for medical problems and Ricardo said that he had an infection on his heart and that he would need to have surgery to repair it.  Of course there is no way that he could afford to have surgery.  So with his permission, I put my hand on his chest and rebuked the infection in Jesus’ Name and prayed for a new heart.  Immediately, he said he felt fine.  I believe that the Lord created a new lung and a new heart in just a few seconds for this young man.  I then asked him if he would like to receive the Lord into his heart.  He of course said yes, and we led him a prayer of salvation and then spoke blessings over him.  It was a very powerful time with dramatic healings by the Lord as a result.  We want to give all glory and honor to the Lord for what great things He can do and will do if we put our trust in Him.

Thursday, February 20th

Today, we traveled about an hour and half up into the mountains outside Cucuta to a tent site called Carpe Esperanza (Hope Tent) that was staffed by Youth With A Mission, and several other organizations.  It was situated on the side of the road and consisted basically of a tent with plastic chairs inside.  Here groups were ministering to the many Venezuelan “camanandes” (walkers), or refugees, who were making their way on foot (or on the back bumper of a truck) toward Pamplona, a small town up in the mountains, to find work and a place to stay where they might be received.  The volunteers would wash and massage their feet, bandage blisters, give them water, snacks, some shirts and shoes, etc.  We went there to minister alongside of them.  I would offer to do a quick dental exam, and ask if we could pray a blessing over them.  We had a number of notable miracles.

The first one was a young man who had pain in an upper left tooth and lower right molar.  We prayed for the upper left tooth, the pain left, and he said that it felt cold to him as the Lord was healing it.  The more painful right tooth was also healed immediately while also feeling cold.  Remember this is Columbia and it is actually quite warm there.  This young man then prayed to accept the Lord. 

Next, we prayed for Will.  He had a lot of cracking in his right shoulder and great deal of tension down his right arm.  We prayed several times for his right shoulder and all the cracking and pain disappeared, for which he was most grateful.  We then prayed for his right arm where the tension was.  Each time, the tightness decreased as we prayed, until it was completely gone, and he also reported coldness going all the way down his arm.  As a teaching note, we ask if the patient is sensing anything as we pray in order to build their faith and our faith for greater miracles, and actually recognize that the Holy Spirit is touching them.

Our next miracle involved Will’s wife, Carla.  She had sprained her ankle yesterday.  As I kneeled down and placed my hand on her ankle and prayed, she felt cold and received complete healing.  We then prayed for her prematurely developed left lung which was causing breathing problems, and sometimes resulted in a coma.  After praying, she felt everything was much better and she was able to breathe easily.  She reported that she felt a “lifting up” of her lung and she felt that it was totally healed.  I believe that this was another creative miracle that only the Lord could do! 

A couple of post notes on Will and Carla.  Both are Christian believers, and are very well educated, with Carla being an accountant and Will having a BS, a Master’s degree, and a PhD in computer science as I recall.  Will had a very important government position in the computerization of the balloting process, and had to leave the country as he knew the corruption that was going on and felt it best to flee, rather than risk imprisonment or worse.

The next notable miracle was for Joel.  We prayed for his right knee pain which he said immediately felt cold, but totally well.  We then prayed for his back and shoulders which were healed right away.  He felt a lifting up and snapping  in the area (interesting).  At the end, he invited the Lord into his heart and reported seeing a bright ball of light as he prayed (amazing).

We prayed for another young adult male who was squinting because of pain in both eyes.  We prayed several times but nothing improved very much, even though he said they felt cold.  We told him that we believed that the Lord would complete the healing that He started.  About a half hour later, I saw him sitting down and smiling with his eyes wide open.  I barely recognized him.  We praise the Lord for allowing us to see His finished work!

