Dear Friends,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
May we enjoy the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We trust the Lord will reveal Himself to us all during the 2024 Ten Days of Prayer. Do not miss this opportunity to prepare for the new year.
July to December
Our father, the great Apostle and Servant of God, Archbishop Professor Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti after serving many generations, by the will of God, fell asleep on the 5th of July 2023. Our father had said in August 2010 at FIFMI’s 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee celebrations, “Today lets we start another 50 years together. I said: I’m gonna escort you in these new 50 years. I’m gonna move with you and later on, many many years, then I will disappear and be with the Lord,” and in the second half of the year 2023 he whom he served faithfully for many decades.
To mark and honour his promotion to greater glory the ZAOGA FIFMI Executive and National Council declared 30 days of celebrating his life and ministry. ZAOGA FIFMI worldwide entered a season of jubilation, praising, worshipping and appreciating the God of Ezekiel for raising for us a true prophet of God and sharing His bondservant with us over the 100 years. Throughout July, believers all over the world gathered testifying of how our father impacted their lives and nations. These services also attracted other pastors and believers from different churches as well dignitaries in the various nations. They featured powerful praise and worship including very moving testimonies that depicted the love, the humbleness and the servanthood spirit that our father demonstrated to all different kinds of people, young and old across the globe.
The International Sunday live broadcasts resumed as the Three Apostles: the International Executive Chairman Apostle Dr. Joseph Joe Guti, Secretary General Apostle Mishael Nyambo, and Deputy Secretary General Apostle Dr. Steve Simukai were encouraging and strengthening the church that Jesus Christ is the foundation of ZAOGA FIFMI, even if the methods change, the message remains the same.
On Friday July 21, 2023, South Africa hosted the grand send-off service for our father Archbishop Professor Ezekiel Guti, at their national centre at Olifantsfontein in Johannesburg. It was attended by an audience of over 10,000 including the online audience from Facebook, YouTube and Ezekiel TV. The service was a showcase of the iconic stature of the African Apostle in an unprecedented way, including keynote address from our mother who reminded us that what had happened to us was timely planned by God and it happened at the right time where Baba had finished laying the solid foundation for the continual growth of the ministry.
She called the family of Forward in Faith to stand together in love and unity behind the leadership Baba gave us in the Three Apostles and that Baba’s voice will continue to be heard as we continue in the books he wrote for us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Saturday 22 July 2023 was a memorable day in the history of ZAOGA FIF and the nation of Zimbabwe when the body of our father was received back in the motherland. Thousands of people gathered at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and more than 15,000 lined up the 9km Airport Road singing and dancing as they welcomed back home their father, iconic leader; the African Apostle who was also declared a National Hero. As the hearse passed by the crowds along Airport Road, there was great jubilation as the people ululated and some received their deliverance as demons began to manifest and flee. The service at Braeside Christian Centre International where over 5000 people gathered for the Home Coming Service featured a word centered on the importance of salvation at personal level citing how our Father Professor Ezekiel Guti sought-after salvation, when he cried in the bush “Creator if you are there, save my soul”.
The month of August hosted the Grand Homegoing Celebrations. These kick started on Saturday August 5, 2023 and Sunday August 6, 2023. At the National Sports Stadium, Harare Zimbabwe ministries, educational institutions and various dignitaries gathered to celebrate his life and legacy through song, speeches, poems, and tributes to a crowd of over 60 000 people physically and online. The presentations highlighted the call, dedication and influence that the life of Baba Guti had not only in Zimbabwe but for the nations across the world.
Lastly, on August 11, in Bindura – a small town in Mashonaland Central province, Zimbabwe – the place where it all began was honored once again as our father Archbishop Professor Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti was laid to rest at the Old Church site at the ZAOGA FIFMI Bindura Prayer Mountain. Over 5,500 people attended the sendoff service held in the Ezekiel Guti Prayer Mountain for all Nations building which included Archbishops, Bishops, Apostles and the International Executive. Government officials who graced the occasion applauded Baba Guti for his principled life and dedication to the work of God, and for providing infrastructural development in the nation. Representatives from other ministries all confirmed Baba Guti to have impacted the Christian fraternity as a humble leader who had a passion to spread the undiluted gospel of Jesus Christ and to see people’s lives transformed by the Kingdom of God.
The burial session was then conducted by Archbishop Simao of Mozambique, after which flower wreaths were placed in honor of our father by our mother first and the government officials. The highest honor of the 21-gun salute was accorded to our father, the sound of the 21-gun salute is a symbol of respect to the hero being laid to rest. What a befitting send-off for God’s general of our time. His legacy lives in each and everyone one of us. We continue to give God glory for His faithfulness and allowing us to live at the same time as His Apostle and Servant Professor Ezekiel H. Guti. What an honor to have witnessed some of the miracles and being able to see him or hear him in the 100 years of life God have him. As we were taught, we will continue to live out those teachings as true disciples of Ezekiel Guti who was a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
As the year proceeded in September the Today’s Woman Conference was held successfully at the Glamis Arena with up to 42, 000 women in attendance who were left encouraged, revived and equipped to serve God in their generation. At the end of that month the male and female Pastors conferences were held simultaneously.
