Breathless and suffering chest pains, Mark McClurg knew something was seriously wrong.
On the advice of a nurse in his church, the 40-year-old pastor of Ards Elim Church, in County Down, was soon on his way to A&E, little knowing this was the start of a battle with Covid-19 that would see God use him in a powerful way.
Initial ly, no one suspected coronavirus.
“They said, ‘we’ve got some good news for you – you don’t have Covid-19, you just have pneumonia,’” says Mark.
But during his second night in hospital, he deteriorated.
“They gave me 70 per cent oxygen, but I still couldn’t breathe, so they increased it to 80 per cent, then 90 per cent. By 10 pm they had me on 100 per cent. I was saying, ‘ I… can’t… breathe…’ You feel like your lungs are full and you’re drowning. It feels like someone has dropped two bags of broken glass into them.”
Mark feared the worse. “I phoned my wife Claire and said, ‘I think this is it, I think I’m going to die.’”
Now critical, Mark was transferred to ICU and hooked up to a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to help him breathe. A test confirmed he had Covid-19.
Lying alone in bed, Mark felt God speak to him.
Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Direction Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra October 2020-utgaven av Direction Magazine.
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‘Imagine Everyone On This Planet Is Your Equal'
David Beasley, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN World Food Programme, reveals the words his work is founded on
God Sets The Example Of Adoption...
Many people have ruled themselves out for fostering or adoption when the system would rule them in, explains Krish Kandiah
The Work Of Missionaries In Lockdown
When lockdown brought Ian and Katie Moore’s mission work in Macedonia to a halt, they used the time to seek a refined vision for reaching their local area. They told Chris Rolfe their story
How Nurse Helped Acid Attack Model Find Faith
Katie Piper explains how a life-changing incident changed her life in more ways than she expected as she recovered in hospital
Big Challenges Issued At Online Conference
Elim’s first online theological conference examines how our understanding of the ‘End Times’ shapes our view of mission
Lockdown in London deepened my faith
Living alone in London may not have been what he dreamed about, but Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic says it has driven him closer to God
The Really Good News about new initiative!
Elim’s new online mission programme could be the biggest evangelistic outreach we’ve ever done, says national evangelist Mark Greenwood. As we gear up for Easter, he gives the lowdown on the campaign
It's the gospel of liberation, not renovation
When Jesus was 30 he went to the prison of sin, and knocked on the door. Satan opened that little window and said, “What do you want?” Jesus told him: “I have come to set the captives free!” A sermon by the late Reinhard Bonnke
The mystery of Skull Hill
Skull Hill is a rocky hill rising just outside the north wall of Jerusa-lem, not far from the Damascus Gate. It was given that name because of the striking resemblance to a human skull appearing on the weather-beaten formation of its southern face.
A decade of mission
With an Easter evangelism programme, the Elim Leaders Summit and a renewed call to mission, General Superintendent Chris Cartwright outlines Elim’s plans for 2021 and beyond