Our next, and perhaps most dramatic miracle was for Jesus (that’s right, Jesus).  He had blurriness of vision in his left eye since birth due to a smaller than normal retina.  This time, I asked Edgar if he would like to pray for Jesus and he said yes. So, I had him put his hand over Jesus’s hand and I mentored him in how to pray for healing, and Edger even prayed a second time without assistance.  It was great. The blurriness was totally resolved and Jesus declared he could see clearly. When asked if he felt anything, he said that during the second prayer, his eye felt “frozen”!  Again, I believe that the Lord did a creative miracle.

We had a number of other miracles today and prayed blessings and protection over the refugees.  It was a very powerful day of ministry! 

Just a side note, I added a variation to praying due to the very high influence of the occult, witchcraft, and Satanism, especially in Venezuela.  That is I broke off curses, incantations, and spells over the people I was praying for since I felt greater opposition of the enemy than in the past.

In addition to the above miracles, Edgar shared with me an incredible sign where oil appeared on the walls of his bedroom not too long ago.  He was not sure what to make of it at first, but realized that it was the presence of the Holy Spirit and he connected it to intense worship to the Lord the previous days.

Another sign and wonder is what Gaylin shared with us.  She was cleaning a couple’s house while they were on vacation, and while in a particular location in their kitchen, was praying for their protection and the protection of their property.  When they came back, they could all feel an electrified area right in the area where Gaylin was praying, and it lasted for quite a while.

MISSION TRIP TO COSTA RICA HIGHLIGHTS

Shortly before our trip to Costa Rica, I was listening to Cds by Matt Sorger, especially where he prayed for impartation of all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Because of his prayers, I expected to receive an increase in anointing and working of miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit.

  My wife Barbara and I left Seattle about 7:30am, Saturday Morning and met our team in Dallas that afternoon which consisted of two other dentists, one hygienist, and three optical people, a total of eight from the United States. From Dallas, we flew to San Jose, Costa Rica and met the missionaries who had invited us to minister with them, Tim and Nicolle.

   It would be just a short time before we would have our very first miracle as a team. As we exited customs, our team leader, Rob informed everybody that he just lost his red pack which contained a good deal of money.  He went back into the airport immediately to see if he could find it.  At that point our entire team started praying that he would quickly find it and no money would be missing. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later he found us with back pack in hand and all money accounted for.

 We traveled from the airport to an eclectic hostel, Kap’s, where we stayed overnight. Sunday morning, we traveled by custom bus, over a ~10,000 foot pass, called Deadman’s Pass. This is where it was interesting, because we had friends pray for us before we left home that the Lord would use us mightily for signs, wonders, and miracles, as well as protection. One of the people, Joe whom we met for the first time, had a vision where our team would ascend up into the mountains and see what appeared to be God’s glory.  Then we would make a deep descent on what seemed to be a white slippery slope where if we loss control we would not regain it and keep going down into a deep dark canyon.  We have not had that particular type of vision ever given to us before a missionary trip. So, I asked Joe what he thought it meant and he basically said, just be careful.  I pondered the vision for days before the upcoming trip. During our bus trip, I ended up sitting in the front of the bus not really thinking about the vision ascending Deadman’s pass.  I had the best view of anybody and then there it was.  Near the top of the pass, we were in the clouds off and on representing the “cloud of glory”.  In addition, two trucks in front of us let off for some unknown reason a white powder that even more vividly looked like God’s Glory.  We reached the top of the pass and descended and as we did, the pavement had a wet whitish appearance similar the white slippery snow in the vision.  As we descended further, we turned off unto a gravel side road which had a very white appearance going down into relatively deep canyon.  Obviously, I was praying more intently when this happened, as it seemed to be the vision opening before my eyes. The bottom line is that we got down safely to our destination.  

The next day, we all got up very early, at 4:30 to make a very treacherous journey on mud/gravel backroads to a remote village way up in the mountains, Alto Union.  Of course, we were all praying for safety, as again we were going into a spiritual stronghold where satan’s minions had free reign. Below is our first day of our clinic outreach which was very successful, but not totally safe.   

