Helen Berhane is a graceful woman who is filled with the joy of God’s grace. The long awaited visit of Helen Berhane to Stroud culminated in an evening which, I am sure, brought most of those present at Holy Trinity, on Saturday evening, to a place of humility and awe as we listened to Helen’s testimony and beautiful, haunting singing.
Helen shared her testimony with a packed church and, as she spoke and sang, we knew we were in the presence of one of God’s saints. Her account of the persecution and the horrors she went through was given with no hint of self pity or rancour. Helen just radiated the love of God and emphasised His grace and her dependence on Him. As she described the cruelty and degradation she had faced, one could only wonder at her wholeness and her unwavering faith. Her account of how she depended on the promises of God and how those promises got her through all she had faced at the hands of her tormentors, brought home to us how important it is to immerse oneself in
God’s Word and hold it in our hearts and minds. For me, Helen epitomises one who can say in truth and with utter conviction, ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength’, and we were blessed and privileged to have her with us.