Church-wise, I was still floating around. I was searching with sincerity, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for. To my surprise, my Christian classmate attended the Invisible Church. It had, by then, become a bit more visible. I joined her on a couple of occasions for their services in a home and in a school hall. I loved being there. But, I never saw them as a real church. They met in a school hall and seemed to be having too much fun.

 

On one of these occasions, Lonnie Frisbee visited Johannesburg. He was working with John Wimber from California, at the time. My classmate invited me, and I took another Christian friend along. Lonnie was notable as a minister and evangelist in the Jesus movement. Recently, in 2023, a movie called “Jesus Revolution” was released that tells a bit more of his story. Until then, I knew little of the Spirit of God. Lonnie's amazing stories about the Holy Spirit captivated us all.

 

At the end of the service, he invited anyone curious about the Holy Spirit to come forward. To my surprise, everyone went forward—including me. I don't remember how I got home that night. I was filled with the Holy Spirit and felt such peace that I could hardly hold my cup of tea at the end of the service.

 

It started in an orderly manner. Lonnie stretched his hand out toward one of the girls who had come forward. Her face lit up, tears started running down her cheeks, and she had the most amazing smile on her face. He explained to us that what we were witnessing was the Holy Spirit moving in her. Then he told her to go and bless others in the group, asking her to lay hands on them and bless them in the name of Jesus.

 

A man with a loud voice appeared from behind me, prompting the thought, "Why does God always use those guys?" He burst out praying in tongues. This was not a practice I was familiar with from my church background. I immediately rolled my eyes and thought, “Oh no, not that rubbish again.”

 

Suddenly my tongue began to jump around in my mouth with a complete lack of control. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t even close my mouth. I tried to gain control. I tried to shove my fingers into my mouth to force my tongue to stop. But, a force stronger than me held my arms down by my sides.

 

Then my legs started shaking, and my knees buckled. Unable to keep my body upright, I felt myself going down. I tried to look elegant as I sank onto my haunches, pretending to be just a little tired of standing. But deep in my heart, I knew there was a greater force at play.

 

With my arms hanging limp by my sides, my tongue continued to find a rhythm of its own. I was down there for a while. When I finally found the strength in my legs again, I stood up straight, trying to act as if nothing had happened. I don’t know about other people, but I was sure Lonnie Frisbee saw what happened. He turned to the lady on my left and asked her to share what had occurred with her. But she was unable to speak.

 

Lonnie then turned to me and asked if I knew her. “No I don’t,” I replied. He told the group that, if they had their eyes open, they would have seen what happened. They would have noticed that the lady next to me went through the same experience at the same time as I did. He mentioned that when God’s power falls on people, it often touches those directly next to or behind them.

He then asked me to share what had happened to me. I knew I couldn't avoid this anymore. But, I felt a bit better knowing the lady next to me had gone through the same thing. Embarrassed by it all, I shared my story, beginning with my initial issue with my tongue. He laughed and said, “Oh, how wonderful! God blessed you with ‘tongues.’ All you need to do now is use your voice, and your tongue will do the rest.” I decided to leave out the part about my judgemental thoughts when I heard the man behind me praying in tongues.

 

The rest of the evening was a blur. I felt drunk. When I got home, I spent the night reading Acts, especially Acts 2. During that time, I began to pray in tongues. What a wonderful feeling it was to express something there are no words for! For a whole week, I didn’t know what had hit me.

 

Whenever no one was around, I would lift my hand in front of my face and stare at the space around it. I was so aware of God’s presence that I was constantly trying to see it. It felt as if the negative spaces were positive and what we perceived as positive was negative. My fellow art students would say it was an artistic observation. Or, they might suggest I was on some mind-altering substance.

 

Sometime later, I heard news that Lonnie was back for a visit, and this time he brought John Wimber with him. I joined the service one evening and loved it. The worship was tender and genuine. John Wimber was playing the keyboard and leading worship. I found the songs meaningful as they were directed to God, not about God.

 

After the worship, Lonnie guided us into communion. He asked us to form two rows down the side aisles of the church, to meet him in the middle at the front. He held the bread and wine. We broke off pieces of bread, dipped them in the wine, and served them to the person facing us from the opposite row. It was before the end of apartheid. It was emotional to see people hugging strangers.

 

Near the end of the service, I sat and observed as they prayed for different individuals. I recognized one lady; she was always on the same bus as me on my way home from work. She was blind and was usually accompanied by her white cane and guide dog. As I was about to leave, I heard this woman screaming. I stopped in my tracks to see her throwing her purse into the air and catching it, shouting, “I can see my purse! I can see!” That was the first miracle I witnessed.

I'm reading Lonnie Frisbee’s book, "The Jesus Revolution", and I'm surprised he mentioned this healing that took place in South Africa. He noted that it was the headline in the Sunday Times the next day. It was also one of the first major healings he ever witnessed.

 

Wow! Is this true? Are miracles real? If it is, then this is what I want from church. But the old pessimist in me questioned: “Nah, maybe it's true for others, but not for me.”