Almost dead at the airport.
On about my 10th trip, toward the end of a 6 or 7 week time of hard ministry, I found my self in difficulty with my health. I was low on funds, because I had shared them out with the brothers, my pastor friends, too much, too soon, which is another story, but, the result was that I had left myself without the means of purchasing for myself, adequate water and food, and I became dehydrated and weak. A precious sister in the Lord, saw my predicament, and gave of some of her needed money to purchase for me a bottle of water, which helped. This was just before it was discovered that I had a severe case of diabetes, so I believe that I was also having some kind of related shock, perhaps due to hypoglycemia, or the like: My schedule happened such that I had nothing more to do, for two days prior to my plane leaving, and would just be sitting alone in the heat, without funds, and hence, without water or food. The family with whom I was staying was unaware of my predicament, or, I am sure they would have helped, but I did not want to be a financial burden to them.
All of this resulted in a situation where it became very difficult to walk, as I was very weak, light headed and dizzy. I went to the airport early, so I could try to change my flight to an earlier one, so I could go home two days early, which normally requires a lot of money extra, which I did not have. Holding on to the precious brother who was escorting me, we made our way to business office and the counter at the Lagos Airport. I begged the ticket man in charge, to allow me to come home early, and he insisted that I pay the extra money. I explained that KLM and Northwest Airlines sometime showed kindness to those who traveled on an errand of mercy to Nigeria, and purty please could he grant me permission, at no cost to me, to go home early. Finally, upon consultation with another in the office, he changed my flight home, two days earlier. A man came into the office at that very moment, and requested, because of an emergency, that his flight be changed to an earlier flight, and they demanded from him a great deal of money to do so. After protesting strongly but to no avail, the man paid over the extra money, while I was still standing there, and was rescheduled. I returned to the home where I was staying to be brought to the airport later. When it was time for me to be dropped at the airport, there was no one to remain with me, so I was alone, waiting for my flight, in 4 or 5 hours, soooo, I was waiting at the airport, alone, in the heat, weak, dizzy, dehydrated, hungry, tired. The place was so very crowded that there was not even a place to sit down. I could hardly breathe. I was perspiring heavily. I began searching for a place, any place where I could lay down. Next to the window, on the floor, behind a row of seats where the people were seating, was a small place I could crawl into. On my hands and knees, like a dog looking for a place to die, I crawled behind that place, laid my head upon my carry on luggage, and either lost consciousness, or fell asleep. As I was lying there, I prayed that God would take me safely home to my wife and family. I remember that each breath was a struggle, so that each breath became a prayer.
Back in the United States, the Lord had earlier awakened Suzie Belcher, and warned her that I was lying down someplace in Africa, and that I was dying. She could see, in a vision, even the color of the room where I was lying. She awakened her husband Tom, and, together, for nearly a three hour period, they interceded for me, that God would spare my life and bring me safely home. I awoke, and returned to consciousness, and was refreshed. There was a cool breeze. My friend Bassi Bassi found me, and brought something to drink and something to eat. I was refreshed. I boarded the plane and came home safely to the family. Later, it was discovered that I had a severe case of diabetes, with triglycerides at an alarming 999!! This condition indicates a very strong probability of impending heart attack or stroke. I went on the Atkins diet, and all of my numbers normalized within less than two months! These numbers, blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, etc, all stay within normal range, as long as I avoid starches, carbohydrates, and sugars, (even the healthy ones). As long as I stay on a diet primarily consisting of protein, salad, vegetables, dairy, etc., all of my numbers stay within the "normal" ranges. If I do exercise, in addition, the numbers are even better. For example, on New Year's Eve I cheated by eating food that had some sugar. Early the next day, I tested and my blood sugar was 201, which for me, was alarmingly high. So, I went to the barn and walked for 3 miles, Thirty figure 8 rounds of eighty steps in the haymow, equals one mile. After walking the 3 miles, I tested again with a blood sugar level of 138, a drop of 63 points!!!
Thank you, Thomas and Saint Suzan Belcher, for having prayed and interceded for me. Famous evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill was once caught in a hotel fire, and was forced to jump from a second or third story window, which resulted in his legs, hips and back being injured severely, so that, ever after, he was in constant excruciating pain. As he was recuperating in a hospital, a friend of his came to see him. The friend begged Ravenhill for forgiveness. "Why?" said the Evangelist. "Because, at the very time of the fire, the Lord awakened me, and asked me to urgently pray for you, that you were in a state of danger. I rolled over, and went back to sleep."
Thank You, Lord God, for every time You have protected me, and for every prayer prayed for me and us, that truly made a difference!