Cecelia

I was invited to preach at Pastor John Maloba’s church. It was humbling to be a guest at Hopewell Baptist Church, which is basically a wooden shack attached to a stone building. The space was large enough for six rows of four plastic chairs. The children sat on a wooden bench along the exterior wall. Of course, they had a VERY LOUD sound system with one speaker directly in front of me and the other outside broadcasting to the surrounding area (common for churches in Africa). 

The children were lined up to greet me when I arrived. Two women put foil garlands around my neck, and the children sang a marching song as we proceeded into the building. There were two teachings before I preached. They had a small worship team (barely enough space for 4-5 people up front) that worked us into a sweat during the offering. Worship is aerobic in Africa! The service started at 11:00am and I preached at 12:20pm. My sermon theme was from Mark 10:46-51 “What do you want Me (Jesus) to do for you?” We ended with an invitation for prayer. Several came forward to receive pray for physical or emotional healing, job needs, etc. (Note: Some were healed instantly. Others gave testimonies of healing and victory the following Sunday.)

The women presented me with a gift at the end of the service. They wrapped a beautiful cloth around my waist as we sang a song together. Then we went outside where the congregation had formed a line for the pastor and me to pass by each person to shake their hand. Next thing I knew, I was in the middle of the circle of church members to pray a blessing over all of them. A group photo was taken before we ended our time together.

The pastor then informed me that we were going to his house for lunch. It was a delicious meal of rice, beef stew, and chapatti (flat bread)! The pastor and his wife asked me to pray for their family after the meal. They kneeled down on the dirt floor while I prayed for them.

One of the church members was not able to attend the service, because his mother was not well. He asked us to come to his house to pray for her. So off we went to make a “house call.” The woman, Cecelia, was sitting on a sofa and showed us her very swollen right leg, ankle, and foot. I asked to look at her x-ray, and they pulled out her medical file. She had been in great pain for three months with a blood clot in her leg. Of course, the medical bills had drained their finances and she was still not well or able to work. 

We started to pray, and God began to heal her leg. The swelling was visibly decreasing as we prayed, but we knew Jesus was at work when tears of joy started to run down her face and she exclaimed, “Asante Jesu! ” (Thank you Jesus!) over and over again. She knew Jesus was healing her, and the pain was leaving her leg. 

Pastor John called Cecilia the next day. She reported having a good night of sleep without pain. That was her first pain-free night in three months! 

Tuesday night I received a text message from Pastor John that read:

GOD is good. Cecelia is healed there is no more swelling. I wish you can come see the miracle of God. Total healing. I’m in the house with her now. She is very thankful.

I sent a prompt response:

Praise the Lord! Great report. Greet her for me.

When my phone rang shortly after sending that message, I knew who it was. Pastor John put Cecelia on the phone and we exclaimed “Bwana asafiwe! (Praise the Lord!)” simultaneously. She was VERY happy and thankful to God for healing her. 

Praise be to GOD for what He is doing among His people throughout the world!!!