A GREAT MOMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 February 1922, Page 11

A GREAT MOMENT.

STORY OF MIRACULOUS CURE. STRIKING SIDELIGHTS ON RATANA. EUROPEAN LADY PATIENT INTERVIEWED. I no longer disbelieve in miracles — my presence here to-day is nothing but a miracle, something superhuman. Just fancy to be sick, and helpless, for 19 years, more than once at death’s door, having to be dressed up in a skeleton of steel supports; given up in turn by 30 doctors, and then in one wonderful moment to be suddenly'restored to complete health, able to leave my sick-bed and walk! Visualise all this and you will gain some idea of what Ratana accomplished in my case. The foregoing is an excerpt from an interview a Palmerston Standard representative had with Miss Lammas, a European lady (at present the guest of friends in Palmerston North), whose miraculous cure by the Maori ‘'miracle man” caused a sensation in Nelson, her home town, some twelve months ago. Miss Lammas has visited Ratana in person, but her cure, or “resurrection,” as she put it, was accomplished by correspondence—a single interchange of letters. Miss Lammas, who is enjoying perfect health and freedom of movement, is now entirely normal in every respect, and wh-at is more can walk three times in a day. She told her story quite dispassionately in a convincing manner, but with no suggestion of straining after effects. GIVEN UP AS LOST It was in February of last year that I was cured,” she remarked, “after having been ill practically ail my life. For years I had grown steadily worse and worse till there was no earthly hope of my living any longer. Doctors and specialists gave me up time after time. Each illness that I had left me weaker, till there was not any rallying power i left in my body. My trouble was primarily spinal and it left me without the use of any of my joints and limbs —I was a spineless skeleton. I had to be supported with a curious contrivance in the shape of a steel frame, comprising a number of supports which were screwed or clamped on all my joints from neck to toe.”

Miss Lammas here broke off her narrative in order to show the pressman actual photographs of the apparatus, which for all the world looked like some ancient torture rack, or better still a suit of armour affected during the Crusaders’ Period.

Resuming her story Miss Lammas remarked: “I had not heard of Ratana until the beginning of February of last year. I had been bedridden and unable even so much as to raise my head for ten weary months when a friend of mine, a minister visiting Nelson told me about him. I also heard of other Europeans who had been cured by corresponding with Ratana. I mentioned the matter tcy my doctor, who had long since regarded me as doomed to die. His reply was: ‘lf you have faith enough to believe I don’t see why you cannot be cured by this Maori. I have tried everything human and failed, and now we have a chance to try something superhuman. Try it, it will be a miracle if you are cured!’

“So I wrote to Ratana and explained my ease in detail and mentioned incidentally that in addition to my spinal trouble my heart was bad, missing every third beat. In short I told him now hopeless my case was ‘regarded. I received a reply in the following week with instructions to pray with all my heart and soul and to believe in God’s power to heal, and he promised to pray for me at the same time. I carried out his instructions. Nothing happened the first day. I was so weak and ill and I prayed so earnestly that I was utterly exhausted. THE MIRACLE DESCRIBED. “Early next morning I began to pray again—l had to do my part—and it was while I was praying that strength and life came in to me. It was all in a moment that they came to me and I knew at once that I was cured. A marvellous change suddenly swept over me; I was able to sit up straight away, and marvellous tb relate I got out of bed and walked. I had no pain and no support, the first 1 >i‘ for J 9 years. I walked about the room quite a lot that day and I sat up, both morning and afternoon. I received a lot of visitors, but I was not unduly tired. The second day I walked about the house and every day since I have been doing more and more and walking further.” Continuing, Miss Lammas said that her case had attracted much attention, even from Ratana himself, who regarded it as his most wonderful cure. She had had thousands of people from all parts to see her. She had never suffered the slightest set-back since the miracle happened and had been able to travel all over the North Island, visiting friends. PERSONAL SKETCH OF THE HEALER. Miss Lammas spoke interestingly of her visit to Ratana. “Two weeks before last Christmas,” she remarked. “I was in Wanganui and as I had previously had an invitation from him I ( decided to make the pilgrimage. It was a great honor because I was the only European Ratana had ever specially invited. I found him a truly wonderful man. He told me that my case was the most wonderful of all. and he had been truly anxious to see me. He is a striking perosnality, yet most quiet and unassuming. There is nothing histrionic about him, but he has such great dignity and such wonderful eyes. He is a handsome' Maori of about 45 years, but does not look it, stout and robust, but not flabby. He refuses absolutely to accept any money on account of his cures, as he believes that once he did he would lose his God-given gift. For the present Ratana is devoting the whole of his time to Maoris. He told me that it was possible that he might again take Europeans, but that for the present he had as much work as he could perform :-imong his own people. While I was at 1 camp a Maori woman arrived in •al appeared to be a dying condition, and.. 10, a few minutes later she was walking about fit and well. This is only one of other miraculous cures.”

Miss Lammas went on to tell of several other cures, all of Europeans, she had personally verified. One was of an old man of 70 years, a Nelson resident, who had been dying of “pernicious anaemia” and to-day was back at work. Another case was that of a King Country farmer’s wife who had been bedridden for years with rheumatism of the worst type, only to be completely cured by Ratana. Concluding. Miss Ummas again emphasised that all the patients referred to had been cured by faith and by faith alone.