FIFTY-year-old Taona Mateya could not stomach it after medical doctors told him that he had a brain tumour and had to be operated on.
A motor mechanic by profession, Mateya had packed his tool box and left his workshop along Willowvale Road, as he faced a battle of survival at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
“I had brain tumour and was in the intensive care unit for two months. I had no hope for survival. I was discharged and sent home to conclude my days on earth. I could not walk, I became blind and deaf at the same time,” recalled Mateya.
Mateya worked as a mechanic in Harare's Workington Industrial area for five years before opening his own workshop in 2012.
“My misfortunes began in 2019 when I developed a brain tumour, all hope was dashed. After being discharged from the hospital, I thought I was not going to live further. I was on a wheelchair and blind, but God came to my rescue. I was admitted at St Giles for two months for physiotherapy sessions and managed to gain strength in my legs,” he said.
Early this year, Mateya received the much needed sight after attending a spiritual crusade organised by the youthful Phillip Zinyama led Assemblies of God-Spiritual Movement Crusaders (AOG).
“It might sound strange, but God restored my sight. I will never forget the day. It was sometime in April this year when the church had a crusade here in Damofalls. It was spiritual and it was during the healing session when I gained my sight.
“I started seeing shiny things, imagining the feeling after some years being blind. I declare that today, I can see though I still have a problem with my right eye. The left eye is the one that is now better. It is all that I needed. It was never an easy journey, surviving a brain tumour and regaining sight,” said Mateya.
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He hopes that one day, God will fully restore sight on his right eye.
The church’s executor Ngoni Zinyama confirmed the miracle.
“When we do crusades, there is always a reason why God wants us to be at a particular place for a given period. Mateya received his sight to confirm that God is with us. "For Mateya, he received salvation through restoration of his sight. What was important was his salvation, sight was just a conduit," said Zinyama.
“Our sisionary the late Reverend Nyika and our current leader Reverend Zinyama always emphasise that the greatest miracle is preaching to a sinner, they receive Christ and then they stop sinning. Hence why we say that Mateya's salvation is what is more important to us. But God used him regaining his sight as a physical sign that he had accepted salvation.”
Meanwhile, two AOG top members survived death by a whisker after they were attacked by a mob in Ruwa while on their way to conduct prayers at Mateya’s homestead. The duo had an altercation with a motorist, who offered them a lift from the city centre before they started preaching in the vehicle.
This did not go well with the vehicle owner who ordered them to stop preaching or disembark resulting in an altercation. The two preachers were then assaulted by a mob at a shopping centre after the motorists claimed that they wanted to rob him.
The matter is set to be heard at Goromonzi Magistrate Court on October 30. According to medical affidavits filed at the court, the preachers sustained serious injuries after the attacks.
