MIRACLE
HEALING TESTIMONY
The
Amazing Vera Dowling Story
by:
Vera
Dowling, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
"He
was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are
healed."
(Isaiah 53:5)
MIRACLE
HEALING TESTIMONY OF VERA DOWLING
Part
1
"I
think I learned more about faith in God flying an airplane, than in a
church pew, because you are alone flying the plane and there is no place
to go for help but UP." - Vera Dowling
Many
years ago, Germany's most famous poet Johann Goethe stated, "We are
shaped by what we love."
And
you cannot be near Vera Dowling very long without discovering that she is
a committed Christian, with a genuine love for Christ and her fellowman.
Vera Dowling's testimony exudes the grace, power and goodness of God, as
well as His great compassion and care for us all.
Vera's
relationship with Jesus Christ is so personal, deep and exciting that you
can actually see how it has shaped her personality, character and style.
Speaking
about the many times God has supernaturally delivered from from great
danger and protected her from certain death, to this veteran pilot
"knowing God" or "getting saved" sounds so natural and
easy.
People
who hear her speak want the same relationship with God that she has... and
many have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour through her personal
testimony, as well as public talks.
VERA'S
SECOND LOVE IS FLYING! And when Vera isn't instructing or
flying, then Vera is talking about flying.
To
Vera Dowling, flying an airplane is as natural as breathing, eating,
sleeping, walking or praying. When Vera speaks about her experiences
in an airplane, it makes you want to take flying lessons and join her in
the air. She makes it look so simple and easy, and if she could do
it - with the help of God and a lot of perseverance - then anybody can.
VERA
IS A LIVING LEGEND
Vera
Dowling was the first and only woman test pilot in World War II, and the
first woman to fly a commercial charter airplane in Scandinavia.
Vera
Dowling was the first woman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve to
lead a military flight formation over Bristol, Britain, and among the
first 14 woman pilots selected to enter the Royal Air Force, and the first
woman flying instructor in Alberta.
Without
doubt, Vera Dowling is a living legend, still flying her airplane at 75
years of age...and looking like she's 15 years younger.
She
criss-crosses continents to speak at aviation functions, church service or
receive some distinguished award for her lifetime contribution to flying!
And Vera never tires of telling the story of God's blessing and mercy in
her life.
Over
the years, Vera Dowling has been interviewed by the press, but does so
reluctantly because reporters eagerly tell her amazing story, but they
often forget to report the most important part, the part about God.
This
bothers Vera very much. Vera Dowling wants God to get ALL THE GLORY!
God gave Vera the ability and God called Vera to be a pilot.
Vera
Dowling wants the credit to go where it belongs - to Almighty God and His
Son Jesus Christ.
Vera
Dowling tells her story very well. Recently she spoke at a large
Baptist Church and earlier at a Roman Catholic Convention, in Edmonton.
She often speaks in churches as diverse as Anglican and Pentecostal.
TRUTH
IS STRANGER THAN FICTION
Here
are several interesting quotes from one of her memorable speeches.
"Once
I was a passenger on a flight from Winnipeg to Edmonton. When the
Captain's name was announced, I almost fell off my seat. I had been
his training instructor 20 years earlier at the Edmonton Municipal
Airport."
"He
was a terrible student. I would shed tears behind my dark glasses
all around the airport. And I would pray: 'Dear Lord, help - I have
tried everything I know and I have prayed for this guy...BUT HE CAN'T
FLY.:"
"I
even jotted down this little prayer in my notebook, "LORD, IF THERE
EVER WAS A HOPELESS CASE, THIS IS IT....HELP".
"The
Captain invited me up to the cockpit and with a big grin he said,
"Well Vera...this is what I wanted."
"That
episode taught me never to say that anyone is beyond hope. The Lord
Jesus specializes in hopeless cases. There is hope for the
hopeless...I know because I was one of them."
As
a test pilot, Vera Dowling flew a specific same type of aero plane which
was required by the British Army and the civilian aviation company she
worked for, without instruments, radar or radio. Time and time again
Vera found herself hemmed in by cloud cover and fog, and as she called
upon God for help, miracles would occur.
One
of her many jobs was to ferry fighter planes, bombers and other aircraft
for the Air Transport Auxiliary. "We flew alone and couldn't
use any instruments because we had no training. We didn't have any
radio. We only had one person to talk to and that was God Himself,
to get us out of any trouble":, says Vera.
"I
was flying a 'fleet air arm fighter' when a severe "Atlantic
Front" unexpectedly moved in on me. Our weather experts had
misjudged the terrific speed and magnitude of the storm by about 5 hours."
"My
destination was Carlisle, but for safety's sake, I was following the
coastline from Prestwick, when I met the 'front' - a solid wall of cloud,
from the sea straight upwards.".
"I
swung the craft around, TO NO AVAIL. I thought, "I'll head
south to the Isle-of-Man', but it was no use. I WAS HEMMED IN ON ALL
SIDES."
Searching
desperately for a way out, Vera spotted a tongue of land which just as
suddenly disappeared and then reappeared. Her gas tank was hovering
on empty. She thought, "I'll land the plane on that tongue of
land with the wheels up. That way I'll be able to keep it right side
up and stop in about 35 years by sliding on its tummy."
I'll
let Vera tell the rest of this incredible, supernatural account.
SPOKEN
BY VERA DOWLING
"Suddenly
I was seized by the most terrible fear I had ever known. I broke out
in a icy cold sweat and my intestines seemed to be knotted in a horrible
vise grip."
A
BRIGHT LIGHT FILLED THE COCKPIT
"I
cried out, Lord help, and instantly the whole cockpit lit up with a
bright, bright light and a beautiful, unexplainable peace came over me -
so great that if I had to suffer through that terrifying ordeal again just
to experience God's awesome peace, I would do so.
"Although
I was flying so low that I could smell the salt spray from the waves, I
couldn't see them. Jesus knows how to calm the waves. There I
was, miles away from the coastline, with an empty gas tank, no radio and
no earthly help, but I was totally calm, because of the incredible light
which filled the cockpit and the peace that was engulfing my entire being!"
"Suddenly
I heard Jesus speaking to me: "SLOW DOWN". I saw my hands
reaching down to lower the undercarriage. 'PUT A LITTLE FLAP DOWN' ... I
could see myself responding still, in this 'beautiful peace.'.
"Then
the Lord said, 'NOW TURN A LITTLE LEFT', and I turned left, 'STRAIGHTEN
HER OUT', and I straightened her out ... and right in front of me was a
runway! And there was the black and white checkered box right on the
side, which was used to give landing signals!
"I
got a green and the wheels just touched - as if on silk - onto that
runway...and it stopped! And then suddenly that AWESOME, DIVINE
PRESENCE - wherewith I could have flown the Atlantic without any
instruments, even without an aero plane - lifted."
"That
awesome presence was gone. I pinched my arm and said in amazement,
"I'M STILL ALIVE! How odd. I'm still here, and I'm on a
runway."
"Outside
my aero plane, the weather was so bad that I had to wait for it to clear -
so that I could taxi to the control tower. As I sat there on the
runway, I said: "Well, thank you God. Thank you Lord."
