God’s Amazing Care
“The fire came so quickly,” said Kimberly. “It was down the hill in about 15 minutes and jumped the street to our side.”
The dangerous Cocos fire near San Marcos, California broke out the afternoon of May 14. The Cocos fire was one of a swarm of 20 wild fires that erupted in San Diego County in May. The severe heat wave and very dry conditions made the region an explosive tinderbox. San Marcos, a university town of 84,000 people north of San Diego, California was in danger. Kimberly, her husband Bob and their three young children, 11, 9 and 7 are Keep the Faith subscribers (an older son is away at college). Their home in San Marcos was right in the path of the fire.
When some of the other fires broke out a few days earlier, Kimberly started praying that God would keep their home safe. She also prayed for the fire fighters. On Tuesday, May 13, she felt impressed to pull out their suitcases and distribute them around their bedrooms “just in case…” When she brought the children home from school that afternoon, they started to pack the suitcases with clothing, shoes and important items they cherished. That night in family worship they prayed that God would protect them from the fires.
On Wednesday morning, Kimberly urged her husband Bob not to go to work, but he felt she was over-reacting. Later that morning Kimberly went to get the children home from school. She did not want to be separated from them if they had to flee their home. On the way, she could see a huge fire in the town of Carlsbad, a town just seven miles from their home. She called Bob and begged him to return home.
In the afternoon, Kimberly felt the Lord impressing her to ask Bob to douse the house, yard, fence and even the trees with water to prepare in case the fire came toward them. The children finished packing their things and brought the suitcases downstairs.
The fast-moving Cocos fire quickly burned through 400 acres (160 ha) that afternoon. Evacuation orders were issued for several suburbs including theirs. The raging inferno pushed by unusually strong and dry Santa Ana winds was barreling down the ridge right toward the community where Bob and Kimberly and their family lived. Huge billows of smoke ascended to the sky.
About 3:30 p.m. as they were preparing something to eat for lunch, they smelled acrid smoke inside their home. “Oh, no!” said Bob. “We need to hurry!” said Kimberly. They could see lots of black smoke moving their way.
They started loading their things into their van. By the time the van was loaded the fire had nearly reached their suburb. In just a few minutes the fire had traveled nearly a mile and had jumped a four-lane road and was threatening their home and the homes of other people living nearby.
“Mommy, let’s pray,” said frightened little Maile, age 7. Kimberly and the children prayed while Bob dowsed the fence with water one more time before getting into the van.
When they opened their eyes, Kimberly looked up at the black swirling billows. She noticed a shift in the smoke, ever so slight, but a definite change. In just those few seconds as they prayed one final, earnest prayer before leaving their home, the wind had begun to change. They drove to a parking lot some distance away, and watched the fire from there, unsure what would happen. The fire went behind their house, but missed it by about 1500 ft, and within a few minutes it had passed. The fire had destroyed more than 40 buildings, including twelve single-family homes. But Bob and Kimberly’s home was spared.
“God is so amazing!” says Kimberly. “How He cares enough to change the direction of the wind ever so slightly. God answered our prayer so quickly that day. It was such a blessing to be able to witness it… I believe the Lord knew I was anxious that day and showed my children and myself His power. It brings tears of happiness and joy to my heart that the God I love, loves and cares for us more then I can describe in words.”
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Melbourne Literature Project
And from our Melbourne literature project… Don (pseudonym), the man Alex met while letterboxing, discovered that the Sabbath was God’s day of rest, not Sunday. He told Alex that he checks every idea with the Bible, and only accepts what the Bible teaches. When Stine went to visit him the second time a few weeks later, she learned that his wife, who has dementia, was a little upset by her first visit. So, she and Don had a nice talk outside their home for a while. She had given him a copy of Bible Readings, which he has been studying. He told her that he agreed with everything that he had read so far. As he has gained confidence, he has also become friendlier and very open to more truth. The Holy Spirit is doing His work quietly through the literature he has been given. They agreed to keep in touch and share the Bible together by letter.
Highwood Spirit
“People say I look a lot better after Highwood,” wrote one of our satisfied guests. “I went for my clinic appointment today and they are very pleased with my progress everything is going down and receding. Even my voice is slightly better.”
Thalia wrote to Stine, our guest follow up and Bible worker, and said “Thank you so much for your kind and caring words! You always know exactly what to say to help people through and it means a lot! I am so glad we can keep in touch and I will definitely be back to visit soon! I had a wonderful time a Highwood and have made so many new friends and memories that I will never forget!”
