At Dominican Grimley School for the Deaf in Cape Town I learnt Catholic catechism. When my mother remarried, we moved to live on a farm in Koster - North West. I used to pray Catholic prayer daily before I went to bed. When I was a teenager, I was confirmed at Methodist Church - I used to go to different Christian Churches where my step-relatives frequented.

In 1961 after death of my brother in a car accident and at the same time as my stepfather's farming went bankrupt, we decided to move to Jo'burg. We got jobs there.

On the New Year of 1964 at a party of our deaf friends, I met Rex there. I was told that he was a deeply religious Catholic man. When we got engaged, I decided to follow his religion. I believed that the Catholic Church was the only true church. After we got married, we were proud being Catholic and looked down at the other Christian Churches, including the Pentecostal Churches for their crazy clapping of hands and shouting!

At the beginning of our married life, our marriage didn't go well as Rex was suffering from his unhappy childhood. He was born in Belgian Congo and was later orphaned. He was schooled and boarded at St. Vincent's School for the Deaf in Jo'burg. He had two different cultures and at that time there was no marriage counsellor for the Deaf. It was from many years of confusion that the specialist doctor advised him to follow his own home culture that had helped him a lot.

Rex was always God-fearing man and had wrongly believed that God was punishing us.

It was in 1983 we saw the advertisement in the Sunday Times Newspaper about THE HEALING at the Christian City (Church). We went to a priest and asked him to let us go there hoping that our deaf and autistic son, might be healed. He said yes but be careful!

Before we went to the Christian City, nobody told us about it, it was the newspaper that encouraged us to go there. When we arrived there, we were surprised to see a group of Deafies with an interpreter. The pastor asked the people to come to the front of the platform to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit and we went to another room for prayers. The interpreter told us to pray according to the Bible, Romans 10 v 9 - 10. Rex told me to speak with my voice as we read aloud these verses while the pastor prayed over us all.

WOW, what a lovely REVIVAL! It was definitely the work of the Holy Spirit that changed our lives. Praise the Lord! Now we realised that all different Christian Churches are in the same body of our Saviour Jesus Christ. I repented of being critical of the other churches.

I praised God for this wonderful experience. I lifted up my arms and felt the electric waves of warmth flow through my hands and downwards to my legs. This was how I found truth. It was the real experience of Jesus who dwells in me. I was excited and thirsted after God's Word. I found the truth of who Jesus Christ really is to me after many years of spiritual emptiness.

Jesus said, “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE, NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT BY ME” John 14 v 6.

We rejoiced in the Spirit and the truth instead of the carnal praying like a parrot!!!

We have heartfelt zeal for God, filled with excitement in singing, worshipping, praising and praying to God than before. We knew we were born-again. We praise God who had set us free from the bondage of darkness and fear! HALLELUJAH!

We were persecuted but we rejoiced to follow Jesus' footsteps. I thanked God for healing Rex from anxiety, neurosis and for setting him free from his terrible temper. He had asked me for forgiveness and I was happy to do so.

In 2002 on Sunday at 5 am, I woke up from my dream - a real dream - I was holding a large picture and looking at the Byzantine painting of the Virgin Mary when suddenly the picture was pulled to the right side of Jesus Christ. He was standing in the eastern sky with his outstretched hands towards the mankind and there were moving words on the long oblong screens everywhere in the sky, on the hills, on the mountains and inside the restaurants saying ... “REPENT AND BE PREPARED FOR HIS COMING, HE IS WAITING THERE.” Everybody was in panic and bewildered - WHAT TO DO?? - they enquired.

We pray for all the people to come to Jesus and be saved. It is very important to the whole redeemed people, regardless of their religion and denominations, to worship the King in spirit and truth.

The TRUE CHURCH, meaning the saved PEOPLE, is the Body of Jesus Christ, gathered together to WORSHIP GOD - LOVE GOD and LOVE THE NEIGHBOURS. The true church is not the building made of stone.

Are you prepared for His soon return? PLEASE repent and be saved. You will never know when it will happen. It may happen suddenly or unexpectedly like the Tsunami!

God bless you.

Marian Bothma (D)