"The
Control Tower operator was flabbergasted. He exclaimed, "I
DON'T UNDERSTAND...WE DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU WOMEN. Five of our chaps
with all the radio, radar and all the stuff on board and with an entire
crew wouldn't fly in this, and you come in...beautiful approach...lovely
landing...HOW DO YOU DO IT?"
And
Vera Dowliing gave her first testimony for Jesus Christ "GIVE GOD THE
GLORY".
TESTIMONY
OF VERA DOWLING
-
Interview between CBC TV reported Grant Gelna, Edmonton and Vera Dowling
(1993).
Gelina:
There wasn't usually woman pilots in WWII because it was dangerous for
them. It was really meant to protect them.
But
that wasn't about to stop Vera Dowling. Today she is 75 years
old. When war broke out in 1939, Vera was an ambitious 21 year old
in England training to be a pilot. As a woman she couldn't join the
Air Force so she worked as a civilian pilot shuttling planes from the
factories to the front lines. She had to quickly learn how to fly
everything from spitfires to Lancaster bombers, sometimes from a manual
read minutes before take-off.
Dowling:
There was a moment that I didn't think I would make it, i wouldn't see the
next day.
Gelina:
: Often she had to fly planes damaged in battle.
Dowling:
There were planes that came in shot to pieces and we had to pick them up
and take them to the dump as it were, to be repaired or used as part.
Gelina:
: And then there was the seeming poor weather over most
parts of England. She's convinced her faith in God is what saved her
like the time she went into a death spiral.
Dowling:
And I said, "O God, get me out of this mess and I will do anything
for you. I felt I had one chance and I wouldn't get a second chance.
And He righted it for me. He actually did. I saw the ground up
here and it just straightened itself out."
Gelina:
It was all very daring and all for the war effort. Only after the
war did Vera see firsthand the devastation that the bombers made when she
flew to Germany.
Dowling:
I felt sorry for the Germans. I couldn't see a building standing.
It was all walls, walls - there was nothing whole, everything was
demolished.
Gelina:
In war she was one of a few female pilots. And today she remains the
exception. At age 75 she still has a pilot's license and she still
flies.
Grant
Gelina, CBC NEWS, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
-
The following is contents of several TV interviews conducted by Max
Solbrekken together with Vera Dowling.
Max
Solbrekken: Vera Dowling
gives God all the glory as you've noticed on this clip from the CBC.
Even the announcer had to report that it was God who did the miracle.
And it's been that way in the life of Vera Dowling all these years.
Welcome Vera Dowling. Welcome to the program 'Faith & Miracles'.
Vera
Dowling: Thank you Max. I really appreciate your being
here and my being here so we can talk about it.
Max
Solbrekken: I wrote a column about you in an
Edmonton newspaper sometime ago and I've gotten a lot of calls. A
lot of people are very, very interested in your extraordinary career and
your tremendous faith in God.
And
of course, while I was pastoring Faith Cathedral, you spoke at our church
on numerous occasions and many people were blessed by God.
You
have spoken in many churches and for many denominations, in a variety of
venues for the past many years. How does it feel being a living
legend and knowing that God has kept you alive for this hour when you
could be testifying for Him to all these people?
Vera
Dowling: I don't think I'm a legend. I don't think
I feel older than about 17 years old because even though the outward man
perishes and I can see the wrinkles, the inward man is renewed day by day.
When people call me a legend, I don't feel old. I still fly, I see
the scenery and I still believe in God to get me on the ground.
But
that's the miracle, being a legend and you're still young and you're still
flying. To see what God has done for you is absolutely extraordinary!
Max
Solbrekken: I want to
ask you a question. "When you went to get your commercial
license just recently, you went to see the doctor and what happened?"
Vera
Dowling:: Well, he asked me
to explain why I had the blood pressure of a teenager. So I believe
this is what I said, "Jesus' salvation beautifies" or something
like that.
Max
Solbrekken: You said
'Loving God' keeps you young. I think that's what you told me.
And what did he say then".
Vera
Dowling: He didn't say anything. He didn't say a
thing. Now I remember what I said, I said "Jesus Christ and His
salvation".
Max
Solbrekken: You said,
"Jesus Christ and His salvation" and didn't he make a comment?
Vera
Dowling: No. He said nothing at all.
Max
Solbrekken: Nothing at all, and then you said
something else - that your faith in God and the fact that God's love
within your heart keeps you well, keeps you young.
Vera
Dowling: I remember him questioning me on something else,
I think he was questioning my walk. And I said, "Abraham
believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And I
believe God and it's accounted to me for righteousness."
Max
Solbrekken: Vera, that's
marvelous. Let's get back to the very beginning when you started
flying. Let's get back to the beginning of your life because I was
reading an old Oral Roberts comic which featured you and your story.
That was years and years ago. Vera were you born in Denmark?
Vera
Dowling: No, I was born in England.
Max
Solbrekken: Of course, you were born in England, of
Danish parents. You were actually an abused child or your father was
quite mean to you.
Vera
Dowling: Well, he was an alcoholic later on. And mother
never accused my Dad. My Mom used to say, "Children, forgive
your Daddy because he's obsessed with something that he has no control
over and don't hold it against him."
Max
Solbrekken: And that way,
you grew up not hating your father.
Vera
Dowling: Oh, I hated him, I really
did. I hated him until I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal
Saviour.
Max
Solbrekken: How old were you when you accepted Christ?
Vera
Dowling: 12 years of age.
Max
Solbrekken: And how
did that happen?
Vera
Dowling: Well, we always heard the gospel at school - they'd
read the scriptures and tell the stories - Old Testament and New Testament.
Max
Solbrekken: This was in Great
Britain?
Vera
Dowling: It was north of London in Waltham Abbey area.
Upshire.
Max
Solbrekken: Things have sure
changed, haven't they, in the schools? Now they've taken God and the
Bible out of the schools. Prayer out of the schools. But you
know, I heard something recently that made me feel good. Prime
Minister John Major said that it's about time we brought God back into the
schools. And bring religion, morality into the schools.
VERA
HEARD THE STORY OF JESUS
Vera
Dowling: And I heard the story of Jesus. I heard how He
was born in a manger and that's why we celebrate Christmas. The
story of Jesus' birth. And how He walked on the earth, saving &
healing people. My mother used to say, "You know Jesus does the
same today. And if you're in trouble, you look to Him."
And I couldn't understand it. And we celebrated not only at Easter
time but we also celebrated the resurrected and the ascension of Jesus
Christ. It was very precious to us.
But
there came a time when the kids teased me at school because of my Dad's
condition. And I was the youngest girl of a family of 5. There
were 3 girls and 2 boys. They teased me about my clothes and after I
ran all the way home to unload all my problems - with the children at
school - onto my mother.
My
mother put her hands to her ears and said, "Child, I won't listen to
gossip. If you have any problems, I won't listen to them because I
can't solve them. There's only one that can solve your problems and
that's Jesus Christ. You take your problems to Him."
I
felt so devastated. I felt that even my mother didn't care, so I ran
away from home. I didn't know where I was going - we lived in the
country - and I ran and ran. Finally, I sat down exhausted in the
green grass and I looked up to God and I said, "God, my life is so
miserable. I want you to take me away." And a light
brighter than the sun just shone right on me. I could see myself as
if I were dressed in black. My sin - I realized I wasn't ready to
leave - it was exposed in just a minute.
