It was 1970, I was 17 year's old and it was a warm summer's night when a friend and I decided to take a bike-ride from the house where I was living to a friends house across the park in the sunset district of San Francisco. It was about 9:00 p.m. when we hopped on my friends 10 speed bicycle we then made our way down toward Golden Gate Park and ended up on Fulton street. As we approached 43rd Ave. we moved over into the fast lane in order to turn left so that we could make our way through the park. My friend had asked me to look behind us to see if there were any cars, so I turned around and there were none. No sooner did I open my mouth to tell him it was all clear, that we were hit from behind by a speeding car and then sent sailing into the air.
At that point, all I remember after having landed back on the ground was that there were a number of people around me asking me how I was. I was not able to collect my thoughts, let alone stand on my own two feet. I looked down at my leg and noticed that the heal of my foot was bent backwards touching the calf of my leg and the two tibia bones were sticking out the front of my leg. It was then that I discovered my leg had been broken upon impact as the car hit us from behind. I do remember one of my older brother's friends who had seen the accident, coming up to me saying that he would go up to my house and tell my Grandfather about what had happened. It wasn't long before an ambulance came and we were on our way to Park Emergency. That same night, I was taken to Children's Hospital on California street, where I would stay approximately two weeks.
Well, it would be a new way of life for the next year as I now had a full length cast on my right leg, which didn't seem to stop me as I got right back on my bike and off I went. I was not very restricted in my activities due to the fact that I had a lot of energy and will power to keep going. I excelled in my music due to the fact that I now had more time to practice my guitar. A year had passed and my cast was removed, man did it itch! I got right in the shower and gave my leg a good scrub, got ready and went out that night. Talking about always being on the go...
13 years had passed... in between now and the time of the accident, I was experiencing a great deal of back pain due to the fact that my right leg was shorter than the left and as a result, my back was constantly going out on me. Originally, when the doctor had set the broken bones, he put them next to each other therefore making the leg shorter. There was nothing I could do at the time and found that all I could do, was just live with the pain. Even the slightest little movement would sometimes throw my back out. It was especially difficult because I owned my own business and the kind of work I did (Landscape Construction) was very demanding and it would constantly put a strain on my back but I kept on going. Some nights I would come home hunched over remembering how my wife would have to help me to get into a hot bath so I could soak away all the pain, only to get up the next morning and do it all over again.
It would be June 26, 1983 that my wife, myself and my daughter who was only a baby at the time, would go up to visit one of my brother's and his family up in Sacramento. We would frequently visit them and would also love attending their church in Citrus Heights. The weekend went fast and Sunday was upon us as all of us made our way out the door to go to church. We had a great time, then returned home to get something to eat and then we sat around the kitchen table and talked for a while. Even though we attended their church whenever we visited, my brother never expressed his heart in the way he had been wanting to regarding the things of the Lord. As we were sitting around the kitchen table, my brother asked... "would you and Martha like to receive Jesus Christ into your hearts?" We said yes! He said that he had been wanting to share the Lord with us for some time but was afraid that we would shy away from him. Then I stated that I had been wanting him to but the moment had not presented itself until now. Afterwards, he got his bible and proceeded to teach us about tithing.
A couple hours had passed and my brother mentioned to me that there would be a men's meeting at church that night and would I like to go? I said yes and we were on our way. No sooner did we climb the stairs that I was greeted by my brother's father-in-law who was standing at the very top outside the entry of the church. My brother explained to him that my wife and I had just received the Lord. At that, his father-in-law looks me straight in the eye and says... "your leg is a bit shorter than the other one, sit down and we'll fix you up!" I thought... "what's going on here, I never told anyone my leg was shorter." Well, I had no choice other than to go for it! So I sat down as he had suggested, he told me to put my feet in his hands so that it would take the tension off of my back and he proceeded to pray. All this time I'm wondering... "how did he know?" At that point, what had seemed like swarms of people, had flocked around me and started praying in this weird language which I later found out was called tongues.
I remember having feelings of doubt in my mind but still, I had a peace that transcended all understanding. I then was asked by my brother's father-in-law... "are you sure you repented all your sins?" and then I replied... "what, name them?" I was all set to run down to him everything I had ever done to the best of my recollection. He then put my feet in his father's hands, then went over and knelt down against the wall and started praying in tongues. I thought... "man, it's me, I'm doubting here!" So I focused on only one thing and that was the name of Jesus and as soon as I did, something happened that had never happened to me before. I couldn't see a thing in front of me and everything was pitch black. I found myself traveling through what seemed to be a tunnel. Then, all of a sudden this light appeared (just a glimpse mind you) and I found myself waiting to see what would happen next, almost as if one had been watching a movie.
The process was gradual but fast! I was now traveling inside this tunnel-like atmosphere while noticing the light was getting brighter. I wondered how much brighter it would get and if I could withstand it. I was traveling around a bend and the light kept getting brighter and brighter but it was soft and not at all blinding. In fact, I could see into the light almost as if it had some sort of depth to it. As soon as the light reached it's brightest peak, that's when it happened... my leg stretched out, pushing the man's hand who had been holding it and it was accompanied by a tearing-twisting feeling but strangely enough, I noticed that it was tickling. My leg had stretched out and pushed the man's hand, he then replied... "did you see that, did you feel that?" As I stood up looking down at my feet, I was at a loss for words thinking... "what just happened!" Definitely a miracle had taken place and God had been gracious and compassionate enough to free me from what I had been going through for so many years. This was only the start of a series of events and miracles that would take place in the years to come.
" You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Psalm 77:14