Our Helper
Hebrews 13:5 "...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper..."
Yes, I have seen the comforting power of this passage very clearly once again today. Thank God for His nearness in every situation. Pray for George J. I'll leave off his last name but God knows who he is.
First of all, let me say thank you very much for your prayers thus far. I have arrived safely to my destination today in the Middle East. May the Lord be praised!
The flight was uneventful most of the way here. I moved quickly through the corridors of the international airport on my way to Immigrations and Customs. I chose the line I was going to stand in and, after a while, I decided it was advancing too slowly. So, I stepped to the right to the next line.
Just at that moment, an American woman about 70 - 75 years old stepped in line in front of me. I backed up to make room for her and bumped into her 77 year-old husband who had stepped in just behind me. I apologized and offered to let him to go up with his wife. He refused and insisted that I go first. I finally did. But that opened a door of opportunity and we began to talk.
They live in Tennessee and asked where I lived. Once they found out the name of my city in America, they were amazed. They told me they grew up only 30 miles away! That seemed to cement our friendship even though it was only a few minutes old. That's when it happened.
George, the husband, tipped his head back and fell straight to the floor. He gasped for a few breaths and was gone. Immediately his wife and I began to pray right in front of a mass of people all around us (they were Christian believers).
It seemed to take forever for anyone to respond. But, while everything seemed to happen in slow motion, a man in a white shirt dropped to the floor and began to do CPR on the man's chest. Finally another man knelt down and said he was a physician. It seemed like an eternity before an airport first aid team arrived.
As soon as the team came and took over the situation, one of the Immigrations workers asked me where the man was that had performed CPR. We searched everywhere and he was nowhere to be found. Nowhere.
The medics tried to start the man's heart with a portable defibrillator to no avail. But more than two minutes later, his heart started all on its own and he began to breathe! He could have sat up by himself had they not held him down. He pulled out the syringe and and needle that had been placed in his arm. Within 10 minutes, he was talking as the ambulance team arrived and took him away to a nearby hospital.
The wife begged me not to leave her while the medics were still working on him but couldn't get a pulse. Then, when he finally revived, she pleaded with me to get her luggage and take it out to meet a driver who was there to pick them up. I did this with airport personnel and then after about another half hour, I finally connected with my driver who was scheduled to pick me up.
I dropped my bags at the little hotel I'm staying in and headed off to find water and something to eat. Now, I'm ready to settle in for the night. Tomorrow, the "adventures" begin according to my "schedule". But, really, I think I've had enough adventure for a long, long time.
I do ask you to pray specifically for George. There was no way to get in touch with them after we parted except to leave my number with their driver. So, perhaps I'll never know what all happens. But I do ask you to please remember this family so far from home. I've spent enough time alone in far-away places to know how you can feel lonely and abandoned. But I've never, ever had to face anything like this. So, I can only imagine how much they would appreciate the prayers of God's people.
I've already been blessed by the openness and genuine friendliness of the people I've come to meet. Just within three hours I had turkish coffee, mint tea, lessons in Arabic, and the open, sincere friendliness of many, many people. Without any doubt, life in the streets here offers untold opportunities for real ministry.
May God bless you!
Beyond Frontiers
Hebrews 13:5 "...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper..."
Yes, I have seen the comforting power of this passage very clearly once again today. Thank God for His nearness in every situation. Pray for George J. I'll leave off his last name but God knows who he is.First of all, let me say thank you very much for your prayers thus far. I have arrived safely to my destination today in the Middle East. May the Lord be praised!
The flight was uneventful most of the way here. I moved quickly through the corridors of the international airport on my way to Immigrations and Customs. I chose the line I was going to stand in and, after a while, I decided it was advancing too slowly. So, I stepped to the right to the next line.
Just at that moment, an American woman about 70 - 75 years old stepped in line in front of me. I backed up to make room for her and bumped into her 77 year-old husband who had stepped in just behind me. I apologized and offered to let him to go up with his wife. He refused and insisted that I go first. I finally did. But that opened a door of opportunity and we began to talk.
They live in Tennessee and asked where I lived. Once they found out the name of my city in America, they were amazed. They told me they grew up only 30 miles away! That seemed to cement our friendship even though it was only a few minutes old. That's when it happened.
George, the husband, tipped his head back and fell straight to the floor. He gasped for a few breaths and was gone. Immediately his wife and I began to pray right in front of a mass of people all around us (they were Christian believers).
It seemed to take forever for anyone to respond. But, while everything seemed to happen in slow motion, a man in a white shirt dropped to the floor and began to do CPR on the man's chest. Finally another man knelt down and said he was a physician. It seemed like an eternity before an airport first aid team arrived.
As soon as the team came and took over the situation, one of the Immigrations workers asked me where the man was that had performed CPR. We searched everywhere and he was nowhere to be found. Nowhere.
The medics tried to start the man's heart with a portable defibrillator to no avail. But more than two minutes later, his heart started all on its own and he began to breathe! He could have sat up by himself had they not held him down. He pulled out the syringe and and needle that had been placed in his arm. Within 10 minutes, he was talking as the ambulance team arrived and took him away to a nearby hospital.
The wife begged me not to leave her while the medics were still working on him but couldn't get a pulse. Then, when he finally revived, she pleaded with me to get her luggage and take it out to meet a driver who was there to pick them up. I did this with airport personnel and then after about another half hour, I finally connected with my driver who was scheduled to pick me up.
I dropped my bags at the little hotel I'm staying in and headed off to find water and something to eat. Now, I'm ready to settle in for the night. Tomorrow, the "adventures" begin according to my "schedule". But, really, I think I've had enough adventure for a long, long time.
I do ask you to pray specifically for George. There was no way to get in touch with them after we parted except to leave my number with their driver. So, perhaps I'll never know what all happens. But I do ask you to please remember this family so far from home. I've spent enough time alone in far-away places to know how you can feel lonely and abandoned. But I've never, ever had to face anything like this. So, I can only imagine how much they would appreciate the prayers of God's people.
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| Mint Tea and friendship from a local shop owner |
May God bless you!
Beyond Frontiers
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