AGWM Personnel Making Miraculous Recoveries

On March 18, Assemblies of God World Missions announced via social media that Executive Director Greg Mundis and Northern Asia Regional Director Ron Maddux both tested positive for COVID-19. In the weeks following, both men have fought for their lives. Other AGWM team members worldwide, including Greg’s wife, Sandie; Ron’s wife, Penny; and missionary to Belgium, Phyllis Benigas, have battled varying degrees of the virus and are at home, very close to fully recovered.

Greg’s condition worsened to the extent that on March 31 he was airlifted to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. In Barnes’ pulmonary unit for specialized care of COVID-19 patients, his condition exhibited both setbacks and progress. On April 4, Greg tested negative for COVID-19 in a repeat test, and in recent days he has made dramatic improvement.

On April 21, Greg and Sandie’s son, San Diego surgeon Dr. Greg Mundis Jr., posted on Facebook: “We are starting to let go of the fears that this virus caused in the life of my father and starting to cling to our new normal...rehabilitation! His kidneys are back to normal, he is working with [a] physical therapist to move his arms and legs … and spent about 12 hours off the ventilator today. He is able to utter some words despite the tracheostomy and we are seeing recovery come to life. Yesterday my dad uttered the words: I love you!”

Dr. Mundis shared an even more exciting update on April 22: His father was transferred from Barnes back home to Springfield to continue recovery.

“I know there are so many that are struggling with their family members being sick,” he wrote. “I know the odds are not in our favor. I hope today I am able to encourage those families who are in the middle of this struggle, to just hold on! Don’t let go! Keep fighting! There can be light at the end of this tunnel.”

After his own dramatic fight against COVID-19, Ron Maddux also saw light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel. He was able to go home from the hospital on April 2. In a video shared on his son Sam’s Facebook page on April 14, Ron says:

I asked my son Sam if he would post this to his Facebook page so I could say personally thank you to all the hundreds, and maybe thousands, of you that prayed for me during the very difficult days that I was suffering from the coronavirus. …

It’s just a little over a week that I’ve been home from the hospital. I’m feeling well, I’m stronger every day, I’m almost back to normal. You stepped up, you prayed for me, you had faith, and you trusted God for me, and God stepped in and did a miracle for me and preserved me. Penny also had a mild form of the coronavirus, and God touched her and has healed her as well. We are both now virus free, looking forward to getting out from under lockdown so we can get busy again for Jesus. God bless you, friends. Thank you.

On March 23, Sam Maddux also shared the account of his mother Penny’s encounter with Jesus:

This morning my mom shared with me a very powerful encounter she had last night. She was telling me how amazed she was that throughout all of this the Lord has given her so much peace and protected her from any fear. However, last night she was beginning to think that she was showing early signs of having contracted COVID-19 because of chest pains, neck pain, and a bad cough. In the middle of the night Mom woke up to the feeling of a presence in her room. This presence was accompanied by the feeling of overwhelming peace. Before she could even finish the thought of “Who is there?” the Holy Spirit confirmed to her spirit that it was the presence of Jesus! In that moment the Lord spoke to her heart that she and Dad were going to be OK. Since that moment Mom’s symptoms have gone away. When she talked to Dad hours later, she learned that at the very moment the presence of Jesus had visited her room Dad’s temperature dropped significantly and has stayed down ever since.

Along with Greg and Ron, team member Thomas Carpenter has struggled severely with the disease, having been hospitalized for more than 30 days to date. Currently he is being weaned off the ventilator, receiving physical rehabilitation, regaining his ability to communicate, and has received a negative COVID-19 retest. Through it all, his spirit has remained sensitive to what the Lord would speak to and through him.

His wife, Angelia, who also suffered from COVID-19 but has recovered far more quickly, shared on April 18, “Thomas told us that this morning the Lord asked him if he could choose between being able to speak or to take a drink which would he choose? He said right now to drink! It was a spiritual question. He said he would rather be anointed than just a wordsmith and that God has him where he is to listen & hydrate in God’s presence. I’m so thankful for the many things the Lord is speaking!”

On April 20 she continued, “Thomas woke up with Ezekiel 37 on his mind...These bones shall live!”

An astounding outpouring of prayer has consistently followed AG World Missions’ ongoing updates on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, with thousands of social media users writing out powerful, heartfelt prayers in direct response to statuses and updates.

National media outlets also picked up Facebook updates from Dr. Greg Mundis Jr. The Mundises’ story has been shared on Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, and CBS, and by local news sources in Springfield, Missouri, where the Assemblies of God is headquartered.

AG USA General Superintendent Doug Clay states, "I was reminded that this gospel is literally able to be transmitted to the ends of the earth and it all points to a loving God who plans to come and receive His Church from this earth. Jesus said that He would build His Church, and the gates of hell would not prevail. Pray for … our missionaries as well as the pastors of our local churches—that God would equip each to bring hope to their places of influence.”

PHOTO: (L to R) Greg and Sandie Mundis, Ron and Penny Maddux, Thomas and Angelia Carpenter

Kristel Zelaya

Kristel Zelaya is a freelance writer and editor with global experience. She served as marketing manager for Assemblies of God U.S. Missions and as a writer and editor for Assemblies of God World Missions. These experiences have led her to numerous countries and cultures — far from beaten paths — on behalf of many who did not know how deeply their stories matter. Zelaya is also a licensed Assemblies of God minister. She and her husband Rudy share one daughter.