I befriended Ivan in 1957; during the time that he suffered from tuberculosis. Brother Prinsloo, Moderator of Members in Christ Assemblies,advised us not to get married until Ivan was healthy again. Dr. Weeks, an MD attending Members in Christ, also advised us that it would not be possible for us to get married. I had received a prophecy three years before I met Ivan, stating that the Lord would put an angel at my side. Years went by and Ivan did not get healed. Since marriage was a serious business to me, I fasted and prayed, not to ‘get a man’ but to find the will of God. One evening, I felt the Lord speaking to me through Esther 2:17, Ruth 3:18, Gen 2:22, 25:20 and Matt 1:20. In the meantime, the Lord also revealed to Ivan that I was the right woman for him. Later on, God told this to him personally.
In 1969, I was appointed secretary to the Moderator during a period of renovations to the Helderberg Church. I also took care of the accounting related to all the churches to meet government requirements. During this time, Ivan got much worse, and in February of 1971, he was admitted to the South Hills Hospital.All of the overseas assemblies were notified of his critical condition with a request for prayer.
In the hospital, he spent much time praying on a mat. When the nurse would come to give him medication, he would tell her that he hadn’t finished praying yet. He didn’t want to take 47 pills a day and he eventually discharged himself. Sister Leeuwner took care of him at home.
During this time, I felt led to go and pray for him. Sister Leeuwner was very concerned as he wouldn’t eat anything. She asked if I would please take him for some sight-seeing to Vaaldam. While we were sitting by the water, the Lord led me to pray for him. After the prayer, Ivan said that he was very hungry. I had brought a lot of fruit with me and he ate all of it! Many people throughout South Africa and overseas had prayed for Ivan and that day the Lord healed him! Praise God that the time of wonders has not ended!
We decided to get married on the 8th of May 1971, and we sent invitations to the overseas assemblies. Sister Annie Dreier in Germany feared the worst and thought that the envelope contained Ivan’s death notice, but all this time it was a wedding invitation! God can turn bad news into good news. In February, Ivan was deathly ill, was healed in March and married in May!
Translator's notes:
Vaaldam refers to a lake about 150 km from the hospital. The lake was created by building a dam in the Vaal river.
Below are copies of certificates issued in Middelburg, The Netherlands by a doctor working for the agency responsible for fighting tuberculosis, giving Ivan a clean bill of health.
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment