Oh life in Africa is never, EVER, boring. These last few Sunday’s I’ve taken the
opportunity to attend a Xhosa church (Xhosa being race/culture of the people who
live in the township we serve in SA).
Every week has been a huge adventure, seeing the body of Christ operate
in another language and culture! Xhosa
churches are full of life and excitement, and this was no different.
I wanted to share one amazing testimony with you from August
3rd church service, and it’s bound to blow your mind.
A middle aged man came forward and began sharing what
happened during his last week, on his way home from work. As he was walking home and saw a bunch of
children playing on the road in front of him (this is very typical as most
houses don’t have yards for kids to play in, so the children play in the street). While he was watching, a taxi comes driving towards the kids.
To understand this story, you have to understand what “taxis”
are here in South Africa. They
are the people’s primary option for public transport.
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| South Africa taxi |
There are 2 large taxis companies in the area
and both of them are run by gangs. There
are regular “taxi wars”, where taxi drivers are shot and killed for taking
other drivers’ routes. Just a little
over a month ago, only 5 minutes from where we live, about 10 taxis drivers
were shot and killed due to a dispute. Sadly
the police have very little control over the taxi system.
On the roads, the taxis completely do their own thing. Daily, I witness taxis driving through red
lights, speeding, cutting people off, using turning lanes to go straight,
etc. Basically they do whatever they
want to do and since everyone knows that, the rest of traffic just yields to
them.
Back to the story, as this taxi is driving towards
these kids, there is also a 2 year old child on the road (who is unable to move
away on time) and the child is driven over by the taxi. The man from church goes running to the
child, but just before he picks up the child, he senses the Holy Spirit telling
him to pray. So he prays for the child,
picks him up and looks around for the parents.
It takes a few minutes to find the parents, but he finally locates
them.
Quickly relatives, neighbors and
others gather around this little boy who is bleeding badly from the head.
After a few more minutes, surprisingly, the same taxi
driver comes back and offers to bring the child to the hospital. So the man from church jumps into the taxi
with the child, to make sure the taxi actually goes to the hospital. On the way there, the driver starts to
complain about the cost of fuel for the trip, and so the man from church has to
put fuel into the taxi to keep going. He
keeps praying for the child, and while sharing this in church, he was very emotional
still.
Once they arrive at the hospital, the doctors do a rapid
assessment and since the child is not doing well, they immediately transfer him
to Cape Town biggest children’s hospital.
Upon arriving, the doctor there comes to see the child. With the family all gathered, the man from church simply tells them that in
faith, he is confident that God is going to heal the child.
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| Capetown Children Hospital |
Just a little while later, the child is discharged from the
hospital and the doctor says the child is 100% ok! It was amazing to hear this testimony and the
whole church praised God for saving the baby.