Max
Solbrekken: And you were
only 12 years of age?
Vera
Dowling: Yes, just 12 years old.
Max
Solbrekken:The Holy Spirit showed you the awfulness of sin and
how God looks upon sin.
Vera
Dowling: And the next thing - it didn't frighten me - an
inner voice said, "Fear not, for I am with you and you're going to be
a pilot and fly airplanes. But you must remember to love your
enemies, to do good to those who hate you and pray for those who
despitefully use you and persecute you."
And
the light came right over me and it was as if I had shed those old
garments of unrighteousness and blackness into brand new garments.
Everything looked new - the grass looked greener - the clouds looked
whiter - the sky looked bluer.
The
kids at school that I hated, now I love. My Dad whom I hated so
much, I now loved. I loved everybody and I was so happy I just got
up and went back to my mom. And she said, "You've met with God,
haven't you." You see my mother knew.
Max
Solbrekken: She saw it
immediately. She sensed it.
Vera
Dowling: Yes, a transformation.
Max
Solbrekken: And your father must have noticed a change
too.
Vera
Dowling: Well, shortly after that, I was able to take my first
joyous ride in an airplane on the Isle of Wight at a school outing.
I prayed very much that the weather would be suitable for us to fly an
open air airplane. It was a 504K. I don't know if anyone
remembers that type of airplane, but it was just 2 cockpits and the
instructor or pilot sat in one and I in the other.
I
was so small I could just barely look over the side. The pilot did a
circuit but made an awful landing so he had to go around again. And
I thought "goodie, I get another circuit". I didn't have
the money to pay for the flight. It was 5 shillings and I borrowed
that money from the headmaster, because he saw I was so keen on going.
It took me 6 months of hard work in my Dad's nurseries to prepay the
headmaster for that airplane ride. But I didn't mind; I had fun.
And I patted the prop of that old airplane and I said to the pilot,
"One of these days I'm going to fly one of these myself."
Four
years later I was at the controls of an airplane at an airport not too far
away from that particular one. And before coming to Canada in 1952 I
was chief flying instructor at the very same field where I'd taken my very
first joyride.
Max
Solbrekken: The chief flying instructor?
Vera
Dowling: Yeah!
THE
AMAZING VERA DOWLING STORY - PART II
Max
Solbrekken: God
spoke to Vera at the age of 12 when she accepted Christ and poured her
heart out to the Lord. When she met Jesus Christ, God said to her:
"It's going to be all right". All of her sins were taken away.
All the guilt was removed. Every burden was lifted. And God said,
"You must love those who hate you and those who persecute you, and
you're going to be a pilot". He said that to her at the age of 12 and
at the age of 16 she was flying. That’s a miracle!
Max
Solbrekken:
And incidentally this report states: "Vera Dowling was the one and
only test pilot in World War II and the first woman to fly for a
commercial airline in Scandinavia. And Vera Dowling was the first woman in
the Royal Air Force to lead a military flight formation over Bristol in
England. Was among the first 14 woman pilots selected to enter the Royal
Air Force and was the first woman flying instructor in Alberta."
Is that right?
Vera
Dowling:
There's a little error there. In Scandinavia I was flying commercially. We
had airline transport licenses but I didn't fly the airline. I flew
charter lines, yes, but not airline, you know scheduled flights. I want to
make that clear.
Max
Solbrekken:
Okay, you flew charter but you were the first commercial charter.
Vera
Dowling:
Little charters, yes. With about 8 passengers or so.
Max
Solbrekken:
Okay. Your mother didn't want you to become a pilot?
Vera
Dowling:
Oh she did, she had no objection.
Max
Solbrekken:
Where did the opposition come from then?
Vera
Dowling:
Oh, I confronted my Dad and he asked me what I wanted for my Birthday. And
I said I wanted a flight in an airplane. And he jokingly said, I will just
get some coke and some fireworks and put you on top of it (coke being the
stuff they burn in furnaces) and then you will go straight up and that
will be your flight. And I thought that was cruel because I was serious
and he wasn't. But the rest of the family, my aunts, my uncles, they told
me it was ridiculous and it wasn't for women to start with.
Max
Solbrekken: And
that the devil was the prince of the power of the air.
Vera
Dowling:
Exactly. And if I flew I would be in a league with that guy, yes.
Max
Solbrekken:
But God had said, "Vera you will fly airplanes."
Vera
Dowling: Exactly.
Max
Solbrekken: Let's
go back to your flying. Let's talk about your first job. What happened?
How did it start?
Vera
Dowling:
My first job? The home broke up first of all and mother took us to her
parents home in Denmark. We had very little money and the shipbuilder came
over and said, "Is there any one of the children who can interpret
English to Danish and vice versa?" And mother said, "Well, Vera
is at home." I was 14 at the time and I was taken out to this
huge boat and I had to say what the pilot said to the Captain. And the
Captain would give his orders to the men to get between the sandbars.
Max
Solbrekken: You
were then in Denmark.
Vera
Dowling:
I was in Denmark.
Max
Solbrekken:
You were born in England of Danish parents. You were bilingual. You grew
up bilingual.
Vera
Dowling: Yes.
Max
Solbrekken: And
so now, you are back in Denmark with your mother.
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, at a little place called Bogense.
Max
Solbrekken: So
you got the job as an interpreter for this barge captain.
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, and one early morning I wasn't really awake and it was foggy and I
got my port and starboard mixed. The port is the left side and starboard
is the right side when you face the front of the ship. And the big ship
turned the wrong way and headed right into a sand bar and keeled right
over. And the ship's captain was furious. I have never heard such language
as came from him. In short, I was fired. Now, this was after I made a
mistake several times.
And
mother had taught me not to take my problems to her. Therefore, I went
down to the bottom of the garden where there was a nice little rose tree.
I knelt down and prayed and I said, "Oh Lord, what do I do now?"
And He replied immediately. He said, "Go to England in April."
I
jumped up, went to mother and mother looked at me and said, "Yes
child?" And I said, "Mother, I'm going to England in
April." And she came back with the funniest answer that a
mother could ever tell a 14 year old child. She said, "Don’t let me
stop you. If God wants you to leave, you leave. But I will be praying for
you." And it was just as if her two big brown eyes were
following me wherever I went. I couldn't get into trouble because my
mother was praying for me.
Max
Solbrekken:
You were then 14 years of age?
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, somewhere in there. It was in 1934.
Max
Solbrekken:
And so what happened then?
Vera
Dowling:
I went to England alone on a boat that crosses the North Sea. A
gentleman asked me if he could hold my handbag? And I said, "Oh
sure." And there was my passport and everything I owned in it.
As I was going downstairs, it hit me: "Perhaps he won't give me my
bag back with all my papers in it." There was no problem because he
did. He was very nice. And when I got to London and saw all the crowds of
people, I felt very lonely. I have never, ever felt so lonely as I did in
that crowd. Loneliness doesn't come from the people that you’re
surrounded by.
LONELINESS
COMES WHEN YOU’RE NOT FOCUSED ON JESUS CHRIST, because when I'm up
in an airplane alone, I never feel alone. He's always with me. The Holy
Spirit is with you, you're not alone. I have a job to understand
Christians that say they feel alone, because I never feel alone.
