September 16, 2009

Pastor Derek shared with us his experience from his missionary tour in Asia. In this picture, he is wearing a Batik shirt given to him by believers he met while in Indonesia. Here is his part of his testimony:

I have dubbed my recent trip to southeast Asia my “first missionary tour.”  I preached more times, in more cities, in more countries, than at any other time in my life.  I’ll be sharing some of the blessings of God on that trip in the coming weeks.  Even before I left the country, I witnessed the miraculous intervention of God and learned again the importance of leaning on Jesus.  A group of men from Forest Lake Church came over to my house to pray for me and send me off in the power of God’s Spirit.  The prayer session lasted for about one hour.  At the end of that season of prayer, I noticed that my legs has “gone to sleep” from the knees down.  I have had prickly feet before, but this was different.

 I had no sensation at all below my knees.  

Someone tried to help me up, but without any sensation in my feet I had absolutely no balance.  I felt my weight shift and my ankle buckle.  While I experienced no pain, it was clear to me that I had just twisted my ankle.  By the time the sensation returned to my lower extremities, my suspicion was confirmed. Within a few hours the pain in my ankle had increased to the point where it was difficult for me to hobble around the house.  

That’s when I realized that it was time to cry out to God.  

“Lord, I’m willing to go to southeast Asia in a wheelchair if necessary,” I said.  The following texts of Scripture came to mind: “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know”  Jeremiah 33:3.  “Ah, Lord God, behold You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You” Jeremiah 32:17.

I asked my wife Bodil to pray with me and for me.  Then I went to sleep, wondering what the morning would bring.  When I got up then next morning to make final preparations for my trip to the airport, I was stunned to discover that my ankle was completely restored.  I had absolutely no pain.  My wife took the extra precaution of wrapping my “damaged” ankle with an ace bandage, but after a 14 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea, I noticed again that I was experiencing absolutely no pain in my ankle.  It was as if the Lord was saying to me, “Sometimes I allow challenges to come your way to teach you to trust Me more.  When you trust Me with all your heart, I can work in supernatural ways in you and through you.”  That’s a lesson I want to learn and live every day of my life.  How about you?

Dr. Derek Morris
Lead Pastor
Forest Lake Church