Nigel W. D. Mumford - Dying to Live: How Near Death Experiences Transform Our Faith

PRAISE FOR

DYING to LIVE

How Near Death Experiences
Transform Our Faith

What happens when someone who has given his life prayerfully to help others heal finds he desperately needs healing himself? In this touching, poignant book, Nigel shows the power of prayer in a medical crisis. His story will be sure to help you or anyone you know who needs healing.

Rick Hamlin, executive editor, Guideposts.

Fr. Nigel Mumford, who has been a personal friend for many years, is a priest with a deep faith in a loving God, who lives out his convictions in real and tangible ways. He has written a very moving account of a profound near-death experience, which is certain to draw the reader not only into his journey, but also into the remarkable visions of heaven he had during that time.

In his own words: There are times in our lives when we are broken, and there are times or seasons in our lives when we rebuild.

Nigels simple and down-to-earth way of communicating allows a beautiful transparency of his delightful humor and convincing humanity.

Anyone reading this book will be greatly touched by the loving presence of God, who never leaves us or forsakes us, even in the darkest moments of our lives.

Judith and Dr. Francis MacNutt

The time Father Nigel was struck ill was a very humbling and fearful time. His illness progressed and he declined so rapidly, it was overwhelming. It made me realize that loved ones can be taken away so quickly and we need to let them know how we feel about them, or we will regret it. I felt God had my role as protector of the Mumfords privacy and support for Lynn. I heard that some folks had called me pit bulland not in an endearing tone. They were frustrated, as everyone wanted information and updates personally.

This time with the Mumfords has cemented our friendship and bond like no other, and the Lord brought us all through it with a renewed faith and trust in Him.

Sandra Lester

In a world awash with near and post-death stories, Nigel Mumford offers a unique narrative: Unique because it coheres with the biblical witness about our future. Although faith is the conviction of things not seen, Nigel has taken a peek behind the curtain, and all who read this book will receive the blessing of encouragement in their faith!

Fr. Andrew Buchanan,

Rector of Galilee Episcopal Church

It was a dark and stormy night when I received a call stating that this would probably be Nigel Mumfords last night on the earth. My wife and I drove to the hospital, wondering if he would still be alive when we arrived. He was. I administered Last Rites, and we waited. I remember saying, Hes either going to die tonight and go to heaven, or God is going to do a mighty healing that will be a blessing to thousands.

This book, dear friends, is the blessing God has meant - for you and for me!

Bishop David Bena

Dying to Live:

How Near Death Experiences
Transform Our Faith

by Nigel W. D. Mumford

Copyright 2016 Nigel W. D. Mumford

ISBN 978-1-63393-316-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

Some photos by Diana Haskell photography

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800-435-4811

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DEDICATION

To my dear bride, Lynn, who had the faith to believe that God would heal me and stayed with me in sickness and in health through the very dark valley of the shadow of death for fifty-eight straight days, twelve hours a day, sitting by my bed waiting for the Lord to resurrect and heal me.

And to my dear Family in the UK: my brother Alec, who flew in from England twice to support Lynn when I was in a coma (he tells me he prodded my feet to try and wake me up!); my mum and dad; and my dear sisters, Julie Sheldon and Ann Topping, who were in deep prayer for my very life but unable to travel.

We will always be curious of stories about a neardeath experience. Its the one thing in life we cant really explain or put clearly into words, yet Nigel manages to convey the magnitude of the visions he experienced while in a coma. Where human words can be inadequate, he beautifully describes how the visions were different than dreamsMore color, more detail, more vibrant, more of everything in life even in death. Nigel paints a picture of heaven that brings comfort, insight, and light, enveloped in a way we can understand and all completely in line with the Word of God. Each vision is so different, so powerful, and so descriptive. I read most of them with tears in my eyes and my mind trying to take in the enormity of what was being imparted to us. These visions need to be taken seriously, to be read and studied, to be talked about, to encourage those crawling through the valley of the shadow that they may run swiftly to the hope that awaits them.

Reading the visions, it becomes apparent that words of life are speaking right through into our hearts; there are gems and jewels to be found, there are treasures waiting in words of revelation, hope, perseverance, expectation, preparation, reality, and the battleground.

I know you will be greatly blessed as you read this book. Nigel has been given an understanding of perseverance in a way we could never imagine, as is expressed so beautifully in Vision 3: Jesus was pushing me on with his eyesHe wanted me to see the gates.

I pray you will lean into Jesus as you read and allow Him to speak through these visions to bring you encouragement and hope as you persevere in your one and only life on earth.

Dying to Live has been all the more powerful to me because Nigel Mumford is my brother.

JULIE SHELDON

Author, International Speaker & Evangelist,

Pioneer MinisterMarch 2016

Everybody has a much loved, larger-than-life friend, and Nigel is one of mine. Im grateful to God, not just that Nigel survived his traumatic, long-lasting illness that brought him close to death, but that he has been able to put together his reflections on what he experienced.

This account is more than simply a description of his remarkable healing. I found three welcome reminders in it. First, there is the reminder that, to use that image of American baseball, life can pitch us a curveball, and we need to be prepared for it. Most of us who are Christians in the developed world have comfortable lives, cocooned by wealth, technology, and medical science. For most of the time we sail through life on fair-weather seas. The danger here is that we keep God at a distance, and our faith becomes thin and superficial. Yet calm seas and blue skies cannot persist forever. Sooner or later in every life, suffering or loss strikessometimes without warningand when it does, a faith that has been allowed to fade may be found inadequate. Reading this accountand no doubt prompted by Nigels nautical pastI was reminded of that challenging line of the old hymn, Will your anchor hold in the storms of life? Nigels did. Would ours?

Second, there is a reminder that the Christian God can bring blessing out of suffering. Nigel did not simply survive months of illness, suffering, and bewildering experiences in the grey borderland between life and death; he let God teach him through them. He graduated from the university of adversity. Would we?