Max
Solbrekken:
Now, you arrived in England and went to work, I believe, in a restaurant.
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, down in Hastings. But at the beginning, I got a job as a waitress in
a little back street cafe. And after 3 days I was fired. I was told I
wasn't called to be a waitress. So I walked the streets looking for a job.
And I got so far down that I did not have money for a postage stamp, and I
was too proud to write home. I wouldn't have been able to anyway, because
I didn't have a postage stamp.
One
day I saw an ad in a window. It said, 'DISHWASHER WANTED'. And I thought,
I'll go in there for a job. The lady looked at my European clothes and she
looked at me and said, "I've got just the job for you, scrubbing
floors in the kitchen". So I thought, "Any job is better than no
job". And I say the same to people today.
I
got the job, and had to scrub a concrete floor spotlessly clean in the
stench of that kitchen. It was awful. I had to carry two big boxes with
the clean dishes up the stairs, and down with the dirty ones.
But,
I always had a smile on my face and people would say, "What are you
so happy about?" I always answered, "I'm just getting set so I
can fly an airplane". And I didn't see daylight, apart from going up
and down, the first few months we spent down in the kitchen. We never saw
daylight, except for a grating where the sun came through at 4 o'clock in
the afternoon. I remember reaching up my hand and saying, "Oh God,
give me the sun". And now I have so much sun I have to wear
sunglasses almost all of the time.
Max
Solbrekken: Then
you advanced to being a waitress?
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, I progressed to becoming a waitress. I saved the tips and it worked
out that I had to work from 7 in the morning till 11 at night with half a
day off each week. And within 2 weeks I could afford 20 minutes flying
instruction.
Max
Solbrekken: So
you financed this 'instruction time' with your wages as a waitress?
Vera
Dowling:
Yes.
Max
Solbrekken:
20 minutes once a week.
Vera
Dowling:
It took me 2 years to gain a pilot's license.
Max
Solbrekken: But
as a dishwasher, as a waitress, as a floor scrubber, you earned the money
to learn to fly.
Vera
Dowling:
And, if the weather was bad one week, I saved the money for the following
week and that gave me 40 minutes of flying time.
Max
Solbrekken:
You got your wings in 1935?
Vera
Dowling:No,
no. I started learning to fly in 1935 but it took me two years so I was
17. I was really 15 if you looked at my age on the calendar, but you
weren't allowed to fly a plane if you were under 17.
Max
Solbrekken: So,
in 1937 you got your license - two years before the war started?
Vera
Dowling:
They didn't let you take passengers until you had 20 hours of flying alone
in the airplane. And I remember the first time I was allowed to go more
than 3 miles away from the airport. And I climbed out of the cloud through
a hole and I flew over the cloud. I wanted to see where I had worked so
hard, to get this treasured certificate. And it cleared and I saw a flying
boat under me and I looked down and I thought, "My it’s nice to be
up here".
And
I circled around, went back and I thought that I would find the same hole
in the cloud that I had climbed up through. It was gone. So, I found a
hole but it wasn'’t the same one. And I unwound and happily so, it took
me to the airport. I came in and good for me I made a beautiful landing,
but the instructor was furious. He was so mad. He said, "You have no
business to climb up through holes and fly above cloud. You could get
yourself into serious trouble." And how I know that. I
was suspended for 3 months for that.
Max
Solbrekken: I
believe that in one of your speeches, you said that your instructor
wouldn't go up with you because your landings were so bumpy but years
later when you were invited to London to receive a prestigious award, he
accompanied you. And he called that experience the greatest day of his
life.
Vera
Dowling: That's
right.
Max
Solbrekken:
Tell us about that.
Vera
Dowling:
Well, I didn't understand the language of flying. There's a certain
language that all aviators have to learn. So I didn’'t quite comprehend
what he was saying. He sat in front, I sat behind, what was called a
gosport tubing to our ears and to our helmets so we could hear. And he
forgot he had a woman at the back and he used the most awful language. And
I made the most bouncy landings because I couldn't seem to see around his
head.
One
day earlier I was flying very terribly and the grass had grown about a
foot from the ground. And when I felt the wheels skim the weeds, I knew it
was time to land. Then they went and cut the grass and I couldn't land.
Max
Solbrekken:
IT WAS LIKE THE CLOUD - THE HOLE YOU WENT THROUGH - AND NOW YOU LOOKED FOR
THE GRASS
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, I was looking in the wrong direction all the time. And so I think he
got mad and he said, "Be careful because if you throttle back too
much, the engine might stop." I was so happy to get rid of my
instructor that time.
Max
Solbrekken: You
forgot what he said; you disobeyed orders.
Vera
Dowling:
I disobeyed orders on the first circuit. I throttled all the way back and
the prop stopped. The engine stopped and the prop stopped. I thought,
"I’m too low, no I'm too high, no I'm too low. I think I might just
make it. No, I'm too low." I landed exactly in the little
circle that determines the centre of the airport.
Max
Solbrekken: AND
ISN'T IT TRUE THAT SOME AVIATION BRASS WERE THERE AND WANTED YOU TO DO
THAT AGAIN?
Vera
Dowling:
No, that wasn't then. This was when I was first flying. You're thinking
about when I was test flying.
Max
Solbrekken:
Tell us about that! THAT WAS EXTRAORDINARY
Vera
Dowling:
Yeah, when I was test flying we had to demonstrate a unique little
airplane that the army required for short landing so they could let off
passengers without a parachute while they were still flying low against
the wind. And I had been practicing up fairly high.
I
had been doing loops and a few spins and deep turns. I thought, well you
have to do aerobatics low down to be appreciated so I thought 1500 ft was
just about the right height to start my loop. There was all the army lined
up watching me. And they had a shaved portion of grass, just room enough
for the airplane to land and stop on that is how they based their
competition.
And
I dived down in order to increase my speed and power to come up over the
loop, and it hung there upside down. It wasn't designed to fly upside
down, so the engine stopped. The prop stopped and everything fell to the
ceiling and I was flying upside down. I moved the controls and nothing
happened, absolutely nothing. I was just losing altitude upside down, and
I just had a little stomach strap that was holding me in and I said,
"Oh Lord, what do I do now?" And He said, "Why don't you
put the control column hard over to the right."
I
put the control column hard over to the right and it just flipped up at
400 feet off the ground. And technically it cannot be done. Technically,
to go from upside down with little speed like that...you need speed in
order to do a slow roll and I didn't have it. So I believe that God
from the portals of Heaven. He looked over the side and said,
"Angels, Vera's in trouble down there." And they flew down
and fixed the airplane. I actually believe that.
Max
Solbrekken: AND
YOU LANDED ON THAT VERY SPOT
Vera
Dowling: The
very spot. I think the Lord landed on that spot. I don't remember doing
anything.
Max
Solbrekken:
And the Army Brass & spectators thought that you had purposely done
these tricks
Vera
Dowling:
Yeah, and the army threw their hats in the air. The ladies did likewise
with their handbags and they said they had never seen such an amazing
exhibition of inverted flying in all their lives. Do you know, I had to
quit that job before they found me out...that what they thought was my
good flying was really my bad flying.
Max
Solbrekken:
AND IT WAS A MIRACLE OF GOD...SAVING YOUR LIFE
Vera
Dowling:
Yeah, saving my reputation too!
