Introduction

This testimony is being re-posted for the information of our new members and to encourage those who think that because of their age, circumstances, or physical dis- abilities, God can no longer use them in His ministry. Brothers and sisters, trust God. He knows what's best for you. Proverbs 3:5,6 says..."Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will direct your paths" (NKJV). Sometimes God works in mysterious ways...ways we cannot understand, but He is in control of any and all situations. We can trust Him with certainty that He is working to bring us good in the end. He uses ordinary people to do extra-ordinary task to bring glory and honor to His name.

Jeremiah 29:11 says..."For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope" (NKJV).

MY TESTIMONY

My name is Rev. Nick Dais O.D. M.C.L. D.D. 66 years old, disabled Filipino Pastor, formerly living in Hawaii for 13 years, now residing at Houston, Texas. I was actively involved in the Lord's ministry for one and a half decade as a development worker, church leader, and later as a full-time Pastor before I was forced to retire due to a "Brain Stem Stroke" I suffered while attending the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Orlando Florida, April 1998.

My attending physician informed me that when the 911 paramedics brought me to the Sand Lake Hospital ER in Orlando, Florida, I was already clinically dead. I believed him because I felt I was floating on air and I could see myself on top of the ER table with a white smoke coming out of my mouth. But for reasons I could not understand, the white smoke went back inside my mouth and I felt the doctors, nurses, and the ER personnels frantically reviving me.

The stroke left me disabled. I lost my sense of balance. I cannot stand without falling down. My right eye squinted to the right resulting in my having double vision and I had to wear a pirate's patch so I can have a single vision. I also lost my swallowing reflex. I cannot swallow solid or liquid, not even my saliva, which prompted my attending physician to embed a "gastronomic tube" directly into my stomach so I can be feed "Ensure" [six cans per day]. I was on "tube feed" since then, and will be for the rest of my life. I am now a living proof of what the Bible says..."Man shall not live by bread alone" (Matthew 4:4).

I was confined at the hospital for 1 month and 6 days and my hospital bill amounted to $99,000.00. The Lord is indeed good because the hospital didn't ask me to pay my bill when they knew I was a Pastor. They even bought the plane ticket for my son and me so we can go home to Hawaii. My attending physician didn't charge me his professional fee either.

I arrived in Hawaii wearing a pirate's patch and sitting on a wheelchair, but that did not hinder me from doing my duties as the Pastor of Hawaii Philippine Baptist Church. I preached on Sundays, conduct bible studies, prayer meetings, and visitations with the chairman of the Board of Deacons my good friend as my driver. This went on for 5 months. On the 6th month, due to physical therapy, I can now stand and walk with the aid of a cane. Icould have continued as a Pastor but my personal physician advised me to retire and rest.

My initial reaction to the tragedy was frustration and bitterness because I could not understand why in spite of my faithfully serving the Lord, He would allow me to pass through this ordeal. I thought it would have been better had He allowed me to die than live and go through pain and suffering day by day.

One day, during my devotional time, the Lord led me to a passage found in Isaiah 40:31 which says..."But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint." After reading and meditating on the verse, I knew that the Lord is trying to tell me something.

Then I remembered the testimony of the apostle Paul found in 2 Corinthians 12:8,9 which says..."Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me...'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness'. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." These verses opened my mind to the truth that God has a purpose in letting me go through this ordeal. So, I prayed and ask Him to reveal to me what He wanted me to do and I will wholeheartedly obey Him.

The biggest and hardest test came to me December 31, 1998 when my family decided to celebrate my 56th birthday as a thanksgiving to the Lord for giving me a second chance in life. To tell you the truth, I felt I was being tortured seeing our guests eating those delicious foods [lobsters,jumbo shrimps, crabs, broiled fish, steaks, and my favorite lechon (roast pig)].

