| Last October, Keegan accompanied his father, Basil O’Connell-Jones, Pastor of the CTMI Partner Church in Durban, on this visit…
“We arrived in the UK on Tuesday, and were greeted by Perry McQueen in his blue taxi, which swiftly transported all 7 of us, with our baggage and bags under our eyes, safely to Peter and Jane McKenzie’s home in Ringwood.
The following day, we all woke up excited, as we were to see England and to spend time with a few of the brothers and sisters, and get to know more of the church there. Peter took us down to Poole harbour for classic English fish and chips. That night, again, we just had a time of fellowship and got to meet some more people in the church. Then, on the Thursday, we started the meetings with Dad.
Throughout the 3 nights, Basil used the radical conversion of Apostle Paul, along with his own dramatic meeting with the Lord, to make it clear that we all need to know the day that we were set apart from the world. He shared that he believes that in these last days, we are going to see radical conversions of people being saved in a dramatic way. All in all, the 3 meetings we had were fantastic, except for my left arm (as those who have helped Basil know) which, after 3 straight days of supporting him as he preached, was in agony!
On Sunday morning, Basil shared on keeping a broken heart and the importance of humility, emphasising how a state of humility is not about being embarrassed or humiliated. Rather, it’s a state of heart that we must guard in order to stay broken, open to the work of the Lord in our lives, and to put to death to our pride. He illustrated a state of humility, as the place where we can lose arguments, be wrong (when we know we are right), and lose our lives. He then made an altar call for all those who desired to walk in humility. There was a great response, and the Lord set many people free from bad attitudes and unforgiveness.
That afternoon, Tim McKenzie and I, along with 14 other guys went and played some touch rugby next to the church. Times like that are so important to get together and have some fun, and get to know one another…
That same Sunday night, we went to a remote little farmhouse called Kits Farm, and met in the barnyard for a youth meeting. 25 youth worshipped the Lord, and then Peter welcomed us. Dan Malan shared a bit about his past; how, all his life he had searched for a church with true men of God and couldn’t find it, which eventually led to him losing faith in the church, and turning to a life in the world. But, by His grace, the Lord revealed a true church to him, where His servants weren’t just preaching things, but were actually living a life worthy of being followed.
By this time, we were all starving and so made the quickest exit possible with Dad. After eating and chatting and coffee and dessert and more coffee and then some chocolate, we finally got to bed at around 1:30am, fully aware that we all had to be ready and waiting for Perry and his blue taxi by 6:00am sharp, to make it to the airport by 8:00am.
Well, the 1st miracle of the day was that we were all ready at 6:00am, however we ran into the infamous London traffic on our way to Heathrow… After much adventure at the airport, and a 12-hour flight, we arrived in America, exhausted! After greeting Neil and Brenda Martin and the kids, we had dinner, and went straight to sleep.
The next day, recovering from heavy jet lag, we went surfing, which was great, though the water was freezing! That night, we went to home church, there Basil shared where he and Neil had come from in terms of the ministry; how they had started out in the ministry as an occupation rather than as a calling to look after God’s people. He explained how good their 1500 strong church seemed, and yet, behind it all, were 5 pastors who were anything but a team. But then, God’s grace came to them in the form of the gospel of the cross and they learnt to allow the Lord to work in their lives.
The next day, we visited Sea World to see the famous Shamu (the killer whale)!
On Saturday, we all had time together at the Martin’s home just sharing, laughing and eating... mmm! Then, Jean-Sam Gaillard and I got the opportunity to play in the Grace Fellowship soccer team, and we won!
On Sunday morning, Basil shared on the gospel by which our very lives are changed, as we realise our state before the Lord and are humbled by His grace, in spite of our weaknesses, and faults. He can use us if we are willing to serve Him with our hearts, and not our knowledge or our understanding. Everyone present in church was broken by the word of the Lord, and responded to the altar call; humbling themselves before God, that He might reveal to them His truth and the power of His gospel.
The following day, we were invited to a dinner at a US Marines base. More than 50 soldiers turned up to listen to Dad give his testimony.
Basil shared with the ladies on Saturday morning, so all the men gathered at Neil’s house to babysit the kids. I managed to sneak in, as I knew the rest of guys had the kids under control. It was an incredible time, as he shared on emotional relationships.
That afternoon, after lunch, we prayed for people to receive the Holy Spirit and then went and baptised a few people, which was really special.
We enjoyed a powerful, memorable time in the USA and UK, and were blessed to get to know the brothers and sisters of the churches!”
-Keegan OCJ
Highway Gospel Church
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