Max
Solbrekken:
I wrote in a column in the Edmonton Seniors some time ago about some of
your experiences. You had an extraordinary experience when you were
ferrying an airplane and I believe that you hit some terrible weather and
God miraculously brought you through it.
It
was a miracle and God actually spoke to you! A storm had come up more
quickly than your weather people had anticipated, and you were caught in
the middle of it. Tell us about that!
Vera
Dowling: Well
I should tell the other story first but I can come back to that. I had
vowed I would never get myself into bad weather because I had a terrible
experience before that really shook me.
Max
Solbrekken:
WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT ONE FIRST
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, I had been at the Air Force station and the weather was bad. We could
fly even though we had limited vision - only across the airport and no
flying instruments. We had no radio. We were not allowed to use the radio
because of the war. We just ferried airplanes, as it were by the seat of
the pants and by what we saw on the ground. And the visibility was very
poor.
Max
Solbrekken:
And these airplanes you ferried, were they only damaged airplanes?
Vera
Dowling:
No, not always. Sometimes they were new, brand new.
Max
Solbrekken:
But you'd bring them from point A to point B. From where did you ferry
them?
Vera
Dowling:
From factories to maintenance units, to where the pilots needed them. And
then we'd take the old shot-up ones, damaged ones to what we termed
'graveyards' to be broken up for parts or repairs.
Max
Solbrekken: Okay,
and then this awesome thing happened in a totally impossible situation in
bad weather?
Vera
Dowling:
Well, I took off because I was too uncomfortable where I was. I took off,
but I probably shouldn't have. I got myself between mountains in the
Penign Chain and suddenly I lost sight of the ground. And I tried the best
I knew how, to climb above what I thought were clouds. Now, that’s a
no-no. Good pilots don't do that, so I'm not a good pilot as you can see.
And
suddenly those controls were just wrenched out of my hands and my first
thought was "hit the silk" and leave it, but I was only 1000
feet up when it went out of control. One thousand feet, and suddenly the
ground appeared up here and down there was clouds and stuff.
Well,
as soon as I saw the ground my hands went back on the controls. I came out
of the dive and do you know I got up to 1500 feet which isn't very high
but it was 500 feet higher than I was before. And it slowly became lighter
as I almost broke the crust of cloud. I just wanted to get above so I
could get a horizon as a reference point to fly on.
And
I was a little too anxious and those controls were ripped out of my hands
and I saw my milky past blow up at me in one split second. I believe we
have to stay consecrated to the Lord every day. It's a day at a time.
You're not in prison, you're a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And that's nice
because you have someone to go to all the time. But I said, "Lord,
get me out of this mess, and I will do anything for you".
Max
Solbrekken: Your
plane was totally out of control?
Vera
Dowling:
TOTALLY, IT WAS IN A DEATH SPIRAL
Max
Solbrekken:
A death spiral had begun.
Vera
Dowling: At 1500 feet in a twin engine airplane. And if I'd had to
leave with a silk, a parachute, I would have had to undo my harness, walk
to the back, get the door and jump. There wasn't time for that, so I
thought I'll just stay here.
AND
SUDDENLY THE GROUND APPEARED UP HERE AND I THINK I SKIMMED TREES BY
INCHES. I WAS SURE THAT THERE WERE PINE NEEDLES UNDERNEATH THE FUSELAGE,
AND SOMEHOW THE LORD STRAIGHTENED IT UP FOR ME.
And
I had a choice to make, to fly north into the mountains again or south
into the Birmingham balloons. I chose the balloons, and right in front of
me there was a balloon table. Some of them had charges on them so if you
hit them, you exploded. And I made a big steep, screaming turn around, I
followed a railway line and came to a airport called Litchfield and a
little voice said to me - I know it was the Lord - said:
"Now
don't forget your undercarriage and don't forget your flaps and don't get
in a flap."
I
circled for quite a time to recompose myself and came in and landed. I
went straight up to the weather office and I said, "What's all this
weather?" And they said, "Well, the temperature and dew
are quite close together and you get fog and what can you expect. But
don't worry, the sun's getting up and the fog will clear in about 20 to 40
minutes."
Do
you know in 40 minutes I was back up in that airplane and delivered it up
in Carlyle. I went slow underneath the lifting cloud, but if I had never
stepped in an airplane then, I would have never flown again because I was
terrified.
Max
Solbrekken:
YOU WERE TERRIFIED! And it wasn't long after, when you had a terrible
experience of the weather moving in on you again. Tell us about that,
because that is one of the greatest stories of God's grace I've ever heard!
Vera
Dowling: Well, this was God's grace also. I said, "Lord
I never want to get myself into that mess again." I promised
myself. And about three weeks later there I was at the controls of a fleet
air fighter and I was following the coastline around from Preswick because
I didn't want to get caught in the mountains, in the valleys again, like I
had previously. So I followed the coast. They had told me that in
about 5 hours a front was coming in. Therefore, I thought I had plenty of
time to go around and deliver my airplane.
AND
SUDDENLY, I WAS CONFRONTED WITH A WALL OF CLOUDS COMING FROM THE SEA,
RIGHT UP TO 20, 30, 40,000 FEET. I turned around to go back like a good
pilot should and there was another wall of clouds right in front of me. It
was impossible to get through! And I went lower and lower to try to keep
below this cloud. I thought, well it's open to the south so I'll go to the
Isle of Man. As I turned around to go to the Isle of Man I met another
wall of cloud!
Max
Solbrekken:
YOU WERE HEMMED IN ON ALL SIDES?
Vera
Dowling:
Absolutely. You see, a front doesn't come as a straight
line like they draw on a map. It comes more like an army marches in a
front. And then it mops you up when they meet and that's what happened
that day. I managed to get back to the coastline of Scotland and it's all
rocks; there's no sand. It's important to land there, but I saw this
little eddy of land and I thought I would land with the wheels up. A
fighter will pull up in about 35 yards with its wheels up. But then, it
was Scotland...rocks, that would just tear the airplane apart.
I
CHECKED THE FUEL AND IT WAS HOVERING ON EMPTY, AND I WAS SEIZED WITH THE
MOST AWFUL FEAR I HAVE EVER RECALLED. COLD PERSPIRATION TEEMED OFF MY
BROW. MY HANDS WERE CLAMMY WITH PERSPIRATION AND MY INTESTINES FELT LIKE
THEY WERE TWISTED IN A VICE. AND I REALIZED I HAD NO HOPE APART FROM GOD.
And
I remember that little story in the Bible where Jesus was asleep on a
pillow and the disciples were afraid because the waves were coming in the
boat and they woke Him and He said, "Where is your faith"? And
He just stretched out His hand and commanded the water to be still. And
the waves were actually still.
I
said, "Oh God, help"! And the whole cockpit lit up with a bright
light. A brilliant light. It was just like that same light I had seen when
I was 12 years of age and made my first decision for Christ. The same
light. And that beautiful peace of His love came over me!
Max
Solbrekken: In
the middle of this most trying moment!
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, there He was. And I felt that peace, I couldn't see
the wing tip, the weather was so bad I couldn't see the wing tip.
Occasionally I lost sight of the sea and I could smell the salt spray off
the waves. But my faith was so great that I felt I could fly the Atlantic
without an airplane at all, you know.
