Sabbath, 27 January was another memorable day at Tottenham Lighthouse. It was the first Sabbath after a spirit-filled, 10 Days of Prayer. God in His infinite wisdom had gone ahead and planned a colourful and vibrant programme to buoy our spirits up, after the number of deaths and funerals that we were experiencing as a Church.
We were blessed to have as our speaker, Sister Judith Asare, a Woman of God, a counsellor and author of the book, ‘The Healing Power of Grace’. She did not travel alone from Birmingham, but was accompanied by her family.
Her daughter, Asaabea Asare who lives in Leeds also joined her and brought along her well-tuned steel pan and made joyful and sweet sounding melody in the House of the Lord as she played, ‘Here I am to worship.’
Sister Asare’s theme for her message was, ‘The Power of Prayer.’ After hearing her personal story, we all concluded that she was a living testimony. She shared with us her close encounter with death, and we were all in awe of the goodness and mercy of God. She met in an accident and her head was cut in half, she broke her neck - the C5 vertebra and her hand was completely detached from her body and had to be put back on. Doctors gave her a less than twenty percent chance of survival, but God was not finished with her. Despite her pains and disability, which affects her mobility causing her to use a stick (which she humorously calls her third leg), God is using her to do His work. He has even blessed her with a daughter after her accident, something that was considered impossible.
The message was truly uplifting and inspiring. We were encouraged not to look at others but to use the gifts that God has given to us. She reminded us that prayer allows us to build up a stronger relationship with God. When we put our trust in God, it is amazing what God can do through our prayers.
This was demonstrated in a testimony shared by Elder Janette Joseph, which she had heard on the SEC Prayer Line that Sabbath morning. Those who know Elder Joseph well, will be aware that one of her ministries and passion is to keep in touch, support and continuously pray for our children who are away at university. The testimony was about a group of students attending university and sharing accommodation, but one of the students was practising witchcraft. This caused much concern and fear. Family and friends bombarded heaven with their prayers about the situation, and the student practising witchcraft moved out without a fuss.
A big ‘Thank You’ to the Asare family and their friends who joined us: Michael Asare, her husband who did the Children’s Story; Kieannha Asare, her granddaughter who did the Scripture reading; Asaabea Asare, her daughter who played sweet melody on the steel pan; Asaabea’s partner, Andy Bonsu and Christian Curelar - a Romanian Brother who came along to give their support. How true are the Psalmist’s words, ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ Psalm 133:1 (KJV)
Sister Judith Asare who was born in Trinidad but grew up in Grenada, also brought with her a range of cultural items which were on display. After the Divine Service, young and old flocked to the table to learn something new of the past or to have a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Flags of different countries were exhibited on the platform.
Tottenham Lighthouse members had other reasons to be joyful. During the service it was announced that one of our centenarians, Sis Mallette was celebrating her 101 birthday the following day; Sunday, 28 January. Pastor Jude Jeanville, Elder J Joseph and Sis Doreen Green-Tyser visited her after the Sabbath service bearing gifts – flowers, a card and a birthday cake. In 2023 Sis Mallette received a greeting card from King Charles for reaching 100. We thank God for allowing her to see another year. Our other centenarian, Sis Ifil, sadly fell asleep at the time of writing this article.
There is indeed power in prayer. May we recognise the great privilege bestowed upon us mere sinful mortals. We are able to communicate directly through our prayers with the Creator, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let us therefore not spurn His invitation to ‘... come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ Hebrews 4:16 (KJV)
