We would like to share our