ALTO UNION, Monday, Sept. 09

Before I start, I want to give all the glory to God for His miraculous power and grace.  In addition, none of the miracles could have happened without my interpreters, especially Victoria, Margarita, Nicole, Tim, and my wife, Barbara.  By the way, I teamed up with Margarita on our trip to the Dominican Republic several years ago where we saw outstanding miracles.  The first and most important miracles were all about salvations.

We prayed for Jose, a male youth for salvation, Yersey, a young female for salvation, and Norvin, a young woman, also for salvation.

Victoria and I prayed for Dotainian, a young female, also for salvation and for the healing of her mandible (lower jaw) on the left side which happened immediately.

Victoria and I prayed for a young man who had sharp pain in the lower left side of his back which had been there for three months.  After several prayers in Jesus Name, it was significantly better.  

Barbara, Victoria, and I prayed for Ostenancia, a young woman first for salvation and then for her lower left molar pain as well as for her left knee (interesting, all of her problems were on her the left side).  The Lord healed all of these areas instantly as we prayed.  Of course, we checked out her tooth with percussion, her back with twisting, and bending, and her knee with stomping and running in place. Her countenance immediately changed (wouldn’t yours) and we ended up with lots of pictures with her.    

Up next was the most dramatic healing of the day.  We were blessed to have two national dentists with us, Dr. Elisabeth and her husband, Dr. Guillermo with practices in San Jose, I believe.  They were both involved in ministries that they started in Costa Rica.  Also, two of their children are also very successful dentists. Anyway, I had not seen them for a while during the clinic, so I felt led to check on them.  I went outside and found them sitting in their   vehicle. Surprised, I saw Pastor Johnny, one our coworkers skillfully wrapping and bracing her right hand.    I told them I wanted to pray for her, but first I needed to get Margarita and Barbara for interpretation and prayer support.  As we got ready to pray, Pastor Johnny was already undoing the bandaging and splint. I was impressed that he was doing it as “an act of faith”.  I laid my hand near hers and commanded the carpal tunnel to enlarge and release the nerves and be healed in Jesus Name, a simple prayer as always.  She moved her thumb a little and said it was slightly better, but you could see that she was still in a lot of pain.  I asked her permission to pray again and probably said close to the same thing and had her move her thumb again.  This time she had this huge smile on her face and said everything was fine and the pain was gone.  We all immediately rejoiced and gave the glory to God as always!  It was truly amazing to watch.

Shortly after this awe inspiring miracle, Dr. Guillermo came back to the clinic and asked me to pray for sciatica on his left side and his numb toes. I definitely sensed that he had great faith to be healed as he had just seen his wife healed by the Lord. I said sure and asked Barbara and Victoria to pray with me. I had him put his hand on his back/hip where the sciatic nerve was impinged and I put my hand on his after getting his permission. I rebuked the pain in Jesus Name and commanded the sciatica nerve to be released.  Nothing really happened the first time. I also kneeled down and prayed for his left foot.  Again, nothing really happened.  Being a little puzzled, I asked Victoria for clarification.  I prayed again and Dr. Guillermo smiled and said the pain was gone and the toes were no longer numb. With further interpretation, Dr. Guillermo asked me to pray for the sole of his foot. I knelt down again and prayed for his plantar fasciitis commanding it to be healed.  The Lord healed that pretty much straight away.

What a great day.  We prayerfully made our way back down the treacherous route to where we were staying and celebrated when we got back.  Everything was good, even though some of the vehicles were at a 45 degree angle to the road during our journey. 

That evening, I felt led to ask Dr. Guillermo with the help of Nicole interpreting for me  if I could pray for his eyesight, as I have seen many people with eye problems healed. He said yes. So, I put my hand over his eyes and commanded them to be healed in Jesus Name and they were instantly better (astigmatism in his right eye and myopia or nearsightedness in his left eye). I prayed one more time for 100% healing for good measure.  He immediately checked out my small computer screen and could read it.  He was beaming with joy.  When I saw him later, he was enjoying TV watching without glasses!  During the rest of the week whenever he saw me, he would point to his eyes and smile.  Praise to the Lord.

