Dear Friends,

I was speaking at a retreat in Korea for English teachers last weekend and it was a blessing to be there. To say that Korea has an insatiable desire for their young people to learn English is beyond computation.

Take our friend Sally that was initially diagnosed with TB. She spent 10 weeks in the hospital. We spent almost $1000 on her treatment which is a huge sum here in the Philippines. When she left the best hospital in the country that treats lung ailments she still was not cured. We were running out of money, she was running out of patience. Sally was tied to a tube which drained her lungs everyday of fluid and she needed to see the doctor about her prognosis. But she refused to go time and time again.

Finally, she pulled the tube out on her own and I was so discouraged because I thought that within a matter of days her lungs would fill up with fluid and all that time and money would have gone down the drain and she would die. After two weeks we managed to take her to the doctor. She was terrified, I was concerned. The doctor took a look one look at the x-ray and announced she had been cured. No more doctor's visits, no more medicines, her life could begin again. We could not believe it and we were all so very happy and Sally and her family were in church this last weekend. No sickness, no tube and as bright as a cherry tree full of blossoms.

Another case, another story another miracle. The doctor and I visited a very concerned family whose father had been very ill for two weeks. We came into the small house and the guy was a super mess. He had a huge scaliosis on the back he had suffered falling out of a tree when he was young. His hands were swollen and very crooked from arthritis. He had a hernia the size of a grapefruit which had not been treated for twenty years. And both of his legs were swollen with fluid beyond description. Hu hu hu what to do. The water could be caused by a heart problem, by a kidney problem. It all looked very discouraging.

So the next morning we got a urine test for 50 cents. Based on that the doctor prescribed some pain medication that cost ten cents apiece. I took the pills to the family and told them I would be back the next day to check on him. I came back the next day and lo and behold almost all of the water had gone out of his legs by the previous evening. I could not believe it because I knew those pills were not supposed to treat the water just the pain. The family was so happy and I could not wait to find the doctor to tell him about what had happened. He could not believe it and the man seems to be doing better.

Modern day miracles are like a cherry tree full of blossoms. May we not forget that God has always been and always will be a most kind and merciful heavenly Father from whom all blessings flow.