A Silent Adventure: an Adventure of Grace and Faith

By Willem Nel

At some point difficulty comes along everyone's path in various forms. It is, however, WHO we have on our side and WHAT we do about it that will eventually determine the effect the traumatic experiences will have in our lives -will they make us bitter or better?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Willem Nel
• Release date: Jun 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458128577

Willem Nel

ABOUT THE AUTHORWILLEM IS THE LEAD PASTOR of Every Nation Faith City – a multi-cultural, multi-generational and multi-site church based in Potchefstroom, Vanderbijlpark and Parys, South Africa. He also serves on the Apostolic Team of Every Nation South Africa. He is the founder of Faith Story Publishing, a publishing house dedicated to making God famous by telling faith stories of ordinary believers who have a passion to share the good news all over the world. Willem has published two books. A Silent Adventure, telling his remarkable story of healing and adventure into grace, was his first inspirational book published by Faith Story Publishing.Willem is a motivational speaker, preacher and executive life coach. His life is marked with a strong word of faith, with healings and miracles a part of his ministry. He lives in Potchefstroom, South Africa and along with other leaders is involved with the transformation of the region.Willem graduated from RAU with a BCOMM (Accountancy) in 1988. He was awarded his BCOMM Hons from UNISA in 1996 and his Masters in Organizational Leadership (Cum Laude) from Regent University in the USA. He has written three publications on leadership which includes: Moving a Church from Good to Great; SHAPE for Business Leaders and Church Health Matrix.Willem ministers regularly locally, nationally and abroad. He has strong ties with various congregations in the USA who invite him to minister. In the last few years he has ministered in several churches and at various conferences.Willem is happily married to Celesté and they have four beautiful children, Guilliam, Charmoré, Ann-waniq and D’Ianrew. As a family, their mission is to see lives impacted by the Good news of Jesus Christ. Together they have ministered all over South Africa, in Botswana, the Philippines and the USA. Celesté is one of the Teaching Pastors at His People Faith City. Guilliam is currently studying Ministry leadership at Oral Roberts University, Tulsa Oklahoma. Charmoré is actively involved with the Worship ministry and currently leads a Youth Band.

Book preview

I want to thank my Lord and King for the opportunity to live again. In the course of this adventure, I learnt to know Him so tangibly. Thank You Jesus that You paid it all for a full life.

My darling wife - you are the real champion - the heroine of this story. Celesté, your steadfastness, perseverance and faith made it possible for me to continue living this life with you.

To my children Guilliam, Charmoré, Ann-Waniq and D’Ianrew - your faith, belief and prayers are what makes our family champions for Jesus. I love you very, very much.

My mom, Christina - thank you for believing in me and that I could learn faith from such a young age from you.

To my family - parents-in-law, Pieter and Bettie de Vries, my sister, Tina, brothers-in-law, Conrad and Marnus - thank you for being more than just a family but a spiritual family as well.

To my church and pastors - Tiaan and Ingeborg, JJ and Ester, Anton and Tania, Louise, Johan and Noeline, Pierre and Ronell, Christo and Alicia, Niel and Madie, Barend and Carien, Fiona, Hennie and Salomie, Albert and Madelein, Hans and Lennie, Zelda, Bethany, André and Cornell.

Thank you to all our friends in Every Nation South Africa and internationally for your support. Roger and Nicola Pearce - your leadership and friendship are greatly appreciated.

A very special thank you to Franci Jordaan who, with her brilliant writing skill was able to transform my loose thoughts and journals into a book. We had an appointment on 22 March 2009 to write Activate Faith. Little did we know that I would have my death experience that same Wednesday and that A Silent Adventure would eventually become the first book. I really look forward to the next projects we do together.

Thank you to Michelle, Louise and Fiona who helped with the translation, editing and graphic design of the book.

Lastly, if it were not for the prayers of the believers, churches and pastors all over the world, I would not be here to tell the story. Your faith and prayers are a testimony of God’s goodness.

