Their love story began in 2011 when they both came to know the Lord. Bandile and Lenhle both enrolled in Metropolitan College in 2011, which was the same year they both first heard the truth and gave their lives to Christ.
Bandile got saved on the 7th of March 2011 and Lenhle got saved on the 29th of July 2011. They both focused mostly on their individual spiritual growth between 2011 and 2013...
LENHLE: In 2014, Bandile befriended me, because I was the only saved girl in Swaziland at the time and facing persecution. He was there to help and encourage me in the Lord. It was then when I got to know him: his personality, character, and tender heart. I was drawn to him as a person but could never imagine a relationship with him other than a friendship. I looked to him as an older brother in the Lord. The following year, Bandile would leave to attend the University of Pretoria, and that’s when I would say our friendship was put on hold.
BANDILE: In 2014, Lenhle was usually the only female that attended Bible studies. The guys and I always had such a strong bond. One day, Lenhle made a comment that she can't wait for more girls to get saved so she can have someone to bond with too. I started to feel sorry for Lenhle because she didn't have someone to bond with. I decided to befriend her so that she can at least have someone to talk to. Our friendship developed very quickly, because we have similar personalities and love for the Lord.
In 2015, Bandile went to the University of Pretoria to further his studies.
...Bandile and Lenhle's friendship was put on hold...
LENHLE
Years following, the Lord continued to work in my life, to mold and make me. The Lord taught me much. I was enjoying serving the Lord and drawing nigh unto Him, and I found in Him to be my all in all. The Lord filled my heart to overflowing. All I wanted was to know and to do His perfect will for my life: whether that was to marry or to remain single. There came a time when my pastor asked me if the Lord was leading me to any particular man, and I noticed that Bandile would come to mind, but I disregarded this because I wasn’t interested in him. However, the suspicion or impression that Bandile could be God’s choice for me never ceased, and that’s when I asked the Lord to show me if I was truly the woman for Bandile, because I wanted His will and not my own will, no matter what.
Between 2015 and 2019, more ladies got saved and started attending Bible studies, so Lenhle had more friends to bond with.
In 2020, Bandile moved back to Eswatini full-time after completing his studies.
BANDILE
I was very excited to move back to Eswatini, I have always felt that Eswatini is where my heart is. After spending 5 years in South Africa, I felt that I had missed out on a lot of things, especially at Church. I spent the whole year settling back in, re-kindling old friendships and training to be a Pastor. I came back to find Lenhle still serving the Lord and very active in the Church.
LENHLE
In the year 2020, I heard that Bandile was moving back to Swaziland, and I remember going down on my knees before the Lord and surrendering this matter to Him, because I felt like I was resisting, or “kicking against the pricks.” I remember saying, “Lord, if Bandile is indeed the one, then please lead me and have Your will done.” Either way, I never wanted to manipulate the situation. Bandile came back and showed himself consistent in character, and committed to the Lord and His church.
Between 2021 and 2022, I had settled in and I quickly became very busy with serving the Lord's Church and also in business. People started noticing how I often had a lot on my plate, I was always running around doing something. People close to me started casually commenting on how I need someone to help me, I need a wife. It wasn't long after those comments started, that people started asking "Have you thought about Lenhle?" At this point I had thought about her, my thoughts were that she is obviously a virtuous woman, she loves the Lord, she would make a great wife, however, I didn't feel that she was the one for me. My main concern was that we had too much in common, especially when it comes to the drive we have to get things done. I felt that her and I would disagree on what to do and how to do it. I thought she would have a hard time being led by me.
We would end up working together in church activities. Such as teaching the children in Sunday School, church administration and evangelism. That’s when we started seeing each other's strengths and perceived weaknesses.
LENHLE
We would end up working together in church activities (suggested and arranged by our pastor at the time). That’s when I started seeing his strengths and perceived weaknesses. I would take Bandile’s weaknesses to the Lord to prove to the Lord that he wasn’t the one. Nevertheless, I, with others (both saved and lost) noticed our kindred spirit. I noticed that we had things in common, but I just told myself that someone informed Bandile of our commonalities, just so he could copy me to make a good impression.
BANDILE
People continued to notice how well we work together, and continued to suggest that I consider her, but at this point I still thought she wasn't the one. To prove that she wasn't the one, I made a list of 17 things that I would look for in a wife, some of the things on the list I put there specifically because I was trying to convince myself that Lenhle is not the one. I was "Kicking against the pricks".