Escuela Quiabdo Grade and Mid. School, Tue., Sept. 10th.This morning as we were getting ready to leave for clinic, Daniel, the pastor’s  son, developed a bad cold last night and was not expected to go to school. With the help of Nicole explaining to Daniel that Jesus wanted to heal him,  I rebuked the cold symptoms and viral infection in Jesus Name, commanding the organisms to die.  It was a little better.  I prayed again and

Daniel seemed to stop coughing for the most part. We told him that Jesus was healing him. We then walked to our clinic today, about 20 minutes away. 

Ania, a young woman with a 3 month old child, was having pain in the upper right molar area. Victoria interpreted for me. I could not see anything wrong and I asked her if we could pray for her situation. After two prayers, all the pain went away.  I thought we were done, but Ania was really desiring prayer for her new child who cries constantly.  I asked her if she had been to the doctor.  She said that she had and there was no medical problem.  I proceeded to touch her little girl’s arm and rebuke what I felt was a spirit of rebellion ( Mark 16:17 says that they that believe on Jesus will cast out demons). The little girl became quiet and stopped crying for the most part.  I prayed again a few minutes later, and she stopped crying altogether. Ania just sat there with her for a while and finally got up and left. We did not hear any more crying.  Hopefully, we will find that everything is fine tomorrow.

Xinia, a young woman came in with pain in her upper right lateral incisor and lower front teeth. Again Victoria interpreted for me. Xinia had her braces removed about 4 months ago.  We prayed twice and rebuked the pain in Jesus Name. Most of the pain went away the first time and all of the pain the second time.  Praise the Lord.

The next account was quite interesting, a 29 year old male came to optical with his mother.  Sally had asked me to come over and help pray for him.  Margarita interpreted for me, as she was helping in optical. Evidently, two weeks from birth, he would have pus coming out of both ears which progressive get worse over time.  He could not hear in the morning, but by afternoon his ears would dry out and he could hear somewhat. I ended up being the only one praying which was great, as I believe when numerous people pray out loud at the same time, it brings confusion.

I had him put his hands on his ears and I commanded the infection to dry up and leave. I prayed a second time, as I learned more about his situation. All of a sudden, he became overcome by the Holy Spirt and began weeping, drying his tears with a towel.  I knew that the Holy Spirit was touching him very powerfully.  After a while, I went back to the dental clinic.  He continued to weep for quite a while.  I believe that he will wake up healed.  We asked him and his mother to come back to optical tomorrow to report how he is doing and see if he needed more prayer.

One final note for the day, Nicole and I asked Ronny, our bus driver if we could pray for anything.  He stated that he had dizziness starting in the back of his head pretty much every day.  How many know that dizziness for a bus driver is not a good thing? We would have prayed at the start of our trip if we had only known!   We prayed for Ronny and rebuked the dizziness and whatever was causing it in Jesus Name.

The next evening after dinner, I asked Nicole if we could check on Ronny and she said yes.  When asked, Ronny said that he did not have any dizziness today which usually happens every day.  Praise the Lord. We instructed him how to take authority over it in Jesus Name, the name above every name on earth and in heaven.  And to let us know if he needs any more prayer.

Escuela Quiabdo School, Wed. Sept. 11th.

We had our second day at the school on Wednesday.  We had a great day, but I want to emphasize again that we could not have done anything without our interpreters, especially Margarita and Victoria who interpreted for me today.

Shortly after our day began, Nicole did not feel right.  I believe that she was close to syncope (fainting due to dehydration).  Our team prayed for her right away.  Nicole seemed to be fine shortly after our team prayer and had no further problems the rest of the day to my knowledge.

