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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
    Christians love to sing of about their Saviour, Jesus Christ. They find great help and encouragement in singing hymns that express their faith in Jesus. Singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together with other Christians lifts their spirits. Many Christian hymns and songs focus on the life experiences of Christians in this world. A hymn […]
  • by Peter
    The husband of a good friend of ours died recently. He was elderly and in the last years of his life had suffered from dementia. His wife lovingly cared for him and said she was overwhelmed with the support from the NHS and friends and neighbours, especially in his last few weeks. Most of their […]
  • by Peter
    A few days ago, my wife and I visited North Wales. In beautiful sunny weather we drove through the mountains of the Snowdonia National Park. The mountains towered above us and looked majestic. Sheep were peacefully grazing on the hillsides. The mountains provided a backdrop to the beautiful coastline with its lovely beaches which were […]
  • by Peter
    Someone has said that Jesus never met an unimportant person. Large crowds of ordinary people followed him and gladly listened to his teaching. His life was very busy, but he was always ready to spend time with people and to give them his undivided attention. When sick and needy people were brought to him, he […]
  • by Peter
    A few weeks ago, I was driving behind a local bus and noticed an advert on the back of it which read “Try praying.” When I got home, I looked up the Try Praying website. It said, “Does anyone listen when we pray? Is there anyone there who cares about our lives? Most people pray […]
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