I would eventually surrender to the Lord, I still wasn't sure about it, but I didn't want my feelings to hinder God's will. So I prayed, I remember talking to the Lord about how I am noticing that people seem to be recommending Lenhle and I don't know if that is you, Lord, using those people or not. I said "Lord, if Lenhle is the one, show me by sparking the interest in my heart for her, I am now open to your will."
LENHLE
In the year 2022, I remember reading Genesis, chapter 24 during my devotion. I was blessed and encouraged by the story. I saw God’s ability, His leadership and providence. I trusted Him to do the same in my life, to go before me. I remember writing in my journal that I, likewise, need to be looking for God’s hand, for God to bring His choice to me, and to be in prayer for His kindness toward me. I also noticed that Rebekah had to be willing (vs5, 57-58), but also her family had to see that this proceeded from the Lord for them to be willing. I remember writing, “When you see that it proceeds from the Lord, be willing.” I also wrote the 4 things that God would use to show me His will: His Word (the Bible), His Spirit, His man, and His hand.
Towards the end of 2022, things started to get interesting...
Once both Bandile and Lenhle had both surrendered this matter to the Lord, God started to lead and show His hand.
LENHLE: My desire to visit Pretoria intensified because I wanted to be a blessing and an encouragement to the sisters there who were facing hardships. I remember telling my mother that I truly desire to go to Pretoria, and my mom suggested that I communicate this with Bandile because she was afraid that I go alone. Every time I was at church, I would forget to talk to Bandile till, one time during prayer, Bandile asked the church to pray with him about his sudden desire to visit the ministry in Pretoria, as he wanted God’s will. I was shocked to learn that God was working in both our hearts about visiting the place, and all at the same time.
BANDILE: I had a desire to go to Pretoria because I desired to encourage the brother who started leading the Bible Studies there after I left (Tevin). I couldn't shake off the urge to go visit him, I tried to plan the trip multiple times, but it didn't work out, eventually I asked the Church to pray with me about it, because I knew the Lord wanted me to go, but I couldn't figure out when, I needed the Lord to open the door. I had no idea that the Lord was working the exact same desire in Lenhle's heart, I found out after prayer, when Lenhle and her family told me that Lenhle has had a desire to go as well!
BANDILE: While planning the trip to Pretoria, I got to learn more about Lenhle, things I didn't know about her personality, and I started realizing that I had misconceptions about her personality. When I made that list of 17 things, I thought the list disqualified Lenhle, God showed me that she met all 17 things! Lenhle didn't even know about the list, she was just being herself.
BANDILE: On the way to Pretoria, Lenhle was so helpful, she made the trip very easy for me. She served us, and was often checking up if I needed anything. When we got to Pretoria, she had such a submissive spirit, she let me lead her in what we do, where we go; she also decided to use this trip as an opportunity to buy a new phone, she let me make the decision as to which phone she gets. In all of this, I was impressed by how humble and submissive she is.
LENHLE: It was clear for me to see that God was for this trip. I remember when we got to Pretoria, I found that I couldn’t see any of the sisters, and I remember asking the Lord why he had brought me to Pretoria, if that wasn’t the reason. I thought maybe it was to be a blessing to the brothers, but I remember just thinking, “Lord, you know.” On our way back to Eswatini, while the song “Your Will Be Done,” by Ben Everson, was playing, I remember thinking about the matter that I had surrendered to the Lord, and I thought again, “What if Bandile IS indeed the one?”
BANDILE
When I came back from Pretoria, I just couldn't stop thinking about Lenhle, the following day, I missed her so much! In a way I had never felt before. Then it hit me - I prayed to the Lord that if Lenhle is the one, He should spark up the interest! It seemed like God planned this trip to Pretoria to accomplish that!
LENHLE
When I came back, the impression was stronger, and I remember going before the Lord and asking Him to make it clear, because it was now a pressing matter, and I didn’t want to be on the fence. While praying about it, Pastor wrote to me asking if the Lord was leading me to anyone, and I remember telling him that I was praying about it, because I was suspecting that the Lord could be leading me to someone.