Looking back at that event in retrospect, I now understood why the Lord placed me on "tube feed" for the rest of my life. If He had allowed me to eat the foods I used to eat before, I will not be around today because statistics shows that a stroke victim is likely to suffer a second and fatal stroke within 5 years from the first. This is now my 12th year and believe it or not, I have never been sick of any illness that warrants hospitalization. I had just gone through my executive check up and my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. He said I might even live for another 5 or 10 years. I told him, only the Lord knows how long will I still live.

The next day after the celebration, I went to my eye doctor to have my check-up. He told me that the only way I can have my single vision back is for him to operate on my eye and permanently place it at the center but, I can no longer move it either to the right or to the left. Without hesitation, I told him to schedule the operation. However, one week before the scheduled operation, one morning my wife was excited. I asked her why? She told me, your eyes are back to normal She gave me a mirror and I was surprised myself. She was telling the truth. My single vision was restored. When I went to see my eye doctor that day, he was surprised too. He could not explain what happened. I told him our prayers were answered. He said amen! I found out that he was a christian.

The next morning, the Lord again led me to Isaiah 40:31 and I was convicted. I had decided to act on my own and not wait for His action. I did not trust His promise. I asked Him to forgive me and I promised to let Him have control of my life from then on. With my eyes back to normal, I asked the Lord to let me do something for Him. He gave me the idea of writing christian books and other materials that can be used by the churches. But I said, Lord, how can I do it? I could not type because my left hand is weak. However, I trusted Him because He said, nothing is impossible with Him.

One day, my son came home with a computer. Since I have nothing to do all day, I tried typing on the computer when my son is at work. I found out that I can type with just my right hand even faster than I used to type with my both hands. With my new found talent, I started writing christian books, bible study guides, and devotional guides. I thought that this was the ministry the Lord wanted me to do. I was wrong.

One day after finishing the manuscript for my next book, I decided to relax. I tried to surf the internet. I came across the website of Fibro/Chronic Pain Support Group Ministry. While surfing through the web pages, my cursur landed on the join button. At that moment, as if I heard a voice telling me to click the button. I don't know what happened next. All I can remember is I did click the button and became a member of the support group. I started posting devotionals and also my testimony. I received e-mails that they are blessed by the devotionals and requested me to post it on a daily basis, which I did.

I can't remember the exact date I received an e-mail from Pastor Nancie, the Founder of the ministry asking me if I'm willing to become the Prayer of Compassion Pastor of the ministry. I accepted the position and I began to receive e-mail request for prayer and counseling from some members of the group. Later, Pastor Nancie requested me to be the Senior Pastor of the ministry in order to lessen her load. I told her to give the position to another Pastor who is senior to me in the group. She told me the Pastor is also busy with her other online ministries. After praying for the Lord's guidance I accepted the position which I am holding for 4 or 5 years now if my memory serves me right.

Looking back at the events that happened in my life, I can now fully understand why the Lord allowed me to pass through the ordeal. He was preparing me for another kind of ministry, that of ministering to people who are going through pain and suffering. I can relate to them because I know what it means to go through pain and suffering everyday since I'm going through it even more than they do.

I praise and thank the Lord for using me in His ministry in spite of my physical restrictions. I thank Him because, He gave me a chance to minister to more people than when I was physically healthy. I am ministering to people worlwide. The devotionals I'm posting has reached to Dubai, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taipei, Australia, and the Philippines, the recipients are my former young people of the church I pastored in the Philippines who are now contract workers overseas and other Filipino overseas contract workers. They told me that even their bosses visits the FCPSGM website.

Because of this opportunity that the Lord has given me, I have committed to serve Him until the day He calls me home to be with Him.

My favorite verse is; "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21, KJV)

CLOSING

I hope my testimony help change your perspective on the issue of pain and suffering and serving our LORD. The Lord works in mysterious ways...ways we sometimes could not understand but we can trust Him because He lets us go through tough times not to destroy us but to build us up. Also remember, there is no such thing as retirement in the Lord's service. He is not interested in "ageability or disability." He's interested in our "availability."

Are you available?