Highwood Health Retreat makes a huge impact on its guests. Many come with multiple problems, but one of the common ones with most is depression. Living in a largely secular nation, many, many Australians have gaping holes in their hearts and try to fill them with all the wrong things. When they hit rock bottom some come to Highwood. The powerful current of God’s love reaches down into their hearts and begins the healing process.
Jacqui said, “I came to Highwood for some time out. I’ve been suffering depression for nearly three years… I learnt so much from the caring staff and in particular the video series on depression by Dr. Neil Nedley. They gave me a system to recover.”
And when they see that God cares for them they let down their barriers and open their hearts to God!
“I’m alive today because of the Highwood team,” said Ingrid, a psychotherapist. “I had studied for over 18 years to become the best. I was also doing some raw foods for my clients and thought I knew pretty much all I needed to know about having a healthy lifestyle.
“But then I had a crisis that resulted in a botched hysterectomy. I feared for my life. Laying in my hospital bed, incredibly sick, I remembered being at Highwood 10 years before. It was a wonderful, life-changing experience for me. And now I was desperate. I wondered if Highwood could help me again.
“I was severely depressed, and in pain. The doctors told me that I could not survive without them, though they had essentially given up on me. So, I rang Highwood and found out there happened to be one room left. I was on high doses of pain medication. I nearly collapsed over the next few days from all the medication I was on. But five nights at Highwood, with the kind and sympathetic staff, I was changed again. Without the knowledge I gained at Highwood I wouldn’t be alive today.
“Highwood was a highlight for me, physically, emotionally and spiritually. For anyone who does not believe in miracles, then this place is definitely for you!” I’m alive now because of the Highwood team! They treat you better than your own family.”
Friends, the miracle of Highwood continues to amaze me. God has given us fantastic tools with which to work with our guests. His natural remedies really work! He changes their lives dramatically. We just have to faithfully use them. And because of that, He is opening new doors for Highwood. Recently I was approached about starting a health retreat near Adelaide near South Australia. As I evaluated the key elements that are present there, I see that God may bring it together. We are seeking providence in this. And then more recently, I was asked if I would be a consultant to a small group that wants to start a Health Retreat in QLD.
And you have a part to play. You can pray for Keep the Faith and its expanding work. You can also support Highwood as a volunteer at any time of year. Or you can bless this important work with a gift. It makes sense to help because partnering with Keep the Faith guarantees that you are investing in the kingdom of heaven where your treasure will not rust nor be corrupted. And how very important this work is in these last days!
Our therapy renovations at Highwood Health Retreat are completed now and it is lovely and practical too! But we still have a lot to do in other areas of the retreat. This coming December (2014) and January (2015), we have another renovation project scheduled at Highwood Health Retreat in Victoria. This one includes changes to the kitchen, the front office and several bathrooms added to some of the bedrooms. All of these changes are very important to serve our guests and give them the experience that will open their hearts to the Lord. I’m letting you know now so you can plan early to volunteer for a few weeks or a few months. We need skilled and unskilled volunteers. You won’t regret it. You will be helping to change lives for God’s kingdom. If you want to volunteer, please contact me at hmayer@ktfministry.org , or call USA: 540-672-2354, Australia: 03 5963 7000.
Inactivity Changes the Brain
Studies say that exercise can remodel the brain by stimulating new brain cells and other positive changes. But now it appears that inactivity also remodels the brain in a negative way, says a new study.
Inactivity changes the shape of certain neurons that affect the brain and the heart.
Scientists thought that brain cells could not be altered after adolescence until neurological studies about 20 years ago established that the brain retains plasticity (the ability to be reshaped) throughout our lifetimes. Physical aerobic exercise is rather adept at remodeling the brain, making it sharper, healthier, and more resilient.
But now it appears that inactivity also alters the structure of the brain. The study on rats at Wayne State University demonstrated that exercise retained the proper shape of certain neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla that affect the sympathetic nervous system, while inactivity caused the neurons in sedentary rats to grow many more tentacles or branches. This means that the neurons in sedentary animals were more sensitive to stimuli and more apt to “zap scattershot messages” into the sympathetic nervous system and over stimulate it. This can potentially cause an increase in blood pressure and contributes to the development of heart disease.
This finding is important because we learn that inactivity increases the risk of heart disease. But the effect of inactivity on the brain is also significant.
“The time spent in physical exercise is not lost. The student who is constantly poring over his books, while he takes but little exercise in the open air, does himself an injury. A proportionate exercise of the various organs and faculties of the body is essential to the best work of each. When the brain is constantly taxed while the other organs are left inactive, there is a loss of physical and mental strength. The physical powers are robbed of their healthy tone, the mind loses its freshness and vigor, and a morbid excitability is the result.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, page 295
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