Andrew at the Stoneleigh picnic (Click to enlarge)I cannot use her name. I did not take her picture. Nor could I film her and her family with the video camera. Her husband would not allow it.

Still, she came to Andrew during the Stoneleigh picnic, a very happy woman. She told him how her two boys, age 6 and 14, had been diagnosed as severely autistic, but now were made whole by the Gospel Truth.

It began three years ago when she came across Andrew’s daily teaching on the God Channel. She had been suicidal over her children, thinking that somehow it was her fault, and if she just died then they would find the help they needed. But getting the truth of Scripture inside her changed everything. She began to declare God’s blessing over her boys and saw the older one come completely out of his autism in response to the Word. But the younger one remained severely autistic, totally withdrawn from human contact. Every night he thrashed violently in his sleep and screamed out in night terrors.

At Kenilworth Castle (Click to enlarge)After seeing Hannah’s Story on the Healing Journey’s video, this young mother did exactly what Ashley and Carlie Terradez had done—she brought her severely autistic son to the Charis Bible College conference in Walsall last year. Her husband, who had been raised by devout atheists, and is not sure that God exists, came with her. They were the very last people Andrew prayed for that day. From that night to the present the younger boy has slept peacefully through the night and has lost nearly all traces of autism. He has come out of his shell to relate to his family and friends. At six years of age he is nearly caught up in his schooling with other children his age.

British hot chocolate (Click to enlarge)She pointed the boys out as they played at the picnic. Andrew asked if I could record her story on video and she said that I would have to get permission from her husband. I spoke with him about it. He refused to allow the story to be recorded. “The younger boy has a ways to go yet,” he said. “His speech is not perfect.”

That seemed odd for someone who had seen such a marvelous change in his children, but I told him that I would honor his wishes. “I look forward to seeing you again next year,” I said. “You don’t have faith in God, but your wife does. Follow her faith and you can’t go wrong.”

He nodded and shook my hand, and did not seem offended. I do hope we see them again.

TV equipment, checked baggage
(Click to enlarge)We praised God for this miracle as we left England in the rain. On our way to the airport we took time to stop briefly in front of the ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Then David and Gayle Hardesty talked us into enjoying a last cup of rich, creamy British hot chocolate (with marshmallows) before boarding Emirates Airline, with stops in Dubai and Addis Ababa, before landing in Entebbe, Uganda.

Filed Sunday, June 1, 2010, 5pm, Heathrow time, AWMI Media Manager, Stephen Bransford