Thot For Today

"If you want others to know what Christ can do for them, tell them what He has

done for you." (Our Daily Bread)

<:(S.O.C)><

Servant Of Christ

"LORD WHY NOT NOW?"

And he said unto me. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NKJV)

The question; "Lord why not now?" is more often asked by people who are undergoing pain and suffering or other overwhelming circumstances when they come to a point that they feel they could no longer endure what they are going through and they pray asking God to take there life away to end their misery. Is this feeling normal for human beings to feel? What does the word of God [the Bible] say about it? In the Bible I know of two persons who prayed to the Lord to take their lives. Do you know who they are? They are the prophets Elijah and Jonah (1 Kings 19:4 ; Jonah 4:3).

When I suffered a "Brain Stem Stroke" in 1998 which left me on "tube feed" for the rest of my life, I asked the Lord why He brought me back to life after being "clinically dead", (I felt floating on air and I saw my body on top of the emergency table with a stream of white smoke coming out of my mouth. But for reason I could not understand, the white smoke went back into my mouth and I feel the code blue team desperately trying to revived me) only to go through the misery I'm going through every day for the rest of my life. I asked the Lord why He brought me back to life after being clinically dead only to go through the misery I'm going through every day for the rest of my life. I asked the Lord that question because at first I don't understand why He allowed this tragedy to happen to me in spite of the fact that I was faithfully serving Him in the ministry for decades and like the prophets Elijah and Jonah I too asked the L ord to take away my life so I could depart from this chaotic world.

During the first four years, life has been very hard for me especially when I see people eating those delicious foods I used to eat before. I felt I was being tortured. But in 2005 the Lord called me called me to be involved with an online support group called Fibro Chronic Pain Support Group Ministry (FCPGSM), a non-denominational support group ministering to people suffering from fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses of which I became its Senior Pastor for the past eight years until now and for how long, only the Lord knows, but I have committed to serve Him until the day He calls me home to be with Him. I finally understood why the Lord allowed me to go through pain and suffering so I could minister to people suffering like me because I understood and feel what they are going through not like a Nun who advises parents about family planning when she had not experienced being a parent.

That makes my witness credible.

Lately, the Lord once again showed me that He is in control of every aspect of my life. I was confined at Houston Methodist Hospital for my scheduled surgery to remove the hardware the doctor inside my left hip when it was broken due to a bad fall. Because of continued administration of pain medicine, my blood pressure dropped so low resulting in my going through a "code blue"(near death experience) for twenty minutes but the Lord made me live once again. I trust Him because I know He has other plans for me that's why He wanted me to stay on earth for awhile.

When Jesus told His disciples He is going to heaven, the apostle Peter asked Him..."Why can't I follow You right now?"(John 13:37). Like the apostle Peter, people who are going through pain and suffering and other overwhelming circumstances wonder why their entrance into heaven has been postponed and they asked the question..."Lord, why not now?"

God has a loving purpose in allowing us to stay here on earth. There is work to be done in us that can only be accomplished here on earth.Our afflictions which are for the moment, are working for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory"(2 Corinthians 14:17). And there is work to be done for others...if only to love and to pray for them. Our presence may also be for the purpose of giving others an opportunity to learn love and compassion. So, do we may desire release for ourselves, to live in the flesh can mean fruitfulness.

Brothers and sisters...though our entrance into heaven may be delayed, God has a reason no doubt about it. So, while we are here on earth, let's continue to do the task the Lord has entrusted us to do so we can bring glory and honor to His name. Trust Him! He knows what's best for you.

Prayer: Lord, I am grateful that I do not have to depend on my own understanding. I can trust You in everything that concerns my life. You have promised to give me direction as I acknowledge Your leadership and Your promise never fail. Thank you for this assurance. Help me follow Your guidance in everything. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen.

Rev. Nick Dais, O.D. M.C.L. D. D.

Senior Pastor, FCPSGM

Servant Of Christ

"LEAN ON ME...I'M JUST AN E-MAIL AWAY."

"THE KING OF KINGS IS COMING...ARE YOU READY TO MEET HIM?"