In the spring of 2000 Lars moved from his hometown of Sykkylven to the city of Tønsberg. He had recently started seeking God and needed to get away from the old environment. Velle also had a new job, and life looked very bright. In the coming year he would find out whether God existed or not.
-I moved to Tønsberg with a mattress and my grandmother's old Bible. I would not ponder my whole life over if God existed. Therefore, I'd give myself one year to find the truth. In the first weeks I spent day and night seeking Him, and pretty soon I realized that He was real!
Amidst the new existence something negative nevertheless took place that changed his everyday life. One day Lars was driving his motorcycle in Oslo. Around a bend there was a traffic accident and the car in the right lane swung abruptly to the left. He did not see Lars in the blind spot, and Lars plunged to the ground at 80 km/h.
-Fortunately I got no life-threatening injuries, but I damaged my arm and lay motionless on the ground. I was lying on the road and saw cars coming towards me. Then I thought it was the end of my life, but fortunately a jogger came along. He jumped out of the way and pulled me aside. I lay there until the ambulance came.
Injured arm
At the hospital they took X-rays of the arm, as well as various tests. The doctor told me that my arm had stretched out of joint causing stretched ligaments and destroyed nerves. He did not see a bright future for the arm.
-The arm will be paralysed for the rest of your life. I know of several such instances, so you probably have to live with this, the doctor said very pessimistically.
Lars was now on sick leave from the new job, which was very sad. He was on sick leave for nearly nine months. In the beginning he used painkillers. He tried to train the arm, but this did not go well. After a few hours with the physio he gave up.
-My arm felt weak, and it felt like it was going to fall out of joint all the time. If I held a grocery bag, I was afraid of the arm falling off. I therefore had to keep my arm in a sling. I tried to start working a little, but it did not go well.
Despite the ailments Lars was not weakened in his faith. Instead, he went around with a conviction that God would help.
-I knew that God loved me and that he would heal me. I therefore immediately began seeking intercession everywhere. I searched the internet and sent mail for prayer to all the churches I came across. During my search for help, I was also aquainted with Jesus Heals Ministries. I began making contact and called Svein-Magne Pedersen's intercession phone at all hours. I felt it was almost telephone terror. Sometimes I got an answering machine, but I thought that prayer is prayer.
Healthy at the doctor
After nine months of sick leave, Lars decided that the time in Tønsberg was over. His arm was still just as weak, and he quit his job to move back to his home town.
A few days before he left, he was going to the doctor to extend the sick leave. Just before he walked out the door, he decided to call Pedersen one last time.
-After I had called, I went to the doctor. On the way to the doctor's office I was in fact instantly healed. As I sat in the waiting room, the arm was completely well, and I wondered what I would say to the doctor now. I ended up telling him the whole story, that I just a few minutes ago had been cured after the intercession of an evangelist named Svein-Magne Pedersen.
The doctor thought it was very startling, and he was surprised. He had been very negative about the future prospects of Lars concerning his arm. Now he could even see that it was quite healthy. The doctor presribed 14 days extra sick leave as a precaution, but when it was over, Lars began working again. He moved back to his home town where he worked on a farm. He also started a Christian cafe for youth. Today he works in the industrial field, and the arm is still every bit as healthy.
-I am very grateful to God and that he was with me when I was sick. God will heal all people, so never give up on seeking Him.