Dedication

To my wife, Celesté, who shows perseverance and faith like very few people on this earth. To my son, Guilliam, who took on the role of dad in this time. Your testimony and faith stands head and shoulders above your peers. To Charmoré, who kept everyone entertained and who was the music in my ears - Jesus Paid It All. To my princess, Ann-Waniq, who always prayed for me and to my youngest, D’Ianrew, who could not understand why his dad looked like he did but who remains a ray of sunshine in my life.

Foreword by Floyd Mclung

Willem Nel loves adventure. He is a pioneer, a man who takes risks. It could even be said there was a time when Willem welcomed a certain kind of danger - if there was an appropriate reward for the kingdom involved. But Willem never bargained for the silent adventure, not the kind of adventure he experienced. Some of us get to choose our adventures, and some adventures choose us. Willem's adventure chose him.

God doesn't cause life-threatening diseases. But he does use them. He teaches us deeper lessons about His character, and He teaches us His ways. He redeems the curse of disease in the life of His children, and turns harrowing difficulties into amazing stories of grace. This is a story of grace - and the goodness of God in the midst of a dangerous adventure.

It has been said that everyone has a story, and in every story there is an opportunity for ordinary people to rise above their circumstances and become examples to the rest of us. Adventures create heros. When that happens, it is because courage conquers fear. Courage in the face of danger is far better than fear without risk. Courage summons up the best in us but it means we must face the danger. Willem Nel did not choose his adventure, but he did choose courage.

Willem has written a classic book about facing deadly danger - with courage. Danger hijacked Willem's life and took him for a ride. A Silent Adventure takes you on the ride with Willem - a wise person will learn from his journey.

Chapter five of this book is worth the price of the book alone. I had to laugh and then forgive well-meaning Christians who did and said some very strange things to Willem... I hope we all learn what not to do and what not to say when our friends or family members go through a hard time. People don't need advice when they are facing death and disease. They need three things: accepting love, wise comfort, and supportive prayer.

I loved this book, and because of Willem's breathtaking honesty, I love both Willem and God more because of it as well. If you are like me, you won't be able to put it down once you start reading...

Enjoy the adventure with Willem!

Foreword by Steve Murrell

A Silent Adventure with a Loud Message

I love adventure, but I am thankful I have never had a near-death adventure like Willem Nel's Silent Adventure.

Willem calls his traumatic life and death battle a Silent Adventure. But losing his voice was only the tip of the iceberg. He also lost his ability to eat, walk and breath on his own. Doctors feared he would soon lose not only his voice and his mobility, but also his life. Yet, through it all, Willem's faith in God's ability and willingness to heal never wavered. No matter what the doctors said and no matter how grim the circumstances looked, Willem faithfully and silently held on to the promises of God's word.

Here's what I love about Willem - while his voice was silent, his message was loud and clear. It's the same message Willem has passionately preached and lived all the years I have known him - that God is good and his promises are yes and amen.

It does not matter if he is preaching a sermon or sipping a coffee, Willem's message always stretches and strengthens the faith of those around him. His message has always been about God, not about himself. And this book is ultimately about God, not about a man or a miracle.

In difficult times, many people look to pastors and spiritual leaders for answers and direction. Here are some common questions that have been asked for centuries.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Does God really care about my pain and my situation?

Does God answer prayer?

Do miracles still happen?

What should I do while I wait for my miracle?

Willem Nel's Silent Adventure answers these and other important questions.

By writing his story, Willem has made the job of the pastor and counsellor easier. Next time I am facing someone with one of these tough life questions, maybe I'll simply hand them a copy of A Silent Adventure and encourage them to prayerfully read it.

I am thankful to have the privilege of calling Willem a friend and ministry colleague. And I am thankful that he is no longer silent. This story of God's goodness and Willem's silent adventure needs to be told.

Steve Murrell

President, Every Nation

Manila, Philippines

June 2010

PART 1

MY UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

CHAPTER 1

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

If you hear the word ADVENTURE, any number of things may spring to mind. For the average person adventure could mean taking part in a major sporting event or merely attending one to support a favourite team. For others it could be a long holiday, a party or simply a day filled with fun and good friends. Of course there are the adrenaline junkies who think it’s adventurous to brave a cliff-face head on without any ropes for support, or those who would dare to tackle the slopes of Mount Everest, undeterred by the extreme cold and a lack of oxygen.

