My grandmother also went to Kenya and Lebanon on mission trips later on in her life. Well, this was during the end of the Lebanese civil war. My grandmother was with some Lebanese people when they were stopped by an individual whom my grandmother was informed was a member of the 'Syrian secret police'. Anyway, the locals were terrified of this man, and he demanded my grandmother's passport. She acquiesced, and the man, apparently satisfied, let them on their way. However, he pocketed the passport... which led to my grandmother to demand, very vocally, for her passport back (much to the horror of the locals she was with). However, he just gave the passport back and went on his way, much to the amazement of the locals. Whilst in Kenya, she was at an event where local Kenyans were being asked to step forward for prayer. A man stepped forward to my grandmother for prayer. When asked what was wrong, he simply told her that his 'eyes hurt'. After praying for this man, the fellow burst into tears. When my grandmother asked him what was wrong, he answered: "I can see!" The man had been blind, previously, yet now could see. Lastly, when at a prayer meeting in London, my grandmother began speaking in a language she could not understand. A woman nearby, however, understood what she was saying and informed her it was an obscure Russian dialect and that she had been praising God.
Both of my parents have survived near-death incidents. My mother was on a school trip somewhere, and the students were standing near a steep drop. The teacher, however, tripped and, as he fell, grabbed my mother's neck to break his fall. However, instead of falling off the edge with him, she successfully broke his fall. My mother also survived being thrown from a horse as a teenager. My father survived falling down a small cliff he had tried to climb as a child. My cousin, who was born a month after me, had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck as she was being born. My grandmother was outside where my aunt was giving birth, praying. She heard an audible sound of angels wings, and my cousin was born without incident. I myself survived several near-death incidents. When I was 2, my father had taken my cousin and I to a park. As he was putting my cousin in a swing set I had become distracted by some model boats being piloted down a nearby river. I, for some reason, got it into my head that I wanted to ride one of the boats and so jumped in the river. By the time my dad noticed I was gone, he turned to see me already mid-dive into the river. Fortunately, a fellow nearby who saw me dive in was able to pull me out before I could drown.
I also survived cracking my skull open on a concrete step as a toddler, and have had several times where I was almost struck by motor vehicles, only to notice and jump backwards at the last possible second. When I was a child, I was prayed for at a Bible camp I attended regarding my asthma. Since then, I have never had to use an inhaler. When I attended middle school, I was bullied relentlessly by my history teacher, who had a profound hatred of children with special needs (I have Asperger's Syndrome and Dyspraxia). However, my interest in history was rekindled during high school. When I was in college (which, in the UK, in in between high school and regular university - since we finish mandatory schooling at 16), I came into contact with a number of dreadfully awful videos. First was the Richard Dawkins TV series 'The Root of All Evil?', then there was the abysmal and hopelessly inaccurate 'Zeitgeist', and then finally there was the historically illiterate 'The God who Wasn't There'. During this time I also befriended a girl in London who had recently returned to Christian faith, and who I would discuss these movies with.
Anyway, so, I decided I was going to write a book taking down the so-called 'New Atheists', and said friend suggested meeting up in London and going to the British Library to do research. However, afterwards, said 'friend' basically cut off all contact with me and accused me of 'stalking' etc., which led me to become rather depressed. It was also around this time that my dad had introduced me to the apologetics ministry of JP Holding, 'Tektonics Apologetics'. Well, JP Holding was a member of a theology forum called TheologyWeb, which I joined. At college, I had studied IT and then opted to study music instead of going to university right away. After my London venture fell through, I discovered that the University of Chichester offered a joint honours degree in Music and History. I applied and received an unconditional offer to become a student there. I did my dissertation on the resurrection of Jesus, and also went on to do my MA in Cultural History there. Anyway, during my study I did all the research for my 'book', which ended up becoming three books (all of which I have self-published finally on Amazon), and, during that time, I met my wife through TWeb and am now living in the United States as a legal permanent resident, where I am becoming involved in the youth ministry of a church here. So, a series of seemingly unrelated, disparate events led me to meeting my wife and moving to not just a new country, but a new continent, whilst simultaneously building up my apologetics skills and scholarly ability.
But wait, there's more! I have been struggling for years with a particular problem, as well as with depression and, more recently, extreme anxiety. Well, the youth pastor at the church I go has gotten me started on my way to recovery through said problems and my involvement in the church's youth services has greatly reduced my depression and anxiety. Moreover, one of the friends I made on TWeb is the son-in-law of Christian historian and apologist, Mike Licona. He invited my wife and I to their home in Georgia where I got to meet not just Mike himself, but his friends Gary Habermas and William Lane Craig. Moreover, said friend also introduced me to Gary Habermas' material on emotional doubt, which has also been instrumental in helping me get through my depression and anxiety. Incidentally, my battle with anxiety and depression has spurred me to go through a large number of books on certain subjects which has inspired one of my future book projects (amongst other things). This is where I am at now, so goodness knows what amazing things God has in store for me. Moreover, one of the key lessons I have learned is that God IS with us during our times of suffering and He IS subverting the evil of suffering and turning it to suit His will and purpose and, in turn, to strengthen us.