Through October and November Deeper life conferences were held in Australia, Zambia, New Zealand the Schengen and Middle East. We saw revival of the church in Japan; a new assembly opened in Ras Al Khaimah UAE, while Mbuya Dorcas Hospital (MDH) ran breast cancer awareness campaigns around Zimbabwe.
November was dominated by Home Talents celebrations and the Sons and Daughters of Prophets (SADOP) legacy celebrations all over the world. Through the Home Talents countless people were able to build houses, renovate houses, buy homes, cars, furniture, land, livestock and many other household items. People were able to pay school fees for their children, others made meaningful savings, while others went on their first ever holiday/vacation travels and many other achievements that time does not allow us to talk about.
We also celebrated the goodness of God as the Mbuya Dorcas Hospital (MDH) performed their first ever total hip replacement and two laparoscopic hysterectomies. They also did their first nephrostomy insertion and tibial plateau screw insertion using the brand-new C-arm. Glory to God.
The biggest highlights of the year 2023 are: the innumerable number of people who received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. The innumerable number of people who were healed and delivered by the God of Ezekiel. The millions of members of ZAOGA FIFMI who have committed themselves to striving to become true disciples who are rooted in the church doctrine. Those who have pledged to follow Christ as did our father are a highlight of 2023 – LONG LIVE THE LEGACY OF APOSTLE EZEKIEL GUTI!
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS OUR LAST APOSTLES UPDATE FOR 2023. SEE YOU AFTER THE TEN DAYS OF PRAYER AND FASTING.
P.S
Please be advised that our office will no longer be accepting Apostles Update reports sent on WhatsApp to the number +263 777 28 20 92. To ensure the publication of your report kindly email it to [email protected] by 1pm (Central African Time) on Mondays.
Kindly note we are requesting you, where possible to include photos to accompany your report submission as we will be publishing some photos of the weekly Apostles Update on our website https://fifmi.org/apostles-updates/.
You are welcome to contact our office on +263 775 83 19 21 for alternative arrangements or further assistance.
This week:
- Thanking God for our mother Apostle Prof. Eunor Guti that He continues to strengthen her. Thanking God for the victory He always gives her. Thanking God for the continued success of the mission in Chitungwiza.
- Thanking God for our father Apostle Dr. Joseph Joe Guti, the SG Apostle Mishael Nyambo, and the DSG Apostle Dr. Steve Simukai and their wives, that God gives them wisdom and grace as they carry out their assignments.
- Thanking God for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6 “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…
- Thanking God for Mbuya Doracs Hospital (MDH); for the successful completion of the operating theatres, commencement of the postgraduate nursing school, realization of the special diabetic pharmacy and every other project lined up at the hospital. Thanking God for raising burden bearers who will partner and support the vision that God gave to His servant Ezekiel.
- Thanking God that ZEGU continues to excel and that the vision is fulfilled as God gave to His servant Ezekiel.
- Thanking God for the ongoing construction of the Ezekiel Guti Jr (EJ) Legacy Center for people with special needs. May God continue to provide for the work.
- Thanking God for protecting His people throughout the festive season.
- Thanking God as people prepare for the 2023 Ten days of prayer and fasting.
- Thanking God for the success of the 2023 Home Talents (Kingdom Wealth Creation). Glory to God! God surely honored the covenant that He made with His servant Ezekiel Guti and blessed His people.
- Thanking God for giving success to the long-term and short-term missionaries. Thanking God for providing suitable meeting places and favorable prices as the FIFMI churches continue to grow. Thanking God for the registration process of FIFMI Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, Cameroon, Slovakia, and Poland.
- Thanking God for your nation.
TEACHING: PART OF BABA & AMAI’S MESSAGE
A reminder:
The purpose of Ten Days of prayer and fasting is to prepare to enter the new year. So, when the enemy comes you will have already prayed. You can mention every month as you pray like I used to, praying for January to December. We don’t know what is in the year. Some years are good, and some are bad, but we are moving on. We trust God to protect us.
As we pray let’s read the word of God. Find time to cleanse ourselves. Pray using the word of God. Pray in faith. God bless you.
We love you and are praying for you,
Apostle Drs Steve & La-Verne Simukai
ZAOGA Forward In Faith Ministries Int.
+263 777 282 356, +263 777 282 092
[email protected] | www.fifmi.org
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