BANDILE
At this point I was interested in Lenhle, I didn't know what to do, so I thought to talk to my Pastor, but he was in America at the time; he would be back in about 2 months. I thought to wait for him to come back, but I couldn't wait, I needed to get advise on what to do, I feared that now that I had feelings for her, I wouldn't be able to hide it, so I called my Pastor (Pastor Paul Morrison). I told Him that I have feelings for Lenhle, he asked me some questions about how that happened, and after telling him what God had done, he praised the Lord! Then I went on to seek for counsel from my other Pastor (Pastor Scott Kuzel), he too asked me some questions, and after he heard what God had done, he said "Go for it!". I sought for counsel from other men in the Church as well, because the Bible teaches that there is safety in the multitude of counsel (Proverbs 24:6). The interesting thing is that everyone I sought counsel from expressed no concern whatsoever! They all seemed to believe this was God's will.
I called Pastor Morrison again, and told him that I have sought counsel from many men, and they approve of this. Pastor Morrison advised that now I need to pray about it, and ask for God to show me from His Word (the Bible) that this is His will; I did so. I prayed to the Lord and told Him that I don't want to convince myself, I have studied the Bible enough that I could find and use verses to convince myself that this is God's will, I could think of a couple of verses even as I was praying! I asked the Lord to lead me to a verse I wouldn't think of and use it to confirm His will. A few days later, I was reading a book, and the author spoke about how the person that you marry must be someone you have a kindred spirit with, he referenced Amos 3:3 which reads "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" After reading this verse I was overwhelmed to tears, because this is what I was concerned about before, I was concerned that Lenhle and I were so much alike and I feared that we would clash with each other and argue about many things, but God was saying to me, no, walking with someone requires that you be agreed, Lenhle and I are similar in many ways, we are kindred spirits, and with God, we can walk together and be used by Him! At this point I knew it, I had 100% assurance that Lenhle is the one! I praised the Lord!
BANDILE
Next thing I did was to speak to Lenhle's father, Mr Sithole. Out of respect, I wanted to receive his blessing before I would even approach his daughter. I know Mr Sithole to be a very busy man, so I thought I should call him immediately so that we can plan a meeting for the following week or any date in the future when he would be available. I called him and said I have something important to talk to him about, and asked if it is possible for us to meet in person anytime when he is available? Mr Sithole said, he was busy working at that time, but later that day he would need to go to town, he said he will pass by my office. I could not believe it!!! I was not expecting him to say he can meet me the very same day! I was excited and very scared at the same time! However, it was around 10:00am, I thought he will probably come over towards the end of the day, maybe around 5:00pm, so I still had time to get ready.
To my surprise, In about an hour, I heard a knock on the door, when I went to check, it was Mr Sithole! I felt a rush of fear that made my knees weak! I tried to hide it, I greeted him and asked if we could go sit in his car so we can have a private conversation. We sat down and spoke, I told him that I am interested in Lenhle, I had prayed about it, consulted God's word and sought counsel. I believed that this was of the Lord and I thought I should talk to him first to ask for his permission to approach his daughter. While talking I couldn't even look at him in the eyes because I was so nervous, after saying everything I had to say, I looked up and found him smiling, that warmed my heart.
Mr Sithole then said he cannot say yes or no, Lenhle is not his daughter alone, she is his wife's daughter as well, so he would like to have time to talk to his wife so they can decide together.
After this meeting, I still desired God's will to be done, so I prayed and fasted. Note that through all of this, I had not said anything to Lenhle about any of this, she had no idea what was happening in my heart.
LENHLE
One day, my father and mother asked to talk to me, they told me that Bandile had spoken to my dad about his intentions, because he believed the Lord had placed in his heart the interest and desire, and he asked my dad for his permission to marry me, his daughter. I was surprised to know that this was happening all at the same time, just like our desire to visit Pretoria. In December, I fasted and prayed for the Lord to direct me through scripture, and He did through sermons, Bible readings, and would confirm even through articles, as well as hearing the Kuzel’s story of how God has brought them together. I sought counsel from my family and godly people in my life. I could recognize God’s wisdom in bringing me to Bandile to be His helper, seeing his character, strengths, weaknesses, compatibilities, and differences. I perceived that God had placed in our hearts the interest, desire and anticipation of serving Him together. I perceived that this was the will and working of the Lord, so I chose to yield and to obey the Lord by faith, not because Bandile met every detail of mine or was according to my imagined expectation but trusting that GOD KNOWS who and what I need in a man.
