In October 2003 David was evangelising in Almaty, the commercial capital of Kazakhstan. Someone told David that a missionary friend of his was dying in a hospital there, would he please go and pray? This was the year in which God had miraculously healed David from lung cancer – without any medical intervention. The preaching of the Gospel in Kazakhstan, a Moslem country, was accompanied by outstanding miracles! All three nights of the evangelism, not only was the venue packed out, but thousands were outside in the streets watching the relay on giant screens, and the meetings were broadcast on the national TV! People were brought out of the hospitals for healing. But this man, Doug Boyle, an Australian missionary, was dying alone in an intensive care unit. David went to pray with him. 16 years later, who greeted David on arrival in Georgia, but this same man! (Watch the video below.)
This is Doug’s story as he told it to camera: ‘I’d been in the ministry since I was 21, 20 years as a missionary in Kazakhstan. My faith was good, the ministry was going great, planting churches, I’d started the first drug rehab centre in the Soviet Union, we had eight centres by then. Life was good. God was doing miracles. I’d never been ill. Now I was 51. Turned out I had three diseases of the pancreas all with fatal outcomes, the final one was 100 percent necrosed pancreas. I was too ill to be flown home to Australia. I was given emergency surgery in Almaty. But I died in the recovery room, they turned off the machines, waiting for the body to go cold.
‘I became conscious that I was in death, spiritual death. I saw myself and unlimited numbers of people wandering about in death. Incredible fear swallowed me. There was no exit, no way out. There was smoke and glow rising and a terrible smell. I was moving to the edge of the great abyss, overwhelmed by fear that I was never going to get out, no consciousness of God. I shouted out, “No!” At that moment I stood up in the recovery room with the big ventilator still in me. The first thing I saw was the surgeon pulling it out of me so I could breathe. I was traumatised by my experience, weeping 4-6 hours a day. I had no faith, I was so disappointed with God. I had given my life to Him! People said I couldn’t be a Christian because Jesus tasted death for every one of us, so why did I have to taste that? I struggled with these things, I didn’t eat for 80 days, weeping and weeping. That’s how I was when you came, David. No hope, emotionally, physically or spiritually. Clinging to life with the help of my wife. I had 0.02 percent chance to live…
‘I was in a daze. I listened to you. I don’t remember much about my friends who visited me, but here was a man of God I had never met! You shared about your healing from lung cancer, you talked and talked. I listened and listened. When you came, all I had was this fear of hell. When you left, for the first time I thought, perhaps, there was hope in Jesus Christ… It’s possible… God had sent a man to encourage me, it gave me hope that God cared for me and the will to live. I had to fight. After 80 days they were able to fly me to the liver transplant hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Everyone in that room all died except me, and I was the least likely to survive!
‘I still did not have assurance of eternal life, I cried out, “Help me Lord!” Then I had a dream, I was in this auditorium, without beginning or end, no horizon, it was infinity. There was just one seat for me. All the people were talking at the same time, but without words! My senior pastor, who had died of a brain tumour just before I saw you, David, came and held my hand, and said, “You can’t stay here, Heaven is not ready for you yet!” And I woke up! It was 6.00am. I said to my wife, “I’m going to go to Heaven when I die!” The fear had gone.
‘An hour later I was rushed to hospital again in an emergency. I said to my wife, “Maybe this is it, but that’s ok, I’ll see you when you come up!” Finally they released me from the hospital, they could do no more. If I was still alive in a year, they would look at me again. I had a word from God from Philippians, “It’s better for you that I remain!” That word ‘remain’ came inside me like a storm. God said to me, “If you go back to Kazakhstan I will heal you!” I said, “So You won’t heal me because You love me, because I’m Your son?” The Holy Spirit said, “No, I won’t!” “The only reason You will heal me is because You want me to do something for You?” “Correct!”
‘Six weeks after that I was back in Kazakhstan! Just 60 kilogrammes. That was within six or seven months after you prayed with me, David! Had I stayed in Australia I would be dead now! The ministry has multiplied two or three times. And more powerful. I was hurt in the beginning, but then I realised, “God, there’s something You need from me! My life, my work!” As weak as it seems to me, I realised it’s important to Him!
‘Revelation 20:12-15 says, all that were in death were cast into the Lake of Fire. People need to know that when they pass away, it’s not bright lights and good things. When I realised there is a devil, I stopped blaming God and I realised you’re not going to make it to the end unless you believe there is a devil! Only those who are in Jesus Christ will go to Heaven, everyone else will stay in death until the Last Judgement and then be cast in the Lake of Fire. That’s why I preach, that’s why I serve. It’s given me great compassion. If I can just catch one or two it’s worth it. I don’t want anyone to experience death. It’s only through knowing Jesus Christ that we can escape spiritual death.’