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- This morning I've asked Brother Raymond Bland to come and give a testimony of something the
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- Lord has done in his life, the way the Lord's ministered to him. I've heard a little bit of the story, but I told him
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- I didn't want to hear all of it. I wanted to hear it from here, and same time you get to hear it.
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- So Raymond, would you come up, take a few moments, and share this with us?
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- Good morning out there this morning. I'd like to bring you a story here that I know to be a true story because this story happened to me, and I hope it has an impact on someone's life.
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- Recently I had a little surgery on a Wednesday, and I got away from the hospital and I went home and was off, and felt good on Friday so I called my office and they gave me a load.
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- I'm a long haul truck driver. And they gave me a load going to Ontario, California, which is basically a suburb of Los Angeles.
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- I had to be there at 9 o 'clock Sunday night. So I decided to leave early
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- Friday morning. I went to bed Friday night and did not sleep at all, which every once in a while for a truck driver, this is not unusual.
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- This happens quite often. So I got up the next morning and I went to Dallas and I picked up my load of freight and I started in California.
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- As I was going across West Texas, I got out around El Paso and I called my wife on the phone and told her that I was feeling kind of sick, felt like I was catching a cold or asthma was bothering me, going out across the desert, but I wasn't worried about this.
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- And I drove a little further and before I got across New Mexico, I was really sick.
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- I thought I was catching a real severe case of flu. This is all the symptoms it had.
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- So I continued on toward California and I spent the night in Arizona and didn't sleep any that night at all.
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- I was really miserably sick and did not sleep any at all. So I got up the next morning about 6 o 'clock and I headed on to California.
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- And I drove all day and I finally got to Ontario, California about 4 o 'clock that afternoon.
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- So I was going to call the company and tell them the situation and see if I could unload early. I hadn't unloaded 9 o 'clock that night, which is 11 o 'clock our time, to see if I could unload my load early to where I could go to the truck stop and take me some medication and go to sleep.
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- Well, I got to the place and they did not open until 9 o 'clock. So I stayed around there and met up with another one of our drivers going to the same location.
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- And he knew I was sick. So finally they came and I got my load off.
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- And I went down. It was too late in the morning, about 2 o 'clock in the morning by the time I got unloaded. And I knew
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- I couldn't take any medication because medication shows up in a drug test if you get stopped on the highway and you can go to jail for it.
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- So I didn't take any medication. We went back to the truck stop this morning, didn't sleep that night either, went back to the truck stop about 7 o 'clock and got some coffee and I couldn't run my coffee.
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- And I decided I needed something to eat. I hadn't eaten. So I got me a bowl. They had some soup left over.
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- I got a bowl of soup and I couldn't eat it. So we sat there that day and they finally got me a load at 12 o 'clock our time.
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- And so I went down in L .A. to pick the load up, but the load was not there. It wouldn't be there until about 2 o 'clock.
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- So I laid down in my truck and I managed to sleep for about 2 hours. They came and woke me up. And I got my load.
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- I had to go count the merchandise as it was loaded. So I sit in a chair and the door,
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- I felt a little better. A little cool breeze blowing through the door and I felt a little better. And I was real sweaty just like from the flu and I thought
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- I had sweated the flu out and I was going to get better. And I counted the load and then
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- I started back. And I drove from L .A. about halfway to the
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- Arizona line and stopped at a cafe to order me some soup.
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- I was real hungry. Well, I couldn't eat the soup. It just didn't taste good. And they had a little small steak on, so I ordered the steak and I managed to eat it.
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- That was all I had to eat. Still no sleep. So I started on the crawl and I got on across New Mexico and I called
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- Sharon. I told her that when I got to Andrews, Texas, that's a little old town inside of Texas line near El Paso, that I was going to take some
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- NyQuil and I was going to bed. And if I hadn't called her by 10 o 'clock that night, she would have called the police and I wouldn't have to come and check my trucks if I was all right.
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- Just how sick I was. Still thinking I had the flu. Anyway, I got there and it seemed like I felt just a little better.
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- And I still had a few hours to drive on my load. So I came on across. I said I'll stop on across Texas there and get some rest.
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- Take my NyQuil and get some rest. And I came on across. And I got over to Van Horn and fuel.
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- And, well, it seemed like I was revived just a little bit so I didn't take it there. So I came on to Cisco, Texas.
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- I hadn't had but two hours sleep in all this time from Friday morning until Wednesday night.
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- And I got to Cisco, Texas and laid down at 8 .30. I drank about a half a bottle of NyQuil.
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- And I managed to go to sleep. Well, it didn't last long.
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- I woke up at 1 .30 in the morning and sit up on the bed.
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- I didn't feel anything. No pain. I wasn't sick. While I was sitting on my bed, in the end of my truck,
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- I saw my angel. My angel looked like a small child.
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- He was dressed in white. And he had on clothes that looked like you would see on the
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- Vietnamese. Straight cut, long sleeve. I couldn't see any hands or feet. I could only see his face.
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- It was very bright and he was very happy. He had the most happiest face
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- I've ever seen. How big he actually was, I don't know. Because I got off my bunk and I went toward him.
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- Now my truck is not but 8 foot wide. But it seemed like I walked a long ways and he got bigger as closer
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- I got to him. So I really can't say how big he was. And behind him
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- I could see people walking. They were walking on an incline upward.
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- And I knew where these people were going. And I knew I needed to be in that line.
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- My angel wouldn't let me shake his head and I'd go back and sit down. And I sat there for a little while and I got up to go get in that line again.
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- And my angel wouldn't let me. And I actually was getting mad at my angel because he would not let me go.
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- This happened 3 times and he wouldn't let me go. So I sat on my bunk and finally knew that I needed to see a doctor.
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- And I needed to come on home. I should have went to the hospital there. But anyway, I got dressed.
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- And when I tied my shoelaces, he left. I guess he knew that I was going to get on the road.
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- I got out of my truck to go get some coffee. And when I stepped out of the truck, I fell down. I was that weak.
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- Two police officers in the parking lot patrolling asked me had I been drinking. I told them no,
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- I was sick. And they asked me did I need any help. And I said no, if I can make it in a truck stop, I'll be alright.
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- But if I can't, I'm going to get back in my truck. But I managed to get in the truck stop and got me some orange juice.
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- And I came back out. And I got in the truck and I started home. And I drove all the way home.
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- I got in at 2 o 'clock that evening. And when Sharon and my oldest son met me before I was going to park,
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- I couldn't get out of my truck at all. I was too weak. They had to help me out of the truck. And I finally got to the hospital.
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- And I had pneumonia, asthma, emphysema, all at one time.
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- I didn't know I had asthma at all. My throat was completely closed. I could not swallow water. I had to put it in my mouth and it would just have to trickle down.
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- I couldn't swallow ash. And it took me three days. And what should normally one dose of medication to cure what
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- I had, it took two full doses to cure me. And what I would like to say is that everyone has an angel.
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- And the Lord just wasn't ready for me in heaven. He has something for me still to do on this earth.
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- And He'll let me know when to do it. But one thing I know for sure in my heart, where I am going, the day the
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- Lord calls me. And I would just love each one of you to understand that you have an angel.
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- And there is a heaven. I didn't see it. But I saw the people going in that direction.
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- And I know this was not from Satan. Because if Satan would have not stopped me, he would have took me on to the grave.
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- This had to be the Lord turning me back. And this angel was from the Lord. So you do have a guardian angel, each and every one of you.
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- And I want you to know that. And this is a true story. And I'm glad to be able to tell it to you today.
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- I've been looking forward to it. And I thank you for listening. And I thank you for your prayers while I'm on the road.
