Volume 17, Issue 11 St. Augustine Evangelical Bible Church, Cor. Agostini & Bellesmythe Sts. Curepe
Editorial
Testimony by William and Laila Naranjit A Miraculous Experience of God’s Healing Hand
“I thought I had faith in God but I was scared. And I had to find out who is this God that I am supposed to know because apparently I did not know him well enough. So then I went into the Bible, started in the Old Testament and saw really big miracles there. God could open a sea, God could rain hailstones down and kill the enemy, God could stop the sun in its tracks and do even greater things than I could imagine. He is in charge. He surely is a God to trust!”
These are the reflections of William Naranjit, a man who experienced God’s miraculous healing from a sudden, debilitating illness, which disrupted his life in September, 2017, and threatened to cause even further deterioration of his health.
Before this experience, Naranjit, a former engineer who had a career in Instrumentation and Control Systems (Trintoc/Petrotrin Oil Refinery), and his wife Laila Naranjit a former secondary school teacher, were no strangers to hardship. The Naranjits were blessed with a son and daughter. However, their son Wayne was born with muscular dystrophy. This incurable illness caused the degeneration of Wayne Naranjit’s muscles over time, and he required assistance from his parents and caregivers to perform simple routine tasks and activities.
The Naranjits did not allow this situation to limit Wayne. Laila Naranjit retired early to assist Wayne in attending classes at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine (UWI) campus, where he did a degree in Management Studies. With his mother’s perseverance in ensuring that the university provided the conditions necessary to facilitate his learning, and the understanding of his lecturers, Wayne did very well at UWI and passed away two elective courses shy of a first class honours degree. Wayne held a summer job at the National Gas Company, and achieved all of the goals that he set for himself before he succumbed to his illness in 2005.
Although the Naranjits learned to trust God while raising and caring for Wayne, William Naranjit found his faith being tested when he began to suffer from a pinched nerve in September, 2017. He started experiencing severe pain which made it difficult to straighten his back. As a result of this, he was unable to sit up or lie down properly. Naranjit, eventually had to use a wheelchair to move around, and Laila Naranjit had to help him with many of the tasks that he was no longer able to do on his own.
The Naranjits reached out to other Christians for prayer and also sought medical advice. William Naranjit visited several doctors and did many tests some of which were very painful (like an echocardiogram) because of the difficulty he had in lying flat. The doctors recommended that Naranjit do surgery to reduce the pain he was feeling, but the decision to do surgery or to not do surgery both had risks. If Naranjit chose not to do surgery, the pain could have increased and he could have lost control of his bladder and bowels as a result of the pressure that was being placed on nerves in his back by surrounding vertebrae. However, doing surgery could have resulted in full or partial paralysis since the procedure involved operating on nerves on his spine.
As Naranjit delved deeper into the scriptures and pondered on the mighty works of God, his faith began to grow and he asked God to heal him. He also told God that he would do the operation if this was His will. A few days before he was scheduled to do the surgery, two men visited Naranjit’s home to pray for him. Naranjit states, “they prayed and something…a kind of revulsion just came over me and I said I don’t want to be in a wheelchair ever again, and I got out of the wheelchair and pushed it aside!” It was at that moment Naranjit was healed but he did not realize it just yet. He states that when a miracle happens it can cause you to become astounded and you might not be able to comprehend it immediately. Naranjit walked the men to the gate and immediately started to do other things the pinched nerve had prevented him from doing. As he moved around and felt no pain, it dawned on William and Laila Naranjit that he had experienced a miracle!
When Naranjit went to visit the surgeon who was supposed to do the operation, he was shocked to see him walking up stairs and standing in an upright position. The surgeon asked him what had happened and he stated that he experienced a miracle. After doing some checks on Naranjit, the surprised surgeon told him that he did not need an operation. He advised him to do physiotherapy to strengthen his core abdominal muscles, but after doing four of twelve recommended sessions, the physiotherapist had to admit that he did not need these sessions. Naranjit’s doctor gave him a clean bill of health and he immediately started driving again, and resumed his normal life.
William and Laila Naranjit both agree that this experience has changed their lives. They state that their faith in God has grown tremendously and they are able to trust Him even in times of uncertainty. Their hunger to know God also increased and they have not only spent more time studying the Bible for themselves, they also started a Community Bible Study (CBS) group at their home which continues online. Laila Naranjit states that having witnessed a personal testimony of God’s intervention in their lives also helps her to evangelize and to share messages about God with others.
