The Stratford Hills United Methodist Church in Richmond offers a healing service. There are a number of testimonials from those attending this service of spiritual healing. Three testimonials are reproduced below.
 

I am Dennis Willis.  I was diagnosed not long ago with "Von Hippel Lindau's Syndrome" –  a genetic disease that can cause brain tumors and spinal cord tumors.

In November 1999, I went to one of the healing services on Wednesday night, at Stratford Hills United Methodist Church.  I arrived at 5pm, two hours before the service started.  If I hadn't arrived so early, I would not have been able to make it.  I was in such pain that I was unable to do much of anything.  I was dying.

I had approximately 2 weeks left to live – according to the medical professionals.  I had already had two brain tumors removed surgically but still had an inoperable tumor on the spinal cord at thoracic level; 10th vertebrae.  I had been given all the radiation I could take and still be alive (approximately 4500 rads).  For pain control, I was taking MS-Contin (90 mg. of morphine daily).  Ironically, I worked in surgery at Johnston Willis Hospital.  To put the morphine dosage in perspective: for broken arms, we used to give patients 6 mg. and they were off to "La-La" land.

During that same time period I also started having Grand-mal seizures, from the removal of the brain tumors, and was on massive amounts of anti-seizure medication.  I started dropping weight on the average of 1and ½ to 2 lbs. daily.  I couldn’t hold anything on my stomach.  That Wednesday night I was vomiting blood every 20 minutes: not due to a bleeding ulcer; but because the violence of the wrenching of my stomach muscle.  To make matters even worse, because of the radiation all of the bone marrow in every vertebra in my back had been turned into fat globules.  There was no bone marrow left in my spine!

The minister lay hands on me and prayed for me before the service started, because I was in so much pain – I could not have made it otherwise.  Prior to the service I sat in severe pain.  I was just singing quietly to my self, "In Moments Like These, I Sing Out A Love Song to Jesus".  I had lost 10 pounds in 4 days, and the weight loss was growing daily. While Joe (our minister) shared a short message, I had to get up and go outside to throw up, 3 times.

Joe shared the Biblical account of Peter’s healing of the crippled man outside the temple gates. The man held out a bowl, not wanting to be healed -- HE WANTED MONEY.  That's how he made his living.  Peter said to him: “FIX YOUR EYES UPON ME”.  At that point the man expected something, although he did not know what.  Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, I give to you:  IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, RISE AND WALK!"  Peter, then reached down, grabbed his arm and pulled him up.  The man walked with Peter and John into the temple.  Many who knew that the man was crippled from birth, saw him standing for the first time!  As the strength returned to his legs he went walking and leaping and praising God.  I suspect he did a little dancing too!

The HOLY GHOST has one agenda: TO GLORIFY JESUS through LOVE, HEALING, and ALL GOOD GIFTS that Jesus has given to his people.  All we have to do is believe that God's word is TRUE!  The scripture is as pertinent today as it was to Jesus’ followers 2000 years ago.

I was quite ill that Wednesday night. I decided to believe God’s promise – that the name of  "JESUS",  is stronger, greater, more powerful and more WONDERFUL than the words "spinal cord tumor" .  During the service, the ministry laid hands on me and prayed for me.  Even so, I vomited 4 more times on the way home, in the car.  When I got home, I stood on the front porch and verbally shouted: "JESUS is STRONGER than the name ‘spinal cord tumor’", and I believed that I was healed in the name of JESUS, regardless of how I felt or what I saw.  I felt pretty bad and saw myself vomiting blood.

I still felt bad that night when I went to bed but I didn't throw up any more that night.  The next day I still felt bad but every time I felt really bad, I would THANK JESUS FOR HEALING ME – FOR FULFILLING THE PROMISE OF HIS WORD!

It was on a Wednesday night that I stepped out in faith – believing in the WORD OF GOD.  By Sunday, I no longer had a tumor in my back!   Now, God never does anything halfway.  I had an MRI with and without contrast that Monday.  There were no signs of ever having had a tumor in my back.  It was not only gone, but the yellow globules of fat in the vertebrae in my back were filled with pristine, white bone marrow.  Even my neurosurgeon said, "Dennis, I don't know what you did, but I want all my patients to go to your church.  I explained that Jesus had healed me.

Not only did the Holy Ghost make the tumor disappear, I also stopped having seizures.  I no longer needed the anti-seizure medicine.  I also abruptly stopped taking the 90 mg. of morphine that I had been taking daily for almost a year, and NEVER HAD ONE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOM.

When one has a tumor like the one I had, the back muscles atrophy (waste away) leaving little if any muscle in that part of the back.  I shared with my oncologist that Jesus healed me. After examining me he said, "This is not medically possible – you have full muscle tone where you didn't have muscles before."

Our  Father healed me totally.  Today, I don't even have aspirin in my house for headaches; because I don't have headaches!  Nor do I have any needs, except the desire and need for more of Jesus!  The Holy Ghost healed me through faith in His word and the name of His son, JESUS.  My belief that God's word is TRUTH, and that the name of "JESUS" is more powerful and greater than any sickness or disease, or any name in heaven or earth, is burned into my heart!