IT
WAS EXTRAORDINARY, AND HIS VOICE SPOKE TO ME. He said, "Now slow down
a bit. Slow down. Now increase your revs". I increased the revs. I
saw my hand move around the cockpit as if just directed, without any
senses up here. And He said, "Now lower your flap, now lower your
undercarriage. Now you can put all your flap down. Now turn a little to
the left."
Max
Solbrekken:
WAS THIS AN AUDIBLE VOICE OR WAS IT IN YOUR SPIRIT?
Vera
Dowling: It was more in my spirit than it was an audible
voice.
Max
Solbrekken: A
voice spoke to you?
Dowling:
Yes, it was so plain, very plain, as if I'd heard it through earphones,
you know. And then in front of me was a checkered box and a runway. And
the black and white checkered box at that time was the approach end of an
active runway in use. And that airplane just glided in and the wheels
touched just as if on silk. It didn't bounce or anything. IT SLID IN AND
STOPPED AND I COULDN'T SEE ACROSS THE RUNWAY.
I
couldn't see to taxi and that divine presence - it just lifted - you
know like it didn't go away but it just lifted. And I thought, "I'm
not dead, I'm alive" and I pinched myself to prove that I was still
there. "Thank God I'm still here." And suddenly an
airplane shot across on the other runway - the non-active runway - a
big airplane, and I could see across the airport.
I
taxied up and walked over to the tower and the first thing they said was:
"We don't understand you women. You come in perfect, in this. Most of
our chaps won't fly in this weather and you come in, no trouble at all. No
radio, radar and the whole bag of tricks. How do you do it?"
And
it was my first testimony for the Lord. I said, "Give God the
glory."
Max
Solbrekken: But
Vera, you didn't do it at all. It was God that did it!
Vera
Dowling:
Exactly! I had to land as a passenger in an airplane
with only one human person in it.
Max
Solbrekken:
Vera, what a testimony!
We
are here with Vera Dowling. Vera Dowling the aviator, the pilot and the
missionary.
VERA
DOWLING IS A LIVING LEGEND! - PART III
Max
Solbrekken:
Vera Dowling was the first and only woman test pilot in World War II and
the first woman to fly a chartered airline. Vera Dowling was the first
woman in the Royal Air Force voluntary reserve to lead a military flight
formation over Bristol in England. She was among the first 14 women pilots
selected to enter the Royal Air Force in Britain and was the first woman
flying instructor in Alberta. A living legend and she gives God all the
glory.
Max
Solbrekken: They
asked you, how did you do it? But you weren'tt the one.
Vera
Dowling:
No, as we mentioned earlier, at the age of twelve God said, "You’re
going to be a pilot and fly airplanes." I had no particular
ambition as to what to do but I would just take the job that was going,
and I had no ambition neither to be famous or do anything spectacular. My
ambition actually was to write advertisements in the air, in smoke. They
used to write them and I'd never done it.
Max
Solbrekken: The
thing you wanted to do you haven't done, but you've been flying airplanes
all over the world. Please tell the folks about the time you were sitting
on an airplane and they announced the name of the captain. You were
invited up to the cockpit and of course, he was one of your former
students!
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, that episode really taught me something because some people they say
are born to fly and are 'naturals of sorts'. But, this particular student
was very difficult. He'd been passed down to me, to fix the situation and
I remember going around the circuit shedding tears behind my dark glasses
because he didn't seem to have it. I wrote a little note to myself
afterwards saying, "Oh Lord if ever there's a hopeless case, this is
it. Please help."
And
20 years later I was on a flight as a passenger from Winnipeg to Edmonton
and the captain's name was announced and who do you think it should be?
Max
Solbrekken:
THE HOPELESS CASE!
Vera
Dowling:
And I gave the air hostess a note for the captain. I was invited up front
and he said, "This is what I wanted, Vera/" And it taught me
something, Pastor Max. It taught me that you should never, ever call
anyone hopeless! There are really no hopeless cases, because I was a
hopeless case.
And
as far as seemingly hopeless cases, Jesus can fix them all because He
specializes in 'Hopeless Cases'!
Max
Solbrekken: You've
received a lot of AWARDS. And I believe there was an award given to you,
which included an all expense paid trip to London, England and your former
instructor accompanied you to a grand banquet with royalty, military &
nobility in attendance! And this was the man who thought you were a
hopeless case when you were first learning to fly!
WHAT
WAS THAT AWARD?
Vera
Dowling:
It was an award for outstanding service in the field of aviation, an award
of merit. It was a huge medal.
Max
Solbrekken:
And you were the first Canadian to receive this award?
Vera
Dowling: :
Yes, I was the ninth in aviation history!
Max
Solbrekken:
THE NINTH IN AVIATION HISTORY AND THE FIRST FROM CANADA. IT'S AMAZING. YOU
WERE THE FIRST WOMAN INSTRUCTOR IN ALBERTA!
Vera
Dowling:
So I understand!
Max
Solbrekken: And
how many students have you had over the years?
Vera
Dowling:
I've never counted them. You see, you sometimes start a student or finish
a student or teach him in the middle of his course, but you don't follow
him all the way through. No, I don't think any one instructor can boast
about having any number of students and having taught them how to fly.
Max
Solbrekken:
You were in Lethbridge, working there and something happened. You lost
your job because you were teaching or telling your students about Jesus.
And then. shortly thereafter, you got a much better at NAIT in Edmonton.
Vera
Dowling:
Yes.
Max
Solbrekken:
Please share with us how you were BORN AGAIN and how you were filled with
the HOLY SPIRIT. This is so important, so that people will know about the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Vera, I'd like to hear this portion of your
testimony!
Vera
Dowling:
Well, when I first arrived at Lethbridge, to start a new job, the weather
was bad every Sunday for about 5 weeks running. And flying instructors
make the most money on Sundays when people have time to learn to fly. And
the manager came to me and he banged his fist on the table saying,
"Vera, you're not living right. You're a Jonah. And we've got to
start sending you to church."
So
all the students, about 25 of them, came along and they said, "You
must come to my church, you must come to my church, you must come to my
church." And we did all the denominations, about 14 in all.
Max
Solbrekken:
You went to all the churches?
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, I accepted their invitations and attended them all. But the students
- we had sort of an afterglow sitting in front of a glowing fireplace at
the club. And the manager came up and he said, "Well, what was the
text? What did you hear? What did you learn? He didn't come with us to
church but he wanted to know."
Max
Solbrekken:
He wanted to know?
Vera
Dowling:
Yeah, he wanted to know what we'd learned. And I found out that the
students wanted to know the living Christ Who could help them in the air,
Who could save their souls, Who could be their friend and be the power in
their lives that they needed to protect them during all types of weather
in flying. And we all came to the same conclusion - we wanted to
know the Lord better!
When
I left England, I came over by boat to Halifax, and took the exams in
Ottawa. Then I journeyed on to Medicine Hat and the manager picked me up
to go to Lethbridge.
And
I prayed, "Lord I promised you that I would read Your Word at least
once before I died and I will. This is a new country and I'll make a brand
new start."