Willaim and Laila Naranjit encourage everyone to get to know the God of the Bible who has not changed, and who still saves, heals, and transforms lives.
Editorial by Jasmine Benjamin
Missions
Tanda Update from the Yearwoods
Praises:
We praise God that we were able to leave Trinidad and begin our trek to West Africa. We spent a few days in West Virginia and had 2 absolutely wonderful weeks reunited with co-workers and meeting new ones. Additionally, the content of both workshops were timely and well received by all.
After the workshops in Dakar, Senegal, Ron and I made our way to our village in Guinea-Bissau. The folks there were elated to see us. We cried with them for the loss of loved ones. We rejoiced with them as they shared the beginnings of their harvest with us. Besides two chickens that were at my feet for the 11 hour trip back to the capital, the trip in and out by bush taxi was relatively uneventful.
During our 2 years at home we witnessed both RoHn and RaHndell complete their university studies. Happy to announce that RaHndell graduated in October in Civil Engineering with first class honours and has recently gotten a job offer as a trainee. RoHn got a call from “On the Job Training" Division and has now worked a full month. Praise God with us that both our sons have secured positions through "On the Job Training" Division in Trinidad. You have prayed, God has answered.
We thank God for His continued provision in our lives. Thankful for our children as they step up to the plate in running the Hydroponic Green House along with Akilah Thomas.
Pray Requests:
We continue to save towards a vehicle or the repairing of our present one that has served us well for the last 12 years. The last couple years there it struggled significantly. Please pray with us that we can have a solution before we resume ministry in February 2022. We are very thankful for the couple of generous gifts that we have received specifically for this need.
Appreciate prayer for our adult children; RoHn, RaHndell and Renee. Appreciate your prayers for God’s intervention in their lives in showing them a path forward. RaHndell has made his choice of a life partner. He is now engaged to Akilah Thomas. Please pray that God would continue to reveal Himself to them especially during this time.
Please pray that the people will reap a bountiful harvest both in Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
A week in November we will be in Missouri with the mission Technical center as we attempt to fine tune the Hydroponic system and investigate how it can be a blessing to many.
What's On
This Month
During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Offering Collection
We will continue to facilitate deposits at the church office and online. Deposits can be made at the church office Monday–Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Those wishing to transfer funds online please note that we cannot verify the receipt of funds until our bank statement is received. Our account information is as follows:
NAME: ST AUGUSTINE EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCH (Use Capitals without punctuation marks and enter as many characters as the field allows)
NUMBER: 100081011847061 (15 digits are required by RBC. If your app does not accept 15 digits, omit some of the leading digits i.e. 1000)
ACCOUNT TYPE: Chequing
Please notify us of the Date / Sum / Purpose or Distribution of your transfer and let us know of any needed adjustments to the above instructions.
Each local bank has its own online transfer app/system and we have been advised of problems affecting transfers from other (Non-RBC) banks.
This Month's
Prayer & Praises
Let's pray without ceasing for:
Church board planning and the way moving forward that they would have a clear direction for the church
Healthcare system, health workers, police and other frontline employees
God's continued provision towards the Yearwoods for a working vehicle as they prepare to resume ministry
Let's give thanks for:
All the students who sat exams and the results they achieved in light of the many challenges faced
The Education System and the smooth re-opening of schools from the digital environment and the return of the Form 4-6 students as they transitioned to physical classes
Upcoming
Speaking & Worship Schedule
DATES | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
|---|---|---|
NOV 07 | Pastor Francis Warner | Communion Service-Romans 6:11-23 |
NOV 14 | Deacon Lindsay Gibbings | Romans 7:1-6 |
NOV 21 | Jewelle Mapp | Romans 7:7-25 |
NOV 28 | Antonio Roberts | Romans 8:1-17 |
DEC 05 | Elder Joe Caterson | Communion Service-Romans 8:18-27 |
TIMES | SERVICE |
|---|---|
9:00 AM | Sunday Service |
11:00 AM | Junior Sunday School |
11:30 AM | Adult Sunday School |
6:00 PM | Wednesday CBSI |
6:30 PM | Friday SAYBOB Young People's |
7:15 PM | Wednesday Prayer Meeting |
Comentários