The News Bulletin – January 15,1982

Below are extracts of the late Rev T.G.Oshokoya’s Missionary Trip Report from the Apostolic Faith Church Nigerian News Bulletin; 49 Maloney St.Ebute Metta, Nigeria dated January 15, 1982. Please note that due to a gray condition of the copy of the bulletin which rendered some parts of the report nondescript, we had to select legible paragraphs for online re-publication.

The plane took off at 11:15pm from Lagos on Tuesday the 15th of December 1981. after a stop at Douala, we flew to Nairobi arriving at 7:15am. We changed plane and continued to Salisbury, the capital of Zimbabwe. Brother Brooks, a lecturer at the University there met us at the airport. He was very helpful to us staying around until our next plane took us on local flight from Salisbury to Bulawayo where the Campmeeting was taking place. Bulawayo is the headquartes of our work in Southern Africa therefore gathered at the Campmeeting were many saints from Zambia, Botswana, Cape Town, Johannesburg, South Africa, Malawi etc.

Most of the morning service that day was taken up by introductions and reminiscences. Joy was mixed with tears as the Rev.Morgan Sengwayo thanked the Lord that my team members and I were able , at last to visit him and the saints since 1955 – my first visit. This was a fulfillment of his prayers and the earnest desire of his heart. He then formally handed the work over to me and told me to take full control of everything and then he stepped down from the platform.

I recalled how in March 1955 we held meetings in Salisbury, Gatooma, Gwelo and Bulawayo. Suddenly I got a call to be in Ghana and at the Bulawayo airport, the Lord laid it on my heart to tell Brother Sengwayo to carry on the work.

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Brother Sengwayo held a get together for the team on the first Monday. The evening turned out to be a wonderful time of sweet fellowship as we heard testimony after testimony of God’s faithfulness. He told us of his early life when his mother wanted him to be baptised in water in the church, but he refused though he was still a boy because the life of the church members did not impress him. Later in Johannesburg, he was afflicted with a dreadful infectious disease. Since it could not be cured in hospital, it was thought to end his life for fear of contaminating others. But a kind nurse who knew his fate set him free. He later met some praying people who prayed for him and he was healed.

This set him seeking for deeper things of God. Later he heard about salvation. His heart longed to be saved and one day by a stream, he prayed earnestly the way he knew best. He told God to save his soul or he would drown. The Lord saved him that day. He later came across a tract of the Apostolic Faith Church and he wrote to Portland. He was sent some literature.

Sometime later, Portland wrote to inform him about the visit of the Overseer from Nigeria – Rev Timothy Oshokoya – and he went to meet him. He became my(Oshokoya’s) interpreter and at a meeting in Bulawayo, he broke down in tears as the message cut across. Right there he rushed to the mourners bench and the Lord sanctified him.

‘Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints’

The Apostolic Faith
Church(Gospel) Southern
Africa – Formative Years