Regardless of what best describes an adventure for you, adventure usually comes hand in hand with laughter, with fun, sometimes tears and even moments of fear or uncertainty. This range of emotion that stands out from our day to day routine is exactly what makes it an ADVENTURE. Considering that you usually plan the adventure yourself, or are invited to be a part of it, you know about it in advance and can prepare yourself for what lies ahead. If necessary, you can exercise, buy the right equipment or any clothing you will need. Nobody goes into an adventure unprepared!

I recently found myself on an adventure - but this adventure was one with a difference. It was sudden and unexpected, there was no advance warning, I certainly didn’t plan it and no-one invited me along for the ride. As a result I was completely unprepared and I now realise that even if someone had warned me about what lay ahead I would still not have been able to prepare myself for it. This was the beginning of my SILENT ADVENTURE.

My adventure began on the 22nd March 2009, but before I get carried away, let me start at the beginning. I am the senior pastor of His People church in Potchefstroom, South Africa. My primary responsibility is, therefore, to preach God’s Word.

2009 was an incredible year of spiritual growth for all our congregations. Since the beginning of the year we worked through a number of key principles, such as our position as sons before God (in the spiritual realm there is no gender difference so sons refers to male and female), seed faith, an economy of faith, the importance of our words (how we have the capacity to speak life or death over a situation) and lastly in March we ran a series entitled Unlimited God. Each Sunday my team and I experienced the anointing of the Holy Spirit specifically for healing. Week after week people in our congregations as well as our staff testified about miraculous breakthroughs in healing (often where there was no hope for recovery), breakthroughs in finances and businesses, relationships and many other areas.

Each Sunday we made a point of praying for our city, praying against crime and the illegal abortions that were taking place and generally praying against the religious spirit that ruled in our city. We started to experience unbelievable breakthroughs in these areas - our local newspaper began to report on a decrease in the crime rate and the illegal abortion clinic was exposed within a few weeks of our beginning to pray and the guilty party was arrested and the clinic closed. Clearly, our congregation is and was making an impact in the local community and not just warming pews on a Sunday!

As a result of all of this, it was with much excitement and expectation that I prepared my sermon for Sunday 22nd March 2009. We were having a combined service which is when our 9 o’ clock Family congregation and our 11 o’ clock International congregation meet together. These combined services are always special and have a unique atmosphere, possibly due to the fact that so many different cultures meet together in one service.

At our campus congregation that evening was a Sound the Trumpet service, which is a celebration service where we honour God through Praise and Worship. All in all, Sunday 22 March was definitely a stand-out day on our church calendar. The sermon in the morning service was the last of the Unlimited God series and the specific theme for the day was Catching It. I knew there was something really important that God wanted each person sitting in that service to catch for their own lives - something that would become such an integral part of their lives that it would flow out of them, from the inside out. The favour we experienced on the Word that was going out from our congregation was clearly evident in the thousands of CDs that were being sold in various parts of the world. God is and has always been only good to us.

It should, therefore, not sound strange that I fully expected the promises God had given us to be fulfilled in that year. I continually prayed and asked the Lord to bring division between my emotions, in other words between my soul-man and my spirit-man - as it says in Hebrews 4:12, That the Word of God divides between soul and spirit. I never imagined that in the midst of this I would personally go through one of the biggest tests of my life. A test that could be described as an Adventure, but this adventure was, for the most part, without words - a silent adventure.

On the evening of Saturday 21 March 2009 I suddenly felt a little tired and it felt like my eyes simply would not focus. My tongue also felt numb. I didn’t worry too much about it as I had been struggling with sinus problems and diarrhea for two weeks, both of which have the tendency to make you feel tired. In any case I did not have time to be sick! My heart was burning with God’s Word which I needed to share at the service the next day!

The morning of Sunday 22nd March 2009 would start out like any given Sunday in the Nel household, or so I