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The story of Rodwell Khomazana

On 2 May 9-year-old Rodwell Khomazana was attacked by a hyena and suffered life-changing injuries. The attack took place when Rodwell was with his family at a night religious service at Zviratidzo Zvevapostori Apostolic Church in Zimbabwe and was sleeping. In the attack Rodwell suffered terrible injuries losing his nose, left eye, most of his upper lip and parts of his forehead and face. He was rushed to Harare’s Parirenyatwa Hospital, the largest hospital in Zimbabwe, where surgeons stabilised his wounds but didn’t have the resources to repair the terrible wounds to his face. A senior nursing sister Chaku Nyamupaguma volunteered to care for Rodwell. The excellent medical care Rodwell received in Zimbabwe saved his life.

Rodwell’s mother couldn’t afford the specialised surgery he needed, which is only available outside Zimbabwe, but contacted doctors in South Africa who agreed to operate on him free of charge in a private Johannesburg clinic. The news was shared, many people prayed, and donations came in to cover the full cost of getting Rodwell to South Africa. One of the team managing Rodwell’s medical evacuation said, “It’s just very overwhelming to see the amount of love that people have shown so readily, without even knowing him.”

Dr Ridwan Mia, a renowned plastic surgeon who is leading the team operating on Rodwell, said, “If he wasn’t to have this reconstructive surgery, I think we would be hearing a terrible story of a child who probably will not face society again. And that was the big key, that we can get him a face that he can walk around in public with and still feel and be as normal a child as possible.” As well as the reconstructive procedures, Rodwell will need months of speech therapy, occupational therapy, and psychotherapy to help him speak properly again, eat by himself again, be able to play football with his friends once more and gain the independence any young boy deserves to have.

The responses of the medical teams in Zimbabwe and South Africa and the generosity of people are a great example to us all. One of the greatest commandments is, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus said, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” Jesus came into this world to reveal God to us. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made his light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This article is brought to you from Thought for the Week. To read more about this ministry, click here.

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However, the ongoing pandemic and associated Welsh Government Regulations means that our capacity is limited and therefore restricted to advance bookings only.

For more details on services currently running see our What’s-On page and see our COVID-19 page for details on how to book into services in the Chapel and the restrictions we are currently applying.

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Thought for the Week

Every week, our former assistant minister, Peter Milsom, writes an article which relates the teaching of the Bible to daily life and current events. These weekly articles are brought to you from the Thought for the Week website. You can read more about the ministry here.

We invite you to read the articles each week and pray that they will enable you to find real help and encouragement in God’s Word and especially in his Son, Jesus Christ. The articles are also published every week in newspapers throughout the UK.

Below are some of the most recent articles. Click the links to read the full articles on the Thought for the Week site. From this week, they will also be posted on our blog.

  • by Peter
    Kenneth Elliot, an Australian doctor kidnapped in Burkina Faso and held captive by al-Qaeda for more than seven years, has finally returned home to his family in Perth. Dr Elliot, who is 88 years old, is safe and well. The family said, “We wish to express our thanks to God and to all who have […]
  • by Peter
    We are enjoying warm and sunny days. So, it is no surprise that students in schools and colleges are sitting exams! Somehow the sun always seems to shine at revision and exam times. It is a very stressful time for the young people sitting important school, college and university exams which have implications for their […]
  • by Peter
    On 28 August 2002 Lyn Connolly came home from shopping to find her husband, Mick, sitting with two strangers. They were detectives who had brought the family some terrible news. The night before their 28-year-old son, Paul, had been murdered by two strangers in a motiveless attack. Paul had been stabbed in the back and […]
  • by Peter
    Early in the Coronation Service of King Charles III, Samuel Strachan, Child of his Majesty’s Chapel Royal, spoke to the King, “The King your Majesty, as children of the kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of kings.” The King replied, “In his name and after his example I come […]
  • by Peter
    The Coronation of King Charles III is a major event for the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries of which Charles is the King. In the Bible kings play a major part. The first king of Israel was Saul who was appointed because none of the prophet Samuel’s sons was fit to be king. When […]
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