URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR PAUL HATTAWAY AND FAMILY Dear friends, You may have heard, but my family and I would appreciate your prayers right now. Here is a summary of what has taken place…. • On Tuesday, May 28 I went to bed feeling normal. The next morning I awoke feeling very dizzy. I tried to get up but was unable to stand or walk. My left hand and arm were as cold as a block of ice so I knew something serious was happening. • My wife called for an ambulance and I was driven two and a half hours to a hospital in another town. • Upon arrival I was given a CT scan and after a while a doctor came in with the sombre news: “Mr. Hattaway, you have had a massive stroke. I’m sorry to tell you that half your brain has died.” • I am now paralyzed on the whole left side of my body. I am able to talk alright but can’t concentrate for more than about a minute at a time. What I have learned: • More than ever I am aware how fragile and fleeting our lives are. Most people live as though they will never die, not realizing that we are all just a heart-beat, blood-clot or accident away from standing face to face before Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). • The most difficult moment for me was the long ambulance ride. My wife and two boys followed in a car, not knowing if I was dead or alive. During that time two thoughts dominated my mind: 1. How good and loving God has been to me, especially since I gave my life to Him when I was 19. He has never let me down, and has never left or forsaken me. He has overwhelmed me with one blessing after another. Even the worst and most difficult times with Jesus have been a million times better than the best experiences before I knew Jesus. 2. I was acutely aware that if it was time for me to die and give an account of my life to God, that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I can show or impress Him with. Not one thing I have ever done, said or written will help me win favor with my Maker. • At the same time, I had complete, supernatural peace that I am a child of heaven, and that there is indeed one single thing I have that does impress the Almighty God. That one thing is THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST! It is all I or anyone will ever need, and the only way anyone will ever enter heaven. The King of Kings is moved mightily by the only sacrifice He finds acceptable…. The sacrifice of His beloved Son.If you or I plan to rely on our own goodness to enter heaven, we will be doomed! But the Bible says God has created a solution for us: He has exchanged the goodness of Jesus for our own hopeless lives, if we will only believe and give Him our own filthy rags in return. • I am thankful for technology. It has been such a blessing to sit up in my bed in the middle of the night – with the stench of decaying human flesh and surgical fluids filling the ward – and to be able to lift my spirit by listening to God’s Word and worship music via my phone. • Another thing I am thankful for is to be part of the Body of Christ. Since the stroke we have received hundreds of messages of support and encouragement. We have been told many Christians are praying fervently for us. News has reached us of praying house church leaders in China, prayer groups in Papua New Guinea, Russia…. One brother informed us that a gathering of 13,000 believers in South Korea paused their meeting and cried out to God on our behalf. Even my dear friend Saeed Abedini took a moment out from his daily routine of being tortured in an Iranian prison to send a message of encouragement via his family. • I am an unworthy recipient of all this attention, but I am so thankful for the reminder that I am part of God’s global family. My mobility has improved a little every day, and at times we have felt the tangible effect of all those prayers. What’s Next? • On Wednesday the hospital is planning to move me to another town with a stroke recovery facility. I will probably be there at least 5 or 6 weeks. They will be helping me recover movement in my left side. I am told it will be a very intensive time, as they teach me how to do everything from scratching my noise to brushing my teeth to learning how to walk again. • It is very humbling and a little humiliating needing to rely on others to help me do even the simplest of tasks, but last night I was reminded of what Jesus told Peter: “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18). • Jesus wanted Peter to rely on Him more, and if the outcome of my current ordeal is that I rely and trust more in Jesus, then it is all worth it! The Future I am hoping and praying for a full recovery. I don’t think God is finished with me yet, and I am motivated by the thought of kicking a ball and swimming in the lake with my sons again. Some people have suggested I plan for a life of retirement once this has passed, playing golf and laying on a couch all day. I understand their motive is for me to have a less stressful life, but to tell you the truth the thought of doing nothing constructive except trying to improve my golf swing is about the most stressful thing I can imagine! • First and foremost I love Jesus, but I am not ashamed to say that I also love serving Him. He has given my life purpose and meaning. • Anything good that has ever come out of me has all been the doing of Jesus anyway, and I would be incredibly thankful if God would allow this time to pass and let me once again serve Him. There are still 4,835 unreached ethnic groups in Asia, waiting to hear about God’s plan of salvation. We only have this life to help reach them. • Please let me ask you a personal question: if you had an opportunity to help rescue thousands of drowning people and see them saved into God’s kingdom, but you knew that in doing so you might lose your life, would you still do it anyway? Is Jesus worth it? Prayer Requests: • Please pray God’s supernatural strength will empower me, Joy, and our sons Dalen (16) and Taine (12). Pray we would be drawn closer to the heart of God than ever before, and Jesus Christ would be glorified though all this. • Please join me inpraying that the words of Psalm 118:17 will become a reality in my life: “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.” • Please pray I would recover fully, and the staff at the rehab center would see a gradual improvement in my body and mind that will point them to the cross of Jesus. I would also like to ask you to be patient with us. We are not able to provide regular updates or answer the messages we receive. As for Asia Harvest, we have a transition plan in place and all of our projects and activities are continuing as usual, through our co-workers and project leaders throughout Asia. If you are someone who is regularly in contact with us, please don’t be alarmed if our communication is slower than normal for the foreseeable future. Thanks and God bless you. Paul Hattaway asiaharvest.org
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:10:29 +0000