Death is one of the weapons the devil use to cut down the labour force in the mission circle. The past few years have witness the sudden passing away of very key frontline missionaries and the vacuum left behind will take several years to be filled. Several others, though alive yet very handicap because of serious health challenges. Grace Foundation Inland Missions is not left out from these challenges.
This piece will dwell on testimonies of how God delivered several of his children from the power of death and other deadly diseases. It is hoped that the revelation will first and foremost stir up the church to pray for frontline missionaries and their families, to encourage others currently going through afflictions and let them know that God who gave us testimonies will give them testimony also. Finally, these testimonies are meant to give God all the thanks and glory for all He has done for us.
The First Near-Death Experience
In 1995, I traveled to Kamberi mission field to supervise the work of our missionaries, pray and encourage them which was my routine journey. I stumbled into a need I could not ignore. One of the missionaries just brought her younger sister to live with them. I noticed that the future of the eight year old girl will be bleak if she is not taken away from that place to a place where she could have access to Western education. I volunteered to leave immediately with the girl not knowing she had a witchcraft spirit and that she was following me on three missions to kill me, my wife and children.
She succeeded in throwing my eldest son, Nehemiah Abah when he was three years old into a very deep well and covered the well. He was meant to die by drowning or suffocation. By divine intervention, Nehemiah cried from the covered well, the mother heard him from a very far distance and ran close to the well. A man who passed by noticed how confused my wife was and upon enquiry entered the well, brought him out and disappeared. I believed he is God's angel. We took him for medical check up and the Medical personnel did not believe he was thrown into the well. God shielded him from harm. Today, Nehemiah is alive and safe because God preserved his life.
The eight year old girl who threw him into the well confessed that she did it because their plan to kill me and my wife failed and they decided to kill our son so as to discourage us from continuing with our missionary work. She revealed so many other efforts they have put in place in reaction to what she referred to as offensive war being launched on them by what we thought is a humble effort to enthrone Jesus as Lord over the nations
The War Was Not Over
After that victory over death, we thought that the war is over but we were far from the truth. The devil came very hard on us from all sides. Armed robbery, ill health, court cases over our N10million property which we eventually lost after the donor died, death of a dear missionary, Irene Onjefu after very brief illness and missionary attrition. The devil also hit hard on my health. I had all the symptoms of diabetes yet my sugar level was very normal, from weeks to months of going from hospital to hospitals.
My personal physician said it was stress and that I needed to take time to rest. My Deputy, Pastor J.T. Akanni took charge. Together with my wife, they ran the ministry. The more I rested, the more my situation got worse. At the end, I was given diabetic drug which instead of tackling the diabetic symptoms, stirred up my sugar level and the battle with real diabetes began. I lost weight profusely like a HIV/AIDS patient. I did several medical tests including HIV/AIDS test and the result was negative. At this time it was to boring for me to stay indoor. I resumed work. I preferred to die on my duty post rather than to continue with a life of boredom. At the heart of the crises, I lost two of my precious staff Both of them were holding very sensitive position of responsibility.
The body of Christ across the world prayed. We were showed real love from every nooks and cranny of the world where people knew us. Many visited, some called and others sent emails. Time and space will not permit us to list names. Several churches and para-churches still had confidence in us. They still open doors of their churches for me to come and minister with my last strength. We saw results. Many volunteered to become missionaries and I felt fulfilled inside me that even if I died, God was already raising an army to Himself that will continue from where I will stop.
God had a Different Plan
I was not to die then because His program for my life was not over. He used the President of the Nigeria Christian Medical association to intervene. He was moved by my appearance when we met at the bank. He referred me to a colleague of his at a Teaching Hospital. After test, he recommended a drug which helped brought my sugar level back to normal and brought the diabetic symptoms under check. God rode on the prayer of the saint to restore my health. He took away my infirmities and life was restored. I resumed active ministry work and God has remained my strength.
The Devil had Another Joker
After my recovery, the devil became furious. He focused on my wife. Her delivery of our last two kids was like hell let loose. The devil fought hard but though she had to go through surgical operation, both her and the baby were safe. The devil will still not give up. The devil struck her with fibroid, it was strange because we were used to unmarried women who had not given birth that develop fibroid not a woman with four kids already. As usual, we prayed fervently and trusted God for miracle. It was as if the more we prayed the more the fibroid grows. After several months of ceaseless pain and prayers, we concluded that she go for surgery. Despite all the negative whispers of the devil, the surgery was successful.
The last joker of the devil came before she recovered from the injury of the fibroid operation. This time it was cancer of the breast. The Doctors recommended the removal of the breast so as to check the spread of the cancer cell. We did obey the Doctor but unfortunately, the removal of the breast did not help matter. Before she could recover from the surgery, it was confirmed that the cancer had spread to the second breast and under the arm pit. The Doctors confided in us that they can only manage her for a short time describing cancer as death sentence. They recommended she embark on chemotherapy and radiotherapy. One of the Doctors recommended we proceed to London for the therapy while another recommended the National Hospital.
