Becoming Chris Kamalski

Noel Chitorido, our friend from Zimbabwe, 'skitting it up' with Jody Thomas.

(Each week I will attempt to post a story or reflection about some aspect of the work that our missional community, NieuCommunities South Africa, is currently engaged in here in Pretoria. I’ll simply attempt to answer the question, ‘What stories are you co-writing with God in South Africa, and how does this story fulfill your unique mandate to apprentice South African leaders into sustainable mission around the globe?’)

A growing friend of ours named Noel found himself healed in the midst of our weekly NieuCommunities training gathering a few Tuesdays ago. The story is so fantastic it must be passed on. I’ll let Joe Reed, the Director of NieuCommunities South Africa, tell the story in full, as he wrote on his blog such a beautiful description of the Spirit at work within our community:

Noel Chitorido is the first member of his family to pursue a University degree. With the many troubles that his home nation, Zimbabwe, is facing presently, this feat is even more impressive. His effort has not been met without opposition. For over a year, his father has been pursuing the local witch doctor (called a “Sangoma”) to pray against his son. Since these activities began, Noel has been dealing with very difficult heart problems accompanied by very high blood pressure. The doctors had not been able to help Noel.

Come back to our Tuesday night training gathering. It had come to our attention that the pain was increasing as Noel had started classes. We knew that God wanted to do something, so we did all that we knew how. We leaned over our brother, spoke truth into his life that opposed the words of his family, anointed his chest with oil while laying hands on him and asked Jesus to heal our friend.

Turn the clock about 12 hours ahead. Noel finds himself in a doctor’s office yet again. This time was different though. He felt no pain. The doctor took his blood pressure and assured Noel that he was in perfect health!

This will forever be a crucial point in the life of our community. We know that the name of Jesus carries authority over all things. Moving into the future, listening to His voice, we will choose to always believe He is in control.

[Full post by Joe Reed, Director of NieuCommunities South Africa, here]

Our community gathering for weekly learning conversations.