Inspiring Convert Story-12
"My Transformation"
By Kholeka J. Mjele
Locale of King William's Town, South Africa
I WAS BORN in 1952 to a devout Methodist family,
and attended the services regularly during my childhood. It was
different in my adulthood, however. When I was living in Bhisho, the
capital of Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, I was far from the
nearest Methodist church and can no longer attend as often as I
wanted to. My job as a nurse meant irregular shift-work, which
further hampered my church attendances. The spiritual education of
my children was therefore also affected.
The first time I heard about the Church of Christ
was when a colleague and I were chatting one day, and she told me
about a certain doctor who regularly assisted with transporting her
son to attend congregational gathering in King William's Town, about
five kilometers from Bhisho, every week. This I thought was
interesting, but I did not ponder much more on it. They latter
invited my son and daughter, as well as my two nephews, to what they
call a grand evangelical mission (GEM). I, however, did not
attend.
My daughter and nephews became more involved with
the activities of this church, but I remained disinterested. Not
knowing or realizing the importance of regularly attending its
worship services. I would send my daughter away during school
holidays, to Grahams-town, a town which was about two hours drive
from Bhisho, and where we also have a large number of close
relatives.
It was only latter on that I finally gave in to
another invitation from my children to attend a GEM, which was held
at the King William's Town house of worship. I found the Bible
lesson to be enlightening, and I was further invited to attend the
worship services. I also had a chance to meet the doctor whom I was
told about and he turned out to be Brother Rogelio Rafols Jr., the
current God's Message correspondent in South Africa.
I started to attend the worship services but when
asked about that church I belonged to, I would boldly tell them that
I was a Methodist.
I noticed that the worship services were solemn
and very orderly. I was thinking about asking the minister later
about the basis of this, but to my surprise, the questions was
answered during the sermon, with the minister reading it from the
Bible.
I also had problem with the hymns, as they were
different from what i was used to, but after listening to the
lyrics, I became comfortable with them.
I was then invited further by the brethren to
attend instruction in biblical doctrines, which I also accepted, as
my curiosity about the Church was growing. Most of the Bible
lessons were new to me, and I never heard them before. I always
carried a pen and paper to write down notes, and to latter check
them in the Bible to see if they are actually true.
I was struck by the lesson on baptism, on when and
how it must be done, as well as who can be baptized. I then decided
to join the Church in order to have hope for salvation.
After attending a few lessons and worship
services, I felt that God was calling me. I told the
resident minister at that time, Brother Erwin Gorgonio, that
I felt I was going a spiritual transformation. He replied that,
that was only the
beginning, and that I was starting to learn. The truth is that ,
even today, I am still learning.
Through the dedication and diligence of the
brethren, especially with Brother Marinduque, the overseer who
helped us with transport to the house of worship, I was baptized on
October 20, 2002. My daughter had already accepted the true gospel,
and she was baptized earlier on.
I am still in the nursing field, now a chief
professional nurse, in charge of a Primary Health Care Clinic,
catering to the health needs of a large local community. However, I
do not let my work interfere with my spiritual obligations, as I
know that every success I have received is a blessing from God.
I am now a deaconess in the Church (the first
South African , and in Africa), and my daughter, Namhla, is one of
the first South African choir members.
I am glad that the Almighty God called me into the
Church of Christ, and I wish to serve Him for as long as I live.
□
___________________
Source: March 2007, God's Message, p.24
Note: Some words and phrases are in italics
for emphasis.