Our first patient, Gretel had pain in her right clavicle. After briefly praying for her, all the pain was gone.  We prayed for Norma’s back pain which left immediately. Ine’s, a eleven year old female received Jesus as Lord and Savior.

My favorite miracle today was Anthony, a 5 year old boy.  We did an oral exam and saw no problem, but he was having pain on his upper left region.  We rebuked the pain in Jesus Name and it immediately left. We asked if he had any other pain and he pointed to the upper right area.  Again, we prayed and the pain left immediately.

I asked his father, Alfredo if Anthony had any other problems. He replied that Anthony had pain in both knees and could not walk well. I was very surprised, as I don’t remember praying for a 5 year old with knee problems.  I laid my hand on both knees at the same time and rebuked the pain and commanded new cartilage to come in Jesus Name.  I asked him if the pain was gone and he said yes.  I had stand up and walk a few steps and everything felt fine.  I then stomped up and down and ran in place.  Anthony did the same and felt no pain. This was an amazing miracle! To God be the Glory. We then prayed for Anthony’s father to receive the Lord and gave him a new Bible.

We prayed with Atalinaa and Maidin both received Jesus into their hearts.   Also, Minan and Andres accepted the Lord.  Finally, we prayed for Ronny.  He had low grade pain in the upper and lower left premolar region for no reason.  Clenching and grinding may have been contributing factors.  After praying twice, the pain went away.

The most exciting news today was when Sally and Margarita  came over and told me the 29 year old man that we prayed for yesterday came back today and said that this was the first time since two weeks from birth that he had no pus coming out of his ears and he could hear fine.  I went over and we prayed for him and said that he could pray for other people with ear problems and tell them to be healed in Jesus Name.  We also gave him a new Bible and earmarked the Book of Acts which is full of miracles. We recommended that he read that first.

Brus Matis, Thursday, Sept. 12.

This morning, Barbara and were asked to give a brief presentation to encourage our team regarding today’s clinic. We shared some scriptures, esp. John 14: 12-14 where Jesus said he who believes on Him will do the miracles that He did and even greater miracles!!!  Barbara shared on one outstanding miracle when we were on the Mercy Ship in Papua New Guinea.  I shared on what the Holy Spirit downloaded to me on how to be effective witness in “market place ministry” in order to equip our team after our mission trip ended. I ended with praying impartation over all of our team for a greater anointing for signs, wonders, and miracles believing for a great last day.

Our clinic started later this morning in a grade school at Brus Matris.  The healings were dramatic.

 Sally asked me to come over to optical to pray for a middle aged lady who had pain in her right arm, shoulder, and down her spine. I felt led to have someone lead the prayer.  Tim took over and by the time he was done, the lady was 100% healed in all three areas.

In dental, Ryan saw a patient who asked him up front if we could pray for her flu symptoms.  I suggested that Ryan pray for her with Victoria interpreting. I simply prayed in agreement and made recommendations.  The middle aged lady was totally healed after each area was prayed for. I asked her if she felt anything and she reported that she felt cold throughout her body which was remarkable as the atmosphere was warm and humid.

Brenda, a middle aged woman stated that she broke her left knee 6 years ago and was still in pain and had difficulty walking.  I asked Barbara to pray for her while Victoria interpreted. Barbara placed her hand on her left knee and commanded healing in Jesus Name. There was a little improvement. She prayed a second time and her knee was totally free of pain after 6 years.  We had her walk back and forth to verify her healing.  We also prayed for Brenda’s teeth that hurt after she ate something sweet.  She put her hands on her face and I commanded the pain to sweetness leave and not come back in Jesus Name.  I asked her what was happening.  She said all the pain is gone and she felt it leaving.

