Miracles with Martin (July 20)

Guest Speaker:

Terry Stewart introduced Martin Bekker who is a Chaplain with the Church of Christ.

Martin spoke about the South African Border Wars.


Martin had in his teenage years wanted to become a dentist but found in his last year of High School that he was drawn to being involved in Christianity and studied for the Ministry. In South Africa at the time there was compulsory national service and eventually Martin who was by then a qualified Minister found himself serving in the South African Army - the 44th Parachute Brigade.

 

Otherwise known as the Angolan Wars the battles continued from 1975 for nearly twenty seven years without a war ever being declared. There were various national and international interests including Angola, Namibia and South Africa along with Russia, Cuba, and the USA. Controlling minerals was thought to be one of the primary motivations for the various sides.

Martin was not a soldier as such but a Chaplain however nevertheless he found himself on the front line of the Angolan War. On Sunday 11.03.84 after completing a Sunday morning Sermon he travelled with his Brigade to the site of a previous battle where a stockpile of ammunition and weapons had been seized. These were placed in the back of the 'buffalo' vehicle that Martin was sitting on. Long story short as Martin told us, the ammunition blew up and his arm was blown off and his back and upper legs massively damaged. He thought he was dying and described looking down from above and seeing his body - an out of body experience. He felt scared and lost and experienced a shining bright light.

He would end up spending eight months in a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa under 24/7 care recovering to the point where he could function again after skin grafts, amputations and colostomy bags. He was told he might live until he was forty. He is now in his sixties. He believes in miracles. Prior to the war his marriage had been on the rocks... he has now been married for forty one years.