Evangelist maintains faith following Beryl’s battering
Evangelist Enid Johnson Rhoden was a bundle of joy, and praise flowed for the Almighty even as she stood in front of her home with all the zinc blown off every room, save for her kitchen area.
After securing some of her valuables, The Clarendon resident took them to her mother’s house, which she said is decked, and then left there for the shelter where she spent the night.
Returning to her rented home, she was greeted by the hurricane-ravaged house. In an interview with Freedom Come Rain, she said the sight did not shake her, as she suspected it would have been a possibility.
“Mi neva break down, when mi go inside and look at it. A say thank you God, cause You still leaving something for me that mi could get to shelter, and I give Him thanks,” she shared, referring to the one section of the house—the kitchen that was left intact in the two bedrooms house.
Still praising God for leaving the kitchen area intact, she said she capitalised on it by moving her bed there to make herself, as well as her daughter and granddaughter, comfortable.
“I give thanks for that little part; you understand me, and even if it were gone, I would still be giving thanks,” she assured.
Johnson Rhoden has been a Christian for more than 20 years and attends the Bethel Temple Apostolic Church in Portland Cottage. As someone who loves to minister, she sought to allay the fears of those who shared their trepidation with her prior to the coming of Hurricane Beryl.
“You know I maintained a positive attitude even while we were monitoring the warnings. I had confidence in God that everything would be alright. I keep on encouraging others and telling them, ‘Look here, God is in control, and in spite of everything, you have to learn to ride out your storm,” she related.
Johnson Rhoden said that during the passing of the hurricane, which hit the southern section of the island really hard, she had to be telling others in the shelter time and time again not to be fearful.
For her, no one can have a ‘testimony’ if they have not gone through a ‘test’ and she is looking forward to sharing one as soon as she gets the breakthrough she needs to put the pieces of her life back together again.
Anticipating that some naysayers might question her faith given the misfortune that befell her during the hurricane’s passage, Johnson Rhoden assured that God has never made a mistake and never will.
“So I mean, some people would say, being a Christian, why God never s
pare your house? Well, you see, sometimes I’m saying, Alright, in the bad times, you have to give thanks.
And in the good times, you have to give thanks. I always hear them say that sometimes the good have to suffer with the bad. Do you understand me? And God is not a selfish God,” she reasoned.
Stating that God is for everyone, and some might have lost their roofs while others haven’t, she is urging that no one views it as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’. She is happy for those whose structures are still standing and praying along with others as they look for solutions to get back on their feet.
Johnson Rhoden, noting that her faith is still rock solid, said that when she returned to her home on Thursday, the water was up to her knees. Seeing the devastation, she is still uncertain about the rebuilding process and is hoping she will be among those who receive assistance to rebuild.
Still, she confesses that whatever the scenario that will be played out where she and the house are concerned, she knows God will have a hand in it, and for her, that is more than enough.
“I just feel joyful and nice. The main thing, my life has been spared. And we realise that where there is life, there is hope. So, anything you lost, you can gain it back.”