Tuesday, June 26, 2007




Our drive to the hotel in Guelph was a highlight for me. Along the way we stopped to snap a picture in the small town of Mount Forest. Over the years, I’ve often told the story of Aimee Semple’s visit to Mount Forest.

It was in about 1915 that young Aimee was invited to speak at a mission church there by a lady pastor. Seeing only a small congregation of elderly people, she was not satisfied. Aimee grabbed a chair from the mission and headed for the busiest corner of Main Street about a block away. Always willing to do the unusual, she climbed onto the chair, closed her eyes and lifted her arms to heaven. Aimee stood still for about twenty minutes—when she felt a curious crowd around her, she quickly jumped from her chair and ran to the mission house. The crowd followed her.

When she and her followers got inside, she shouted to the two men there, “Shut the door and don’t open it until I’m finished preaching!” They did and that began one of her very first and most memorable revivals. Added to that story, another one happened on the same week. The old town drunk, who was also the town cryer was deathly ill. Never having had much experience in praying for the sick, Aimee was not put off by the challenge. She prayed for his healing—body, soul and spirit that evening.

The next day the old man returned, completely healed and sober. Because everybody in Mount Forest new the man, his healing became the talk of the town. Many were saved and healed in Mount Forest during Aimee’s stay there, but even more than that, the revival was the beginning of Aimee Semple McPherson’s next thirty years of miracle ministry.

Churches were soon planted there, in Durham and Owen Sound (where my family has many roots). After snapping pictures there, Susan and I headed for Guelph to spend our night.

On Friday, we journeyed and flew back to Vancouver, where we landed fourteen hours later. It has been a very happy, tiring and memorable visit with our awesome Ontario pastors.

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