Azalia, a grandmother came in with her two grandchildren, Jafeth and Kalie. I prayed for 5 year old Jafeth who was having upper chest pains.  The first time I prayed, nothing happened.  I prayed again and his grandmother confirmed that all the pain was gone.  I then had Victoria pray for the first time for Kalie’s right hip who is 8 years old. Her hip improved significantly the first time.  I asked Victoria to pray again and Kalie’s hip was completely healed.  I had her walk back and forth for a while to confirm that her hip was healed.  Next was Azalie’s turn.  Again, I asked Victoria to pray, this time for Azalie’s neck and back. After two quick prayers, she was healed. When asked if there was any other problems, she reported pain between her waist and knees.  This time, I had Barbara pray for Azalie and she was completely free from pain.

I sensed that the Lord wanted me to ask others to pray today, especially since I prayed impartation over our team to walk in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Why should I have all the fun? However, I do wish to give credit where credit is due.  Without the incredible interpreters on our team, there would not have been any miracles to write about. And of course without the dunamis (dynamite) power of the Holy Spirit, the miracles would have not been possible to begin with.

We give all the glory to God for His mercy and grace and His power flowing through us.

Travel Day, Friday, September 13th.

Today, we are traveling to Puerto Quepos on the Pacific coast.  Last night, we as a team prayed for Clay’s hands which he could not fully close due to arthritis. He was desperate for God to heal him.  Clay was the leader of Optical where eyeglasses were given to patients.  There appeared to be no changes at that time.  So this morning, I felt led to pray for him again privately.  Barbara and I had the opportunity to ask him if there had been any improvement overnight. Clay reported that nothing happened, so I asked him if we could pray for him and he said yes.  I laid my hands on the back of his hands and simply rebuked the spirit of rheumatoid arthritis in Jesus Name, the Name above all names and then asked Clay if there was any improvement. Excitedly, Clay said he felt he could close his right hand more than he had in a couple of years.  I said, “let’s pray again.” So we did similar commands each time a number of times with his permission until we got a 100% healing.  Clay was extremely thankful and we gave all the glory to the Lord. However, I felt that we were not done yet, as I knew that Clay was partially deaf in both ears. And I had been waiting for the right opportunity to pray for him during the week, as I felt that he needed a bit more faith. Our outreach was filled with incredible miracles which was building Clay’s faith each day and I also believe that he needed to see his hands healed first.  Hence, Barbara and prayed for his deafness.  I laid hands on his ears and commanded the spirit of deafness to leave in Jesus Name. He had immediate improvement and was happy to stop, but I told him that I wanted to see his hearing to be 100% healed.  We continued to pray in similar passion until Clay was completely healed.  We give all praise and glory to the Lord.  This was a special miracle, as I wanted to pray for Clay’s hearing the first day that we met, but I did not feel that it was the right time, as I mentioned before.  Plus, I did not know about of his arthritis at that time.  But I believe that it’s was God’s timing for these miracles. PTL.  Just a post note, we prayed several times for Clay’s eyesight, near and far.  Though it was not totally healed, there was significant improvement esp. in his farsightedness.  I believe that over the next few days, his eyesight will improve dramatically.

I want to mention just a couple simple key points in ministering miracles.  First, don’t give up if a person is not healed immediately.  Pray again or until you get results.  Also, ask the individual  if they are feeling anything happening in their body and have them move the affected part a little if possible to see if things are improving. If nothing happens, encourage them that sometimes healings are not instant and may be progressive.  Tell them not to give up.  Also, don’t spend a lot of time in prayer.  Remember, Jesus many times only spoke a couple of words when ministering healing.  It is not the length or loudness of our prayers nor any motions that we make with our bodies, but it is ultimately the Holy Spirit that is doing the healing.  Lastly, give all the glory to the Lord whether you see instant healing or not.

In conclusion, we give all the glory to God for the great things that He has done through our team on this incredible mission trip.  I also want to thank our interpreters, all of the pastors, our prayer support, and all of our team members as well as our great patients.

