It was on a Thursday morning when Mr. and Mrs. Ngwira went to clean at church in Kapupulu. After completing his portion, Mr. Ngwira went to his job. He spent some time there before coming home in the afternoon around 3 p.m. When he arrived, he found two of his sons playing—the youngest, Elijah (2 years old), and Favour, his immediate elder brother. He asked if their mother had returned, and they said, “No, not yet.”

Mr. Ngwira then asked, “So, it’s just the two of you?” They replied, “Yes.” He went inside the house, grabbed his axe, and decided to go cut some bamboo in a nearby bush not far from the house. As he started off, Elijah followed, wanting to come along. The father told him to go back, but Elijah refused, so the father allowed him to come along.

After cutting about three bamboo stalks, a voice from a nearby garden called out, “Lidia,” Elijah’s elder sister. Upon hearing that, Elijah told his father he wanted to go to his mother. The father refused, saying, “Wait until I finish, and then we will go together,” fearing that a snake might bite him.

In his haste to go to his mother, Elijah ran off towards home. Seeing him run, the father decided to carry the bamboo stalks he had cut and follow him, again concerned about the possibility of a snake bite.

When Elijah reached home, he found his mother was still not there. He joined his elder brother, Favour, and went to play in a nearby yard. Mr. Ngwira arrived home shortly after and found Elijah and Favour missing. He began to wonder where they might have gone. He dropped the bamboo stalks and started to slice them into smaller pieces.

Around 4 p.m., Mrs. Ngwira returned from church and explained how the day had gone. After a short while, Elijah and Favour were seen coming with a neighbour, crying. Mr. Ngwira greeted the neighbour and engaged in conversation but didn’t initially pay much attention to Elijah’s crying, as he assumed it was just normal.

When the mother saw her son crying, his head tilted back towards the sky, she decided to carry him on her back. His crying continued and became unbearable. She entered the house, and as soon as she did, Elijah began sweating profusely. She started to wonder if he was sick.

She decided to give him some Panadol, but he couldn’t swallow it and spat it out. The mother yelled at him not to spit the medicine out and gave him another dose. He swallowed it, though not convincingly, and continued crying and fidgeting. Concerned, the mother wondered if he was really sick, as she had left him in good health that morning.

She asked Elijah what was wrong, but he couldn’t answer; he just cried and fidgeted on her back. She went out and asked her elder daughter if she had left her siblings alone, wondering if Elijah might have consumed some poison in her absence.

The mother, worried, decided to take Elijah off her back as his crying persisted. His eyes were now rolling inside his eyelids, and they had turned yellow. She thought maybe he had anal excoriation (perianal dermatitis), but when she checked, it wasn’t the case. Even more worried, she asked him again what was wrong, and he finally said, “Mom, my stomach,” at which point his condition worsened. He could no longer speak.

anal excoriation (perianal dermatitis): It occurs when the skin around the anus becomes irritated and forms sores or wounds due to frequent wiping, diarrhoea, or prolonged exposure to moisture.

She sent her elder daughter to fetch some Flagyl if they had any at home. The crying continued loudly enough to be heard from outside. The mother could no longer hold herself together. She rushed to where her husband was and insisted that he come home immediately. He wondered what could be the issue, as their child was normally prone to crying. Worried, he told the neighbour he had to leave and rushed home.

When he arrived, he saw the alarming state of Elijah. His eyes were rolling back, and the father was shocked, powerless, and traumatised, as he had seen the child only hours ago in perfect health. He feared that Elijah had eaten something poisonous. Mr. Ngwira asked one of the children to go fetch milk, but his wife insisted that she would go herself.

Before she left, Mr. Ngwira suggested they pray first, and so they prayed together, saying, “God of the Apostle, please remove this ailment of death in the name of Jesus Christ.” However, the father felt powerless to continue praying as the situation became more dire. He prayed a short prayer, but there was no immediate change in Elijah’s condition. The child stopped crying altogether and his hands began to move listlessly.

Mr. Ngwira told his wife to hurry to the store for milk while he went to search the bushes to see if he could find anything Elijah may have consumed. However, he found nothing and decided to follow her to the store.

Meanwhile, the mother met with Sister Mwansa (Bana Paul), who was shocked to see Elijah’s condition. They went to Sister Mwansa’s house, where they found her husband, Brother David Mwansa, and a friend. The friend suggested they take Elijah to the clinic immediately, but the mother, suspecting poisoning, insisted on giving Elijah milk first. They advised her to hurry, and Sister Mwansa accompanied her to the shop for milk.

On their way, they met Mr. Ngwira, who asked about Elijah’s condition. When they told him it was worse, he suggested they go to the clinic right away. The child’s head had now tilted down, and he wouldn’t drink any milk even if they were to give him.

Upon reaching the clinic, they discovered that the nurse (sister in charge) was not there. They went to her home, and when she came out, the mother explained the urgency. The nurse initially said she had already knocked off and they should return the next day, but upon seeing Elijah’s condition, she was shocked and quickly agreed to take them to the clinic.

At the clinic, the nurse asked the father to get some airtime so she could call for assistance and went back home to collect some items.

Brother David Mwansa tried praying at home, but realising the prayers weren’t helping, he decided to join them at the clinic. While they were praying, the nurse returned and waited until they finished.

