Here is a little background information.
My name is Nathaniel (Nate) Kitrush. I know Pastor Dave from our younger teenage years when we attended school, and played sports, together – for a few years at Concordia Grade School. With that being said, I had not seen Pastor Dave in over 20 years (at the beginning part of this story).
In late March 2019, I was hospitalized for 5 days with: pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, and pleural effusion. I had fluid in my lungs, blood clots lodged in my lungs, and fluid around my lungs. After 5 days of treatments, monitoring, and some procedures – I was released to go home; but that did not mean that I was recovered from the ailments, nor was my body recovered from what it had gone through.
I was tired after walking only a short distance. I was exhausted, and out of breath, after walking up stairs. I was not in good shape at all.
When I would breathe in deeply – two things happened that I had never experienced before: my lungs felt like they were restricted from expanding any father after only taking in a small breath, and my right lung felt like it had sandpaper in it.
The Doctors told me that I had to listen to these signs, that I had to pay attention to what my body was telling me, and to take my recovery slowly. I followed their guidance, and I knew that I needed more help – while simultaneously I also felt a huge tug to plug back into Church.
I had attended Heartland Church’s Christmas Eve services a handful of times with my mom; and I knew that she loved to attend Heartland regularly – so I asked her if I could start going with her on Sunday mornings. She obviously welcomed the idea with open arms.
So – in early April 2019, I started attending Heartland. I greeted Pastor Dave before the service, but I had not told him about my recent hospitalization, nor what I was experiencing since getting out of the hospital.
Pastor Dave, Pastor Ron, and Pastor Carolyn were all leading parts of the service. Pastor Dave began to speak and ask people to go in the aisles if they needed prayer for healing.
Although I had heard the invitation – I remained seated, bowed my head, closed my eyes, and began to pray for my recovery. I didn’t get very far into my prayer before Pastor Dave had walked back to me, grabbed my arm – and walked me into the aisle. Then, I was surrounded by at least 8 total strangers, and my mom.
Amongst those strangers was an incredible lady – Beth. She drew a little of my attention because she bobbed & weaved, around & through, everyone else – and she put her hand on my back RIGHT where it felt like sandpaper when I breathed. She prayed, and so did everyone else.
I hadn’t told Pastor Dave anything about my recent hospitalization. I had never met Beth, nor anyone else around me, except for my mom – nor had I shown anyone exactly where I felt the bad sensation of sandpaper when I breathed.
All of this was very impactful to me because I had never experienced anything like that before.
Directly following those prayers, I did not focus on testing if the sandpaper sensation was still around. I distinctly remember being more active in the following days, and it was 2 days later that it all eventually hit me. My lungs were healed! I did not feel the sensations that I described before. The sandpaper feeling was gone, and I could take deeper breaths.
I WAS HEALED!
I was still searching for medical answers to multiple other parts of my hospital stay – when I was reading the associated notes & charts; and I read a notation where part of my right lung was thought to be dead – where the PE blood clot was lodged.
I am not saying this with any level of medical training – but I think that is where I felt the sandpaper feeling. That part of my lung was brought back to life!
I shared all of this with Pastor Dave the following week, before the service began – and he invited me to share this story in front of Heartland Church. Later he invited me up to the front, in the middle of the sermon.
If the above healing miracle wasn’t enough – there is more! My hospitalization came when I was uninsured. A few months before my hospitalization I had resigned at the steel mill – because I did not like the affects the steel mill was having on my life. I was thinking about what career I wanted to search for, when I became sick – and was hospitalized.
I received multiple bills that totaled a little over $50,000. I called the hospital to get an explanation for the bills, and spoke to someone that was a little more stubborn than me. The lady in billing insisted that I apply for financial aid before she would take her time to explain all the lines of charges on my detailed bill.
After weeks of waiting, I received a letter that my bill was completely forgiven. 100% wiped away!
God had His hand on all of this, all throughout.
I am forever grateful, and humbled, by this whole experience.