MISSIONARY TRIP TO

DOMINCAN REPUBLIC (Short Version)

Serving with HealthCare Ministries, my wife Barbara and I had the opportunity to minister in the city of San Francisco de Marcoris in north central Dominican Republic.  We were invited to set up a medical clinic at the Asembleas de Dios Church.  We went with a team from the United States, which consisted of nurses, optician and pharmaceutical technicians, assistants, and myself, the only dentist.  The local Dominican Republic team was comprised of people from the church, missionaries Sam and Irene, and a distinguished medical doctor from the hospital plus nine of his medical students that were nearing graduation.  We set up our clinic in a small community church, and a portion of a neighboring house where the owner graciously allowed us to work.

Before detailing our ministry, I wish to say a few words about the city that we were in.  It was unlike any other city that we have been in worldwide.  The people were very friendly and were enthusiastic to engage in conversation.  What made this city, and perhaps the country, unique was the amazing number of motorcycles on the streets.  It was truly incredible.  There would be entire families of three or four on just one motorcycle, all without helmets.  The riders would carry almost anything with them:  dragging rebar along the street, carrying bicycles crosswise, and many other things.  Seriously, it felt like we were inside a video game as motorcycles would go in and out of traffic continuously, passing cars and trucks within inches.  It was truly a site to behold.  Fortunately, we did not see any accidents.  However, we did see a number of people in casts’

Our entire clinic saw approximately a 1000 patients in the week that we were there.  God’s Holy Spirit and angels were present in a mighty way, as we witnessed many miracles.  In fact, our team leader Randy stated that there were, “many, many healings!  Too many to number”!  We give God the glory for the great things that He has done.  In another write-up I chronicled many of the miracles that we saw, however, in this short version, I want to share just a few of them.  The miracles were not confined to just our clinic, but began right after we landed in the Dominican Republic and continued throughout our entire stay.

Before we actually saw our first dental patient, we prayed for a lady with thick glasses that came to the optical area.  She had back pain, headaches, stomach pain and glaucoma.  After several brief prayers for each condition, the back, stomach, and headaches were dramatically healed and her glaucoma was much improved.

The dental patients had incredibly strong bones, which made surgical extractions extremely difficult as the tooth roots were lodged so solidly in the jaw bone.  We believe it is genetic, part of the African heritage of the people.  In spite of the challenge, we were able to pray with people, primarily for physical healing. 

 On Tuesday, we saw so many miracles and salvations, that I lost track.  Each time after we prayed for individuals, we would inquire if they felt the Lord touch them in any way.  Almost everyone reported that they felt the presence of God.  Some felt comfort, fire on their face, strength, a “rush”, electricity, heat, or the peace of God.

We prayed for our interpreter, doctor to be, Johanna, who was having pain in her legs and itching all over from a mosquito born disease.  After two brief prayers, she told us the itching and pain were completely gone.  Praise the Lord!

Cerado, an elderly man had pain and limited motion in his left shoulder.  While we prayed, he felt cracking in his shoulder, likely adhesions and scar tissue breaking apart. When we finished praying, he was 100% healed and free of pain with full range of motion.

We prayed for a lady with a back problem;  she was totally healed.  It was fun to watch her startled reaction, as she was so amazed that the pain left immediately.  She also accepted the Lord into her heart.

We prayed for an elderly gentleman who had cataracts and severe near-sightedness.  After several prayers, he announced that he could see clearly even at distances.  Each time we prayed, he would check his vision and it would improve.

We had the opportunity to pray for the owner of the house where the dental and optical departments were located.  We prayed for his cataracts and the Lord healed him and he reported that he could see clearly.  We also prayed for his mother-in-law’s deafness (she is 104). After prayer, she could hear much better.

In the optical area, we prayed for an elderly man with a walking stick and crutch.  After prayer, he reported that his knee was 100% healed.

We prayed for Geraldo who had a cyst on the back of his leg.  He felt electrical impulses in the area and the cyst instantly reduced in size.