Afterward, the nurse began making arrangements to contact the head of medical personnel at the clinic, explaining the emergency. The head advised that they test Elijah for malaria and take his temperature. The temperature was 35°C, and the malaria test came back negative. The child’s breathing changed, and the mother began to panic, thinking Elijah might be dead. At this point an ambulance was sent from the hospital.

Sister Mwansa (Bana Paul), on the verge of tears, encouraged the mother and began praying, saying, “God of Apostle Kangwa, heal this child, whether it be witchcraft or satanism.” The mother, crying and praying as well, said, “God of Apostle Richard Kangwa, heal my child.”

People began to gather at the clinic, including relatives and passersby. The nurse suggested the child might be suffering from hunger, but Elijah’s sister clarified that he had eaten around 12:00 PM. The nurse then suggested they should prepare a glucose solution for him, and Elijah’s eldest sister went to buy sugar.

As they waited, people suggested they book a vehicle to take Elijah to the hospital rather than waiting for the ambulance, but Brother David suggested they wait a little longer. Mr. Ngwira went outside to make a call to the servant of the Lord, Apostle Richard Kangwa. Unfortunately, the phone was unreachable as the servant of the Lord was engaged on another call. Feeling hopeless, he stood there for a while.

Sister Mwansa suggested his wife go home for more clothes for herself and the child since the ambulance was on its way.

The father returned to the clinic and, on his way, met the mother. She asked him if he could go home and fetch some clothes for her and the child. However, he insisted that she go herself, as she would be better able to choose the right clothes. She set off for home, and he accompanied her partway. Midway through their journey, the Apostle called him back. The father decided to stay behind to attend to the call, while the mother continued on her way.

The Apostle extended his greetings, and the father explained that the child was gravely ill and in a critical condition. He recounted the sequence of events, from cutting bamboos in the bushes to their eventual arrival at the clinic.

The Servant of the Lord asked if it was possible that the child had been bitten by a snake. The father replied that they had thoroughly checked for any swelling or marks on the skin but found no signs. The Apostle then enquired about the child’s age. In his state of confusion and distress, the father, unaware of what he was saying, responded, “Two months.”

The Servant of the Lord then said, “I will pray now.” Still confused, the father switched off his phone, only to realise moments later that he needed to hear the Apostle pray. He switched the phone back on but hesitated to call, fearing he might interrupt the prayer.

Meanwhile, the mother, running home with trembling knees and no strength, was overcome with feelings of helplessness. She imagined mourners gathering at her home for the funeral but continued praying in her heart, asking God to heal her child and give her the strength to return to the clinic quickly. When she reached home, her thoughts were only on rushing back to the clinic. She managed to grab a wrapper and a shirt for herself but couldn’t find any clothes for the child in her state of confusion. While at home, she considered instructing the children to prepare for the child’s burial, assuming he had already passed. Yet something deep within her heart stopped her. She set off back to the clinic.

The father returned to the clinic, and as he entered, he was stunned to find the child sitting up and crying. He was overcome with awe—how could this be? Just moments ago, this same child had been gravely ill, unable to move.

They asked the child if he could see his father from where he was sitting. The child nodded in affirmation. The father, speechless and overwhelmed, witnessed the miraculous transformation—a child who had been lifeless on the sickbed was now sitting and responsive.

They instructed the child to stand on his feet. He stood. They asked, “Can you walk to where your father is standing?” The child nodded and walked to his father, who lifted him up in joy. The child was now completely healed.

Immediately, the father called the Servant of the Lord, the Apostle, to share the miraculous news. “The child is completely fine,” he said.

The Apostle asked, “Are you sure?” The father, replied, “I am very sure.”

During the call, the Apostle heard the child crying in the background and asked, “Is that him crying?” The father answered, “Yes, sir. It is him.”

The Servant of the Lord said, “The hand of the Lord is not short. Even from a distance, God can heal. May God be with you all.” The Apostle declared, “The child is completely healed.”

The people gathered at the clinic were astonished. They marveled at how a child in such a critical condition could be completely restored without any medical intervention—solely by a prayer of the Servant of the Lord through the phone.

As they moved about the clinic in shock and amazement, the mother, still on her way back, saw the father approaching for he had decided to go after her to give her assurance. Her heart sank, fearing the worst. She asked him about the child’s condition, and he explained everything. Overcome with joy, she thanked the Lord, the God of Apostle Richard Kangwa.

As they walked together back to the clinic, the father prayed for God to intervene and stop the ambulance, which was already on its way.

When they arrived at the clinic, the mother found the child sitting up and drinking glucose solution. She was relieved to see the child, who had earlier been unable even to take water, now alert and recovering. She lifted him up in gratitude.

The nurse was informed over the phone about the child’s recovery. She suggested that the illness might have been caused by hunger. However, the mother disagreed, explaining that the child always communicated when he was hungry and had been playing normally before falling ill.

The nurse then informed the head medical personnel, who stated that the ambulance, already dispatched, could not turn back midway. It had to reach the clinic, and only after the medical personnel confirmed the child’s recovery could it return.

While waiting for the ambulance, Elijah, the child, was asked to go to his father, who gave him a coin. The child then asked his mother to buy him a biscuit, saying he was hungry—his first words since the ordeal began. The mother was overjoyed to hear him speak again.

They waited until nightfall, when they were informed that the ambulance had turned back and they were free to take the child home.

The family arrived home safely, with the child completely healed. They thanked the Living God and His Servant, Apostle Richard Kangwa, through whom God is performing great wonders in this generation.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.