I WILL ARISE

Luke 15:18 “I will ARISE and go to my father and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against God and against you.’”

Greetings to all the servants of God!

I’m glad that you logged onto my new blogspot. God is great. Let us give him a GREAT AMEN!!!!!!!!

I have a testimony for you about what God has done for me. He is a GOOD GOD. When everything seemed too dark; when all doors seemed to be closed, God is always a solution for me and my family.

I and my family; (My wife Precious, my daughters; Connie 8 years, Tracy 3 years and the newly born Nanette 4 months) arrived in Swaziland towards the end of May 2008. Nanette was just 3 weeks old by then. We were coming from Mozambique where we intended to stay and start a Ministry, but all did not go well…

By the way, before we came to Mozambique, we were based in South Africa. It all started when a Canadian Christian organisation intending to help struggling African churches; approached me to work for it and promised good things for me such as monthly salary, funding projects and help me launch a Ministry in Mozambique.

I took the job and I believed that it was a calling from God. Oh was some...??? My beautiful wife Precious supported me when making that decision. She also had to stop working and follow me to the world of the “Unknown”. I deserted my beautiful job at Bilene Institute of Studies where I worked as a Programme Manager and Facilitator.

The Canadian organisation used me as the main contact in the SADC region. I worked very hard under the organisation as a Regional Coordinator. I was even responsible for inviting Incandweni Christ Ambassadors of Swaziland to perform in Canada last year September. I also visited Malawi, Zimbabwe and Lesotho under that organisation’s mission.

The organisation did not keep to its promises. While in Mozambique they stopped communicating to me. When appealing for money to buy food for the children, my emails were not responded. Sometimes they will only send 50 Canadian dollars. Hunger started striking my family.

We survived because I had 2 good friends; Ben and Raul who helped me with food and accommodation. My wife became my inspiration during those dark days.

I decided to take my children with me to Swaziland. We had nothing. On arrival in Swaziland, we stayed with my half sister for a week, but she complained to us; she is a widow and she was unable to provide meal for my family.

We moved to my father’s house which he built while he was still alive in the late 1980s. We found tenants staying there and they were not prepared to move out; but we explained to them our situation and one decided to give us a room.

Life was not easy there. Connie, my elder daughter was now attending school at John Wesley Primary school in Msunduza in grade 2. It was a 2nd term in Swaziland; and we were staying in Mcozini. I decided to ask a certain family by the school to stay with Connie. They had no problem and thank God they were Christians. At Connie’s school, the principal told me not to pay school fees until I was ready to; not even worry about school uniform. She was very sympathetic to me. Those are God’s wonders!!!!!

It was at Mcozini that we were to face the real taste of poverty. We had no pots, plates or spoons. We had no stove to cook. We had to use tins as pots and fire wood to cook. We had to fetch water from the river. I had to fetch fire wood from the forest which was almost an hour walk and carry wood by head.

I had to fetch water from the river by myself because my wife had no experience of this new life. She was from the high suburbs of Pretoria in South Africa called Montana.

We lived by begging. We would go some days without food. We would knock door to door begging for mealie-meal. Life was very hard for us.

In that poverty; sickness attacked Tracy and Nanette. They had diarrhoea and we had no money to take them to the hospital. They were both at a point of death. Thank God, they were attended at the Government hospital in Mbabane even though we had no money.

One nurse said, “If Nanette lives to see the next day, you will be luck.”

My wife cried when she heard that statement. I looked at my wife and said to her, ‘You need to look up to God as a solution.’ I told her to stop crying and be strong, for God was watching us and we were not alone. We went home hopeless, with only salt and sugar mixture that we were ordered to give Nanette and Tracy the whole night.

I prayed to God this prayer, ‘If this child (Nanette) was borrowed to us, you can take her oh God. If she is the gift, please keep her for us’. For Tracy, I prayed, “let your will be done oh Lord.’ My children’s sicknesses brought me closer to God.

What I knew for sure was that, God would not leave us. Let me tell you. The first thing we did when we arrived at Mncozini was to start Prayer home cells. One was on Monday at LaHlophe’s house, a neighbour; the other at LaNgwenya’s house on Wednesday, and on Thursday at Simelane family. They are all our neighbours. The services started at 19h00 until 20h00. The slogan was; “Proclaiming Mcozini for Jesus.”

We attended the home cells always. We worshiped, preach and pray during those meetings. Hunger could not stop us.

Precious was so supportive to everything. I must say this; I love Precious very much. She is such an understanding woman. Actually she left luxury of her family in a top suburb, and gave up her modelling career to be with me. What a woman!!!

God heard our prayers, Nanette and Tracy became better the following day and they picked up as the days went by.

Hunger and hopelessness became the order of the day in our families. We would go some days without food. Children were always crying, but we never gave up on GOD. He is a GOD of wonders.

God had to prepare us for big things yet to come. Not long ago, after 3 months while in Swaziland; we heard about Healing Place Church via Internet: http://hpcswazi.com/. I and my wife decided to go to the Healing Place Church during the Bible study on a Thursday at 17h30 on 14 August 2008…

READ NEXT WEEK AND FIND OUT WHAT GOD DID FOR THE MONDLANE FAMILY – GREAT THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!