We resolved to go to London and the cost was alarming. As missionaries, we could not raise such a huge amount of money. In Lucy's word: 'God has made free provision of divine healing for me on Calvary and by His stripe, I am healed.” We held to that confession. We prayed. We cried to God. We pleaded with Him. We had people praying for us almost every hour of the day. We fasted. We were persuaded that the answer is not in either chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We had also confirmed from our research that less than 10% of those who go through chemotherapy and radiotherapy survive. We held on to God. We were loved by men and women across the globe. Some pray as individuals, others as family and some others as church. We also receive reports of pastors coming together to pray for us in certain cities. We cannot thank all those who stood by us enough.
The Turning Point
The turning point came when Margaret Aleonewese led us to one of the disciples of Dr. George Malkmus, the author of Why Christian Get Sick., Gloria Davies. She began by sharing her experiences with cancer which she had earlier documented in her book titled: You Can Refuse to Die. According to Mrs. Davies, vegetable and fruit were very fundamental in her healing from cancer. She was quick to cite Genesis 1:29 : “ And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.” In her words: “Fruits and vegetable, when eaten raw, they contain life force that helps to rebuild our cells and empower our immune system to fight any disease”. She added that what we cook and eat has been badly denatured and contain no life and as such incapacitate instead of building the immune system. She also added that Eve had no stove in the garden of Eden to prepare meals for Adam.
We did not jump at what she said as the key to Lucy's healing we have been praying for but also took time to pray more, studied the scripture and other related literatures. We found Ezekiel 47:12 as confirmation “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine."
Dr. George Malkmus, in his book, Why Christian Get Sick., revealed that there is approximately 100 trillion cells in human body that must be constantly cleansed and replaced and this cannot be done properly if the body is full of toxins and has inadequate nutrients. According to him, the only food that can be used to rebuild a healthy living cell is life food with emphasis on raw fruits and vegetables.
Malkmus remarked that the average person takes more time to select the grade of gasoline to put into their automobiles than the food they put in their mouth stressing that since World War II, our food has been increasingly contaminated with chemical pesticides and preservatives that weaken the immune system.
He further explained that the implication of the human body being made from the dust of the ground is that it requires living, natural food from the earth to renew its cells and sustain health. Malkmus warned that health cannot be restored by taking drugs because drugs cannot rebuild the cells of the body. He noted that when healthful practices are followed, the body will turnout to be self healing.
Even the medical practitioners are begining to accept this reality themselves. William Lane, a world authority on medical matters and foremost abdominal surgeon in his address to John Hopkins Hospital and Medical College was cited as saying … I will never die of cancer. I am taking measures to prevent it… It is caused by poison created in our bodies by the food we eat… what we should do then, if we would avoid cancer, is to eat raw fruits and vegetables. According to him, the result will be better nourishment and easy elimination of waste products.
Frontline healing ministers are beginning to discover that the result of their prayers is often shortened as long as the sick persons that are prayed for do not change their eating habit and lifestyle. Benny Hinn for example has been constantly inviting nutritionist.
Austin Aifou was one time National President of Nigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Student (NIFES) and currently overseeing the work of Ezra project in Maiduguri, North of Nigeria. He was down with high blood pressure and diabetes. He heard of this lifestyle of taking in more of raw vegetable and fruit. Today his story has changed.
Lucy's Story Today
God heard the prayer of the church and spared her life. How do we know God healed her? Physically there was no evidence of sickness. Life fully returned to her. Our partners in South Africa and Directors of MET, Rev. & Mrs. Gerald Golbeck who have been praying for us invited us to South Africa for a medical checkup which they paid for in one of the best Oncology Center in the continent. They did all kinds of test and concluded that there is no trace of cancer cell in her body again. The Doctor in Nigeria insisted on seeing the different test conducted and their result. He was dumbfounded at what he saw and as a believer, he concluded that it must be God. Jokingly, he recommended that my wife should start a cancer foundation so as to help cancer patients.
One of the things God told us when Lucy was sick is In Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." We have come to realise that God allowed us to go through this experience and spared Lucy's life so we can “strengthen” the brethren. We are better equipped to pray for the sick. We are better equipped to counsel on what to do to overcome prematured death. We are grateful to God who healed her.
Urgency For God's Work
We have come close to death over and over in our lives that we need not to be told to approach God's work with every seriousness. While, we acknowledge how God used various vessels to pray for us and teach us basic principles to adopt to live healthy and prolong life, we are not ignorant of the fact that death is the ultimate end of man and what we cannot do for God now, we will not be able to do when God calls us home.
Unreached people group is a term used for a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize themselves.