BELIEF IN THE WORD OF GOD IS A POWERFUL THING !

God bless you with song and joy in your heart; for Jesus gives you back the song, you were born with!

Love in Christ,
Dennis
 

Suzanne's Story

Hi!  My name is Suzanne.  Three years ago the Lord instantaneously healed me of a painful ailment that had plagued me for ten years and today, by His grace, I am still pain free!

As a young adult I began to suffer facial skin eruptions unlike those I had experienced as a teen-ager.  These large eruptions came in groups and remained for long periods, not reacting to any over-the-counter treatments I tried. I consulted a dermatologist, who gave me a prescription and told me that this condition would probably become worse over time.  The medication was effective at first, but every time the eruptions returned there were more, they were more painful and another more painful symptom developed - my face took on the chronic appearance and sensation of a bad sunburn.

Eventually I was on two prescription medications daily.  Without medication, my face looked like I had an oozing case of poison ivy from hairline to chin.  With medication, the eruptions disappeared, but my face looked and felt painfully sunburned. If I ran out of my medications, by the third day I was back at the poison ivy stage.  My eyes also became affected and my ophthalmologist told me that I would have to stop wearing my contact lenses.

It was at this time in my life that the Lord led my family to Stratford Hills UMC.  I didn't even know what a healing service was. We began to attend the healing service just to find out more about the church before joining it.  On about our fourth visit, as we sat in the pew waiting our turn to go to the altar for prayer,  I felt "something" come down over my body and envelop me.  I didn't know what it was and was so frightened that I couldn't move - my heart was beating faster than it ever had and my muscles turned to Jell-O.  I tried to relax enough to pray for the Lord's help and eventually "it" lifted.

By the end of the service,  I realized that what had happened to me was exactly what the pastor,  Joe Anderson, had been explaining to us about how God can touch us and heal us.  So, I went home, got by myself and told God that I wouldn't fight Him anymore, and I felt the same "power" poured out over me - but this time I was peaceful and overjoyed because I knew it came from the Lord - and actually was the Lord!

God didn't heal my skin ailment immediately - in fact, He didn't heal it until I asked Him to about a week later.  Did I fail to mention that the major irritant to my condition was stress?  God went straight to the causes of my stress; things I thought I had put behind me, things I didn't understand as being related, things I couldn't deal with on my own, and was healing me on the inside. But, being a human who looks on the outside, I thought my skin needed more immediate attention, so one night I asked the Lord to heal my face.

As I prayed, a prickly feeling rose up my neck; then I felt warmth on my face, which became very hot. I had my eyes closed as I prayed, but I envisioned the Lord standing in front of me with His hands over my face and I felt the sensation you get going down the big hill of a roller-coaster and your skin feels like it's being pulled back. That sensation became more intense until what felt like a 100 mph wind was hitting my face, and it hurt (my face only; the rest of my body felt normal). I knew what was happening though, so I endured until it was shortly over. After thanking Him over and over, I got up and went to tell my husband that the Lord had healed my skin. I never took the medication again, the eruptions did not recur and the appearance and pain of sunburned skin disappeared. The irritation left my eyes and I am now able to wear my contact lenses.

Three years later, I am still healed outwardly, but I know that that is because of the healing God did and is still doing inside me. He didn't change my life, but He is changing me.
 

After my wife had her third relapse with cancer, I sent out requests for prayer on the  Internet. I received back a message from a woman who lives in Tucson, Arizona. She said that she would pray for my wife, and mentioned that she had an 11-year-old daughter, Christine, that had been diagnosed with a terminal bone marrow disease, and had not been expected to live to her 7th birthday. She was restricted to a wheelchair, and even had a dog to help her by picking things up for her.

A ministry I have been called to is that of making crosses out of hardwoods as pendants. I have made many that are now various places around the world, and have shared the patterns for them with others who also want to make crosses. After this message from the family in Arizona, I made crosses for each of the family members out a piece of manzanita wood which I had found in Tucson 40 years ago and had been saving ever since. When the package arrived in Tucson, Christine took the package into her room, opened it, and decided which cross should go to each family member. I received back a letter in which the mother talked about how much it meant to Christine.

Soon after that, I went up during the healing service to intercede for Christine, which means that they prayed for me as if I were Christine herself standing there. The whole congregation prayed that the Holy Spirit touch her, and as they prayed, the pastor told me that he felt that the Holy Spirit was filling Christine's room with His presence and power. I let the family know what had happened, and I got a message back from Christine that she was encouraged by so many praying for her, and that she would continue to pray for my wife.

Soon after that Christine was examined by her doctors, who found the disease in complete remission, to their amazement. They told the family that they intend to write up the case in a medical journal, since she was not expected to recover, and they have no explanation for her recovery. Christine is now taking horseback riding lessons, roller-blading, and taking Karate.

Her father has asked me for the cross patterns so that he can start making them.