As we all have been sadly informed, Evangelist Ezekiel Guti Jnr, the only son of revered clergy and founders of Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA FIF), Archbishops Ezekiel and Eunor Guti passed away on the 27th of December.
The thirty-five-year-old preacher died in South Africa while on holiday with his family. It was reported that he was battling for his life in intensive care unit (ICU) after he nearly drowned in a swimming pool on Christmas Day.
The gifted servant of God is survived by wife Caroline Katsande – three children – Eutricia Eunor, named after his mother; Ezekiel III, his father’s namesake and Dorcas III who was given her great grandmother’s name.
Writing on the Church website, Acting Secretary General Rev M. Nyambo announced that the Evangelist’s body was flown to Zimbabwe from South Africa on the 30 December 2017 and that his family requested for a private time to mourn and no gathering of any kind will take place during that time.
Two special send-off services, however, have been arranged for Friday 12 and Saturday 13 January at ZAOGA Forward In Faith Bible College known as Africa Multination For Christ College (AMFCC) in Amalinda Road, Glen Norah, Harare. These vigil nights are organised not only to remember his death but to celebrate the life that was short but well lived and the many lives that he transformed through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ worldwide, that was followed by signs and wonders.
Everyone irrespective of church affiliations is welcome to take part in these celebrations as they pay last respects to this great man of God.
The night vigils will be followed by a special church service in his honour on Sunday 14 January starting at 8 am at AMFCC. The evangelist will be laid to rest at Glen Forest cemetery at 2 pm on the same day.
To the church EJ’s death is a great loss and the void he has left will be difficult to fill. What’s lost is a great warrior, good friend, a person everyone felt close to (and) loved, and a young man that has proven that he is well able to do the will of God, despite his physical condition.
A living testimony of God’s mighty working power he was, the disabled evangelist travelled around the world healing the sick and changing lives. His story started back on his miraculous birth on December 13 in 1982.
His birth is narrated in one of his father’s book which says, when he was born, it turned out that he was a breech birth. The book says
“The doctors suspected that it was twins. They conducted X-rays and concluded that it was one baby with an extended head and arms. But by that time it was too late to do a caesarean section and the baby succumbed to heart failure. He was pulled out as a still born baby.”
Sooner, he was declared dead but this did not deter the saints from their faith as they continued to pray. Better yet, the nurse forgot the baby’s corpse on the trolley instead of taking it to the incinerator. Ezekiel’s father says he kept on praying wrestling with the spirit of death for about an hour and forty minutes.
“The nurse came back to take the baby away but to her surprise she found out the baby was breathing and called out for the other nurses and the doctor.”
The doctors maintained that Ezekiel would die, but his mother disagreed in the name of Jesus.
At the launch of his book The Man Who Defied Condition, his father confessed;
“I am a living testimony that giving birth to a child who is physically disabled is not a curse from God and some parents even divorce and some reject the child saying of what importance that child will be. Some as I speak are in prison because they killed a physically disabled child.”
In the book, EJ revealed personal experiences of defying his physical disability and speech impairment to live a normal life. Despite his speech impairment, he became a renowned evangelist after completing his studies in the UK, travelling across Africa and Europe for over a decade.
Despite his condition which other people will make an excuse to remain idle, he prayed and healed other people.
Our hearts are breaking at the loss of such a great evangelist. May his soul rest in peace.
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