PERFECT TIMING >>>Doug Ross [Bristol]

I'd say one of the biggest challenges we had while running the Rubiks Cube night in Bristol came from within, in the form of one of the club's bouncers: a five-and-a-half foot, twenty-two stone, no-necked, skin-head, hard-ass Scotsman called Ray. His past included multiple family problems, gang-related violence, regular run-ins with the police, a spell in the army, and having to deal with the memory of people he had killed. Our main goal at the Rubiks Cube was to build relationships with the people we came into contact with, and Ray was to be no exception. This wasn't easy to begin with, since the most we ever heard come out of his mouth was a few words of filth, he wouldn't look us in the eye, and at times he was threatening towards us. However, after about six months, Ray showed signs of change – conversations which lasted more than a single sentence, the occasional glimpse of eye-contact, and he even started asking questions about what we were doing and why we did it.

Over the following months our friendship grew, and then suddenly he dropped a bombshell. Before the club filled up one night, he told us that he needed prayer (we had offered almost every week) because he had just been diagnosed with skin cancer, and the doctors had given him less than three months to live. A short time later, he was admitted into hospital and was soon bedridden. For such a proud, so-called hard man, this was torture, and we really felt his pain. During one of our prayer sessions we felt God call us to focus our energies on prayer and support for Ray. We decided to visit him daily, bringing gifts of ice-lollies, DVDs, and even a Bible.

I remember one muggy summer's day, when I went to the hospital for my daily visit. It was a Friday afternoon and we were in the middle of watching a film, when Ray turned to me and said, "You know what you guys have, I want it!" I was gobsmacked. We spent a while talking about Jesus, and then we prayed together. Close to tears myself, I saw Ray's sincerity as he prayed for salvation with a tear rolling down his cheek. Later on, as I was leaving, Ray turned to me with a smile and asked whether I'd be in the next day. I had family commitments that weekend, so I told that I'd see him the following week. Three days later, on Monday afternoon, I called to let him know that I was on my way, but his mobile phone was answered by the ward nurse who told me that Ray had passed away during the night. I was devastated. But to this day I have the lasting memory of him pouring out his heart out to God, and I know that everything was in God's perfect timing.

[ Excerpt from The Rubiks Cube, Doug's chapter in NIGHT VISION ]