The Other Side of the River

The Testimony of Make Thulie

I was born into a polygamous home. My father had three wives and concubines and 43 children in total. My mother gave birth to 13 children: six girls and seven boys. My grandfather was a witch doctor, and in our family, they believed that someone from each generation had to follow in his footsteps. I was chosen. They said I was to become a sangoma, a traditional healer.

After finishing high school, I became very sick. My family told me it was because I had been “entered” by spirits, the demons that come upon a daughter born into such a family. From a young age, I went to a Christian school, and in my final year of high school, I heard about Jesus. I even prayed to accept Him. But after school, I had no church to attend. There was no teaching on salvation, and I fell away. My friends thought I was strange. I gave up on my faith and went back to the things of the world.

The sickness remained, and the dreams began. In my sleep, I saw trees, and each tree was shown to me with its power. One leaf for a headache. Another for stomach pain. I would wake up, go to the very place I had seen in my dream, and find the tree waiting. This convinced my family that I was truly called to be a healer. They urged me to go through initiation, but I refused.

One day, while alone at home, something happened. It was like being struck by lightning. I fell unconscious and saw a bright figure, whether a man or an angel, I don’t know. We spoke together. When I awoke, I was troubled and restless. Whenever I heard people singing in church each Sunday, I would become nervous and want to hide.

Then God gave me a vision. I saw myself on one side of a great river. On the far side were people singing and praising God. A voice called out, “Come to the other side.” I looked at the wide river and asked myself how I could cross. The plank was narrow but stretched across to the other side. I crossed and joined the people, full of joy.

The next morning was Sunday. I told myself I would not go to church, yet I turned on the radio and heard a pastor preaching from Nehemiah 2:17 about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Something stirred in me. Again, I remembered the voice from my vision: “Baptist… when you go there, the burden on your shoulders will be lifted.”

Not knowing where to go, I set out with my Bible. On the way, I met a lady who asked where I was going. I said, “To church.” She asked which one. I said, “I don’t know, but I heard a voice say Baptist.” She smiled and said, “I am going there now. Come with me.”

When we reached the door, I asked her to go inside first. I stood outside, listening. Usually, the singing of Christians made me shake with fear. But that day, as I heard, the heavy load lifted from my shoulders. I entered. I felt peace for the first time in many years.

Pastor Wayne was preaching. After the service, I went straight to him and told him my dream. He said, “That was not a dream. It was a vision. And God has brought you here.” From then on, Pastor Wayne and Barbara Myers have been discipling me since 1998. I grew in the Word and began to testify to my family.

At first, I wanted to give up because my parents continued in drunkenness. But Pastor Wayne encouraged me to keep praying. Later, he visited my home and asked my father if he could start a Bible study there. To my surprise, my father, though still a drunk, was sober during that visit. Soon after, a revival was held near our home. My father and my mother both gave their lives to Christ. Out of that, a Baptist church was planted right there in my community.

Today, I am not the quiet girl they once called “Thulie,” which means quiet. God gave me a new voice. I began teaching Sunday school, then women, and then even adults. He turned me from the granddaughter of a witch doctor into a preacher of the gospel. With God, nothing is impossible.

My favorite verse is Psalm 37:4:

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

This has become my life testimony. When I delighted in Him, He truly gave me a new heart, a new joy, and a new purpose.

Today, she serves as an interpreter for the Eswatini Baptist Association. It has been a joy walking alongside her these past 14 days.