Testimonies Blog

Being consumed by a raging fever, L. C. DeWeese, of Houston, Texas, of the First Army Corps, American Expeditionary Forces, was carried out of the Argonne Forest on November 13, two days after the signing of the Armistice. He was taken from hospital to hospital, where skilled physicians and surgeons labored for months, finally declaring the case hopeless. They turned the patient over to the interns in the hospital to await death, a certificate already having been issued. When taken to the hospital first this soldier was vomiting and suffering intensely. From this hospital he was removed to Base Hospital 119 at Vichy, maintained by the government at this popular watering place. Here he remained several months, his condition growing worse. From here he was sent to
Bordeaux to be sent to the United States. He was practically confined to his bed continually, his condition being too bad to rejoin his outfit. He finally landed in New York and was removed to Debarkation Hospital No. 3. From there he was removed to the base hospital at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Mo. Here X-Ray pictures were taken, showing that the stomach had been eaten out, and resembled a sponge. Following this, an operation was performed on May 8, 1919. During this operation the appendix, a greater part of the intestines and part of the stomach were removed. So serious was this operation that life seemed to pass from the body and the pulse beat so faint that physicians were unable to detect pulse or respiration, and the kidneys refused to function, all water drying up and mortification setting in from the chest down. It was now apparent that the case was hopeless and a death certificate was issued.

From this very comatose state a very faint spark of life became visible and the patient began to revive. “Now,” said DeWeese, “the Lord whom I had rejected, began to speak to me, while those at home prayed that my life would be spared. Physicians attending admitted they had reached the limit of their skill. God alone must do the rest. Having improved sufficiently to leave the hospital, I took up vocational training in the Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. But three weeks were spent here, and it was necessary for me to again return to the hospital. I then repaired to Des Moines, Iowa. Here it was found necessary for me to submit to another operation. After making an incision the physicians concluded they could go no further, and they sewed me up. I was informed they had
done all they could and it was a matter of a short time until death would claim me. I left the hospital for home, where I was to die.”

“When in Houston, I heard of the Old-Time Revival and the wonderful healing being accomplished in answer to prayer. I attended the meeting and heard Evangelist Raymond T. Richey, and became interested in the meetings. Here I was convicted of my sins and surrendered my life to God. A few nights later I was prayed for and miraculously healed. I am five feet eleven inches in height, and had fallen off until my weight was no more than one hundred pounds. Now I weigh around two hundred pounds, eat well, and am enjoying perfect health. During my sickness I was permanently
barred from school on the grounds of permanent disability, the physician stating I would never again be able to resume my studies by the United States Veteran’s Bureau Vocational Training Board I was rated Class “D.”

Excerpt from “What God Hath Wrought” by Eloise May Richey