John G. Lake lived from March 18, 1870, until 1935, and was mightily used of God to bring healing to untold numbers of people. The following information comes from a book entitled: "John G. Lake - His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith" (pg 242)I planned to go to Africa as a boy. I looked forward to it through my young manhood. One day I went out to help a chore boy pull a cross-cut saw. We were cutting down an oak tree, and as I did, the Spirit of God spoke to me and said, "Go to Indianapolis. Prepare for a winter campaign. Get a large hall, and in the spring you will go to Africa." And it all came to pass. It is power. Power manifests in many ways. There is the power of FAITH which draws to you what seems to be impossible. One day after I had gone to Indianapolis, Indiana, and had been preaching for some time, my old preaching partner said, "John, if we are going to Africa in the spring, it is time we were praying for the money." I replied, "Tom, I have been praying ever since New Years and have not heard from heaven or anybody else." He said, "Never mind, John, how much will it take?" I replied, "Two thousand dollars." He said, "Come on, John, we are going to pray."

So we knelt down by Tom's bed and prayed. I heard him saying, "Jesus, you told me you would send that money in 4 days?" After awhile he slapped me on the back, saying, "Don't pray any more, John. Jesus told me He would have the money, and it would be here in 4 days."

Four days later he came back from the post office with a letter containing 4 five-hundred-dollar drafts. The letter read, "I was standing in the bank at Monrovia, California and something said to me, 'Send Tom H $2,000.' It is yours, Tom, for whatever purpose God has shown you."

(pg 243)We went out and bought our tickets. I had a little money. Tom had bought the tickets, but when you are traveling with a wife and seven children, there are a lot of expenses besides tickets. We followed this practice. We never told what our needs were, but we did tell the Lord. So finally all the little money I had was gone.

When I paid the expressman, I had $1.50 left. As the train pulled out of Indianapolis, my secretary threw in a $2 bill; then I had $3.50. There was a lady in our party traveling with us as far as Detroit. I needed $10 to buy her a ticket to northern Michigan. As we rode along I said to Mrs. Lake, "Jen, I need $10 to buy Winnie a ticket." So we prayed. We came on into Detroit at 8 o'clock. As the train pulled into the station my brother and married sister were there to meet us, and among them was a younger brother, Jim. Jim was a student at the university. Jim took me by the arm and we walked to the other end of the station. Then he said, "I hope you will not be mad about it, but I would like to give you this." He gave me a $10 bill. I thanked him for it, and went and bought Winnie her ticket.

I still had the $3.50 left. We took ship at New Brunswick. So I bought some canned beef, canned beans, etc., and still had about $1.50 left. When we finally boarded the ship, I had $1.25 left. I gave fifty cents to the table steward and fifty cents to the bedroom steward, and I still had 25 cents left when we reached England. We were 5 days in Liverpool, and as we had through tickets, it entitled us to hotel expenses.

I arrived with my party in South Africa about May 15, 1908. Before I could go ashore, it was necessary for me to put up $125 with the Immigration Department. I had not a cent. As I stood in the line of people who were making these payments, awaiting my chance to explain to the immigration officer my dilemma, suddenly a man tapped me on my shoulder. He called me out of the line, handed me a traveler's check for $200 and said to me, "I feel led to give this to help your work."

On the arrival at Johannesburg, I and my family had nowhere to go. We were absolutely strangers in the country and had no friends or acquaintances there. As we arrived in Johannesburg, a lady came up looking for an American missionary with seven children. She said, "Oh, you are the family. The Lord has sent me to meet you, and I want to give you a home." At three o'clock that same day, we were in a furnished cottage. God had provided us a home.

And that is how we got to Africa.

The book "John G. Lake - His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith" is published by Kenneth Copeland Publications, Ft. Worth, TX.