Our medical trip was over, but our ministry continued.  We traveled north to the ocean for a vacation.  Our first night there, we had dinner in a small restaurant on the beach.  We prayed a blessing over the owner and his helpers.  He asked us to pray for the fused vertebrae in his neck.  The Lord removed all of the pain and arthritis.  He then asked us to pray for the cracking in his neck.  After a couple more prayers, the cracking was totally gone and he was overcome by the presence of the Holy Spirit covering him like a heavy blanket.

In conclusion, we rejoice that the Lord demonstrated His love and His power among us with mighty signs and miracles as well as His tangible presence.  May these testimonies build your faith in the living God of the Bible and bring Glory to Him for the great things that He has done.  It is the Lord’s desire that every Christian believer walk in miracles.  For it is the will of God that every Christian do the miracles that Christ did on earth, and even greater miracles, and that they be baptized in the Holy Spirit to receive power to walk in signs and wonders (see John 14:12-14, Acts 1:8, and 1Corinthians 12:1-11).

    If you have not yet become a follower of Jesus, please consider Jesus Christ to come into your heart, to forgive you of your sins, and to be your Lord and Savior.  When you do this, you too, will feel the presence of God in your life, and experience His greatest miracle for eternity!      Dr. John and Barbara

                            THE JUNGLES OF ECUADOR

(SHORT VERSION)

  My wife Barbara and I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Amazon Jungle Basin in Ecuador just to the east of the majestic Andes Mountains.  This was our fourth trip to Ecuador with Healthcare Ministries out of Springfield, Missouri which has a global outreach to the poor.  On this trip we ministered to the medical and spiritual needs of four different Indian tribes native to the area each with their own language.  Due to the language barriers, we often worked with two interpreters, one translating from Indian to Spanish and another one translating from Spanish to English.

We spent five days in the jungle, traveling from village to village by long tippy canoes loaded with backpacks, medical equipment and people.  Most everyone was issued “snake boots” for the muddy banks and grassy areas.   Due to the long drought, progress was sometimes a slow process navigating around snags, branches, and deadheads.  We did have the opportunity to do a little bit of swimming in the murky waters.  However, everyone was somewhat concerned with what we could not see, namely piranhas, crocodiles, electric eels, and giant anacondas.  Fortunately, there were no incidents.

Each day was different.  We set up our clinics mostly in open air buildings with minimal or no privacy.  Inquisitive patients, especially children were always checking out what was happening.  Each medical team member was free to treat as he or she felt best.  In my area, we were limited to doing exams and oral surgery, as it was not feasible to bring in a lot of equipment for other procedures.

As medical, dental, or optical services were provided to the people, we also had the opportunity to pray with each one.  We would introduce them to the Lord and pray that He would enter their heart, and/or we would pray for a healing touch on their bodies.  This is where it got exciting.  God’s power and anointing showed up and nearly every person that we prayed for was instantly healed.  These ranged from tooth pain to stomach, chest and back pain.  Among the more notable miracles was a lump on the back of an elderly man’s neck which immediately reduced in size.  The same person was instantly healed of back pain that had been present for about a year.  Another exciting miracle was a deaf ear that opened up allowing the individual to hear for the first time.  We should not be surprised as the Bible speaks of signs, wonders and miracles occurring just prior to the end of the age when Jesus Christ returns.  This has happened to some extent throughout the centuries, but is rapidly accelerating in these last days.

Please understand that the primary purpose of this trip was for us to help people both medical and spiritually.  We encourage you if you have not already done so to seek out the Lord and ask Jesus Christ into your heart.  He loves every person unconditionally, and will forgive your sins, and help you live for Him (Romans 10:9 and 10).  Heaven and Hell are both real.  Everyone will find that absolutely for sure at some point in their lives!  Why not make the right choice now?   For what should it profit a person if he or she should gain the whole world but lose their soul?   

   Sincerely,   Dr. John and Barbara