So
I bought a little Bible and I started reading it from Genesis, diligently
word by word. I didn't understand a word of it. It was all very
complicated with lots of names and things but I saw a thread of red run
all through the Bible - the blood of Christ. And I saw the miracles but I
didn't understand it although I was brought up in a faith believing home.
Mother
always asked us to look to the Lord, and we had many, really big miracles
in our home. So I believed in the power of God but not many of the
churches that I went to ever expressed God's power today. And I was
surprised!
I
even went back to a church that claimed they knew the Lord and His power
and as they were leaving church one said, "I’ve got a headache and
the other one said I've got an aspirin.". And I thought, they believe
in God. It surprised me, I was always taught to get on my knees if I
needed something from the Lord.
But
I searched diligently and there was one particular church that I went to
and the preacher, he didn't preach from notes. He just opened his Bible
and preached. But the surprising part of it was that every word that he
said, I was absolutely sure that everybody who knew me had written little
notes to the preacher and he had compiled his sermon from these little
notes. And he didn't leave out a thing. And he said, some people open
their hymn books to give God the glory, they open their mouths but no
sound comes out. Hypocrites.
AND
HE LOOKED STRAIGHT AT ME AND IT WAS ME!
I
wanted
to sing but I was too shy. I was so shy I didn't have the boldness to read
in public or to give a proper testimony or do anything for the Lord. Or
something like that.
I
had even been invited in England to speak as a test pilot, to speak to 200
or 300 people or so at a hotel. And I prepared my speech, I had written it
out, I knew exactly what I was going to say. I stood up there, said two
words, burst into tears and sat down. I couldn't say a word. I mean that's
how shy I was.
With
students I was fine because that was a one on one basis, but to stand up
in front of a crowd, I couldn't do it. And when he talked about some
people opening their mouths and no sound coming out, it just hit me that
that sermon was just for me. In fact every word of that sermon hit me. And
I thought, that usher is standing behind me and he's listened to me, and
he hears that I am not singing even though I am mouthing the words. And
he's told the pastor.
And
at the close of the service, they had a baptismal service there by the
way. FOR THE FIRST TIME I SAW THEM DUNKED IN WATER, HAIR AND ALL, TOTALLY
IMMERSED. AND I HADN'T SEEN THAT BEFORE. Oh sure, I had been dunked in the
waters at Lourdes, when I went down to Lourdes on a flight. I did it
because all the Catholics asked me to go and I didn't feel any different
when I came up, I'm sad to say but I did not see miracles. There was
something missing!
But
this seemed different somehow. So I went down to the basement to get
cleaned up and a little lady approached me. She was about 5'2" and
she looked straight up into my face and said, "Sister, have you
received your baptism yet?" I looked at her and I was angry.
Max
Solbrekken:
You were angry because you thought the pastor was preaching to you and now
she came to confront you?
Vera
Dowling:
So I said, "How am I to know"? She said, "My dear, when you
seek God with all your heart." And I said to myself, I've been
seeking Him with all my heart. I'm praying my prayers. I'm doing my best.
I'm reading my Bible. I'm going to church services. She said, "When
you seek God with all your heart, He will reveal Himself to you in a very
special way. You will feel your jaws beginning to move and you will be
speaking in another language."
How
peculiar, how very odd. And I was more furious than ever. And I packed my
things and went away to the hostel. I stayed at the airport hostel and the
walls had ears, you know they were thin plywood. And I got on my knees and
I said, "Lord". And suddenly all the scenes that God had done
for me, they came before me.
And
I said, "Those people in that church Lord, they treat me as if I
don't know You Jesus. I don't know what's wrong with them there and as for
that pastor, all those nasty things he was saying about me in public, in
front of that huge congregation." I said, "Would you
please forgive him Lord. I'm sure he didn't mean it."
And
then I had nothing more to say so kneeling at my bed, I prayed the Lord's
Prayer. I had said it many times before but this was possibly the first
time in my entire life that I had PRAYED the Lord's Prayer!
I
said, "My Father", and I felt that He was my Father. And I said,
"Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come". And
I was wishing that His kingdom would come. "And Thy will be
done."
As
soon as I said that and meant it in my heart, my hands burned like coals
of fire. And my soul felt as if it was locked up as if it needed to be
swung open. And suddenly it hit me in the pit of my stomach and the locked
gates they swung open and rivers of living water came down from the throne
of God and wiped out all that contamination that had been built up over
the years.
And
I heard myself speaking in another language that I didn't understand. And
I realized it was my soul, my spirit that was talking to God. And I was
talking and talking to God all night and I had scenes and revelations and
visions. I had a vision of Jesus Christ. I was taken back 2000 years and I
saw Him on the cross. And no description or painting or statue will ever
be the same as what I saw.
Our
Lord was ribboned through His flesh and the blood ran from the crown of
thorns out and His eyes were filled with love. The love oozed out of His
beautiful eyes. And He looked at me and I saw the billows of the blood of
Jesus coming over my soul. And I saw the resurrection and the power of
God! But, there is no description in the Bible that I can read except the
one in Isaiah 52 where it says He "was marred more than any
man".
And
suddenly the scriptures opened themselves and they became as clear as
crystal. They became alive and clear and up to date. And I realized right
there Pastor Max that if I had studied the Bible for 50 years, if I had
learned it word for word by heart, if I had recited it word for word I
wouldn't understand it.
It
has to be the Spirit of God who opens your understanding. And He opened my
understanding and I could read the Bible!
Max
Solbrekken:
The natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God. They
are spiritually discerned. That's why these theologians, liberal
theologians - like the Jesus Seminar - discredit & discount the
Word of God.
Those
PhD's do not know Jesus. If they knew Him like you know Him, if they saw a
vision of Him like you did, if they would be filled with the Holy Spirit,
then suddenly the scripture would come alive. Because you see, Jesus said,
"You know not the day of your visitation". They didn't realize
who He was when He stood before them.
AND
THEN WHAT HAPPENED? YOU CONTINUED ALL NIGHT LONG PRAISING & MAGNIFYING
GOD IN TONGUES?
Vera
Dowling:
Yes, all night long and it was beautiful. I laughed in the Spirit. I was
talking directly to my Father. I mean, I really was. And I saw the scenes
before me of masses of people, they were crippled and blind and so on. And
I realized that Jesus heals today!
AND
THEN I HAD ANOTHER VISION! I saw a vast field of grain. It looked like
ripened wheat, as far as the eye could see. And I looked and looked and
looked and when I looked closely, the wheat had faces. They were people!
They were people! The harvest is ripe. I prayed that the Lord of the
harvest would then thrust us into his field. And I had such joy and yet in
my body I was tired, but my mind became ultra alert.
People
say, well you probably went out and you drank. No, I did not. I was fully
awake. I was fully alert, I knew what was going on. And my mind was clear
as crystal. In the morning a student came up to me and he stood back and
said, "What has happened to you"?
I
said, "Why"? He said, "You look 20 years younger and your
face is shining". And then the manager came up and he said,
"You've got to take a class tonight". And I said, What me? I
teach people individually but not as a mass. He said, "YES AND THEY
ARE R.A.F. (Royal Air Force) PILOTS FROM WORLD WAR II", and he gave
me a subject over which I knew very little. I said, "Lord, please
help".
