PHOTOS..'Her death is not in vain' mother of South African Synagogue collapse victim

Article written by freelance journalist
Ihechukwu Njoku. He sent it to me to
share. Read below...

A South African mother who
tragically lost her daughter in the
collapse of T.B. Joshua’s guesthouse
in Lagos, Nigeria on September 12th
2014 has expressed belief that her
death served a purpose. It’s been
almost three weeks since the
tragedy in Lagos and Sibongile
Madzhiye's family is still waiting for
their daughter’s remains to be
brought back home.

The bright 23-year-old final year
BCom Accounting student was an
avid Emmanuel TV viewer and
thrilled at the opportunity to visit
The Synagogue Church Of All
Nations (SCOAN), along with over
300 other South Africans.

"Immediately when she boarded the
flight, she sent me an SMS – ‘Mummy,
good morning’”, Sonny Madzhiye
sombrely recounted to South African news
channel ENCA reporter Bongiwe Khumalo.
“She then called me at the [Lagos] airport.
She was so excited. She said, ‘Mummy,
they have come to fetch us to go to the
church.’ I said, ‘It’s fine; take it easy. We
will talk tomorrow.’ That was it. We
never communicated after that.”

Sibongile was among 84 South Africans at
a pilgrimage to Joshua’s church in Lagos
who died while taking their lunch as the
guesthouse above them suddenly caved
in.
Her mother said when The SCOAN
authorities informed her of her
daughter’s passing, it merely confirmed
what she had seen in a vision during
prayer.
She spoke glowingly of her daughter’s
faith, “She loved the Lord so much. She
was unique. One thing that I know – she
was a child of God. She was set apart. I
didn’t know that it was for this. I know
that her death is not in vain. South Africa
will never be the same.”

Today, she waits patiently for her
daughter’s remains to be brought home,
acknowledging that the incident has
actually moved her and the family as a
whole closer to God.
“I just immerse myself in the Word and
pray for my family,” she said, the ‘Faith
Bracelet’ from T.B. Joshua visible on her
hand. “I think God is doing this for a
purpose, so that we can get closer to
Him. I have never spent time with God
like this moment.”
“One thing that I know [is that] nobody
can stop God, whether the government or
whoever – no one can stop God," she
said. "I believe that God’s time is the best.
I’m appealing also to the people that
lost their loved ones to stay in Christ. This
is the opportunity to be closer to God, not
to complain."

The family says it has no plans to take
legal action against Prophet TB Joshua
and they’re willing to travel to Nigeria to
visit The SCOAN in the future.
Officials are still arranging the
repatriation of the remains of those who
died three weeks ago and the South
African government has warned that this
process could take longer than expected.