And
I went to the lecture and the students said they had never heard a lecture
so brilliant and so plain, and it even surprised myself. But that's what
the Lord does for you. He carries you on your job or wherever you are, and
I was amazed at every lecture. I SAID A SHORT PRAYER AND THE LORD WAS
ALWAYS WITH ME TO TELL THE STUDENTS EXACTLY WHAT WAS NEEDED. And I could
more or less read what they wanted in the classroom so I’d say,
"You are thinking this and the answer is this." They'd
say, "How did you know"?
Max
Solbrekken:
And when you looked at yourself in the mirror at that time, you did look
20 years younger. All of that weight had fallen off!
Vera
Dowling:
Overnight. All the strains, all the wrinkles. The strain of World War II.
Remember I had experienced 6 years of war, hiding in holes, little
rations, barely any sleep. Being trapped in bombings and passing through
"a burning London" and flying those military airplanes just on
the edge of eternity all the time and SEEING 20 PER CENT OF OUR PILOTS NOT
COMING BACK, mostly because of bad weather.
And
we always thought "Well, I'll be the next one," And
the Lord had guided me all the way through, and the Bible is very precious
to me. I HAVE LITERALLY WORN OUT 7 BIBLES. I am very hard on Bibles. I've
worn out 7 Bibles!
Max
Solbrekken:
And Vera, you are 76 years of age in July of this year. (1994)
Vera
Dowling: :
Yes.
Max
Solbrekken:
Hallelujah. And you only look about 59.
Vera
Dowling:
Oh well, that's God. He said He would beautify the meek with salvation!
Max
Solbrekken: To
God be the glory, great things He hath done! Ladies and gentlemen, we have
been talking to Vera Dowling. An extraordinary person because she serves
the Living God and because she's been filled with the Holy Spirit. And of
course my background being Lutheran and Vera, your background also
Lutheran and both of us filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking with other
tongues, baptized with the Holy Ghost.
I
want to tell you something my precious friend, if you want power with God,
you must receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. And if you want some
literature on the Blessed Holy Spirit, we will be glad to send you some.
Just write to us.
Max
Solbrekken:
Vera, this has been extraordinary. Thank you!
WHAT
IS THE KEY
to
Receiving Healing,
Miracles & Answers to Prayer
By:
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
SEEKING GOD IN PRAYER, PRAISE, WORSHIP AND EXPECTANT FAITH
The
key to
receiving miracles and answers to prayers in found in seeking God in
prayer, praise, worship and having expectant faith. Unfailing faith that
God will answer your prayers and expect a miracle. I
believe that a major key to miraculous healing miracles can be found
in the steadfast faith, steadfast godly lifestyle and exemplary Christian
testimony.
A
DOCTOR ANSWERS QUESTIONS ON FAITH HEALING
By:
Dr. A. Wagenaar of Hilversum, Holland
Questions:
Dr. Wagenaar, will you tell us what your position is in the field of
science?
Answers:
"I have been medical superintendent in the
Orchidee Hospital, Hilversum, for the last six years. Before that I was a
family doctor for 23 years in Dordrecht."
Questions:
Do you believe in
miracles of healing?
Answers:
"Of course! In my practice as a family doctor I have seen many
miracles take place."
Questions:
When is healing
a miracle?
Answers:
"When it is not the result of medical
treatment."
Questions:
Can a miracle not be
explained away psychologically?
Answers:
"No, that is not to be thought of. Just
as you cannot explain away the miracles of the New Testament.
"Every
physician knows that spontaneous miracles do occur. You will be interested
to know that spontaneous hearings have even been reported in patients who
suffer from cancer. This has been publicized several times in medical
journals. Medical science has admitted that miracles do occur after the
prayer of faith."
Questions:
You said that you have
seen miracles occur in your practice. Could you give us an example?
Answers:
"Yes, in Dordrecht I had a very busy practice.
A family doctor in the course of his practice meets many people who are in
urgent need of medical help and he does all he can to help them.
"I
will tell you about one patient. He used to play music in bars and was
inclined to treat life lightly. He needed an operation and I gave him a
card for the hospital. But before he was to be operated on I asked him to
go with me to one of Ev. Johan Maasbach's big meetings. He agreed and,
during the meeting, concentrated on God. When he went later to check in
for the operation the surgeon said, You can go home, we are not going to
operate on you, you are totally healed!"
Questions:
Have you advised other
people too to go to Johan Maasbach's meetings?
Answers:
"Yes, many! Generally after an
introductory talk and often after I have spoken to one of the elders of
the church; I asked the elder to visit my patient and, so to speak, break
the ice. I know that Br. Maasbach sends the patient on to the Heavenly
Doctor who can do more than all the branches of science combined.
"Over
and above those I have mentioned I have sent many others to Br. Maasbach
after they had been to consult me. I have seen them saved in the meeting
and healed as well. I am so glad that in this time when one church after
another is being broken down there are still people who let their voices
be heard more than ever. We urgently need more men like Johan Maasbach.
He
is a man who has preached for many years that sickness usually comes from
within - from the heart of man - and is often the result of hate, envy,
grudges and bitterness. Now medical science too admits that many diseases
are a result of inner tensions!"
Questions:
You believe then that
Br. Maasbach is not being medically irresponsible in what he preaches?
Answers:
"No indeed! He preaches that people who come
forward for healing must bring not only their sins but also their cares
and all their inner problems to God. That is a healing truth. That is
biblical truth."
Questions:
How did you yourself
come to faith in Christ?
Answers:
"I will tell you! When I was a young man of 23
1 almost drowned. I was trying to save a woman who had fallen into the
water and it nearly resulted in my own death. However, after fighting for
my life and finally reaching dry land, I was a new man. I knew that I had
reached a spiritual turning point. God had let me live!"
Questions:
What do you think about
certain doctors who have seen miracles with their own eyes and still
refuse to believe?
Answers:
"I have met people who have had their healing
confirmed by many people and who afterwards went to various doctors to
demonstrate their hea5;ng only to be rejected. I must assume that these
doctors are totally blind to God's existence..
This
is not however a problem peculiar to medical science; you know as well as
I do that many ministers, preachers and priests; are just as blind to the
message of divine heating."
Questions:
Doctor, do you often
speak to your patients about faith in Jesus Christ?
Answers:
"I always do so when I feel so guided. When you
know that, medically speaking, there is no cure possible then - at least
this is how it is for me - you can only speak a positive word, the Word of
God.
"I
have personally led several people who were ill to the through inner
tensions to the Lord. Only He, Jesus Christ, can give that desperately
needed rest."
Questions:
Do you think that later
a medical cure may be found for certain illnesses which can now only be
cured by a miracle?
Answers:
"If I think of cancer, I know that man is hard
at work to find a cure. This is the prediction and hope of everyone
working in that field. However they have not yet found a cure. And should
a medical cure be found there will still be other incurable
illnesses…"
Questions:
Finally doctor, do you
consider that personal faith in Jesus Christ is of importance to science?
Answers:
"Very important!! You know that science has
gone out on a limb in believing that man is descended from apes. Science
is still trying to find the missing link!! The friction between faith and
science is that when man comes to faith he can no longer accept such
theories as that of evolution.
"Faith
in Jesus Christ is of the utmost importance for all, including those
engaged in the pursuit of scientific knowledge."
"...
and with His stripes we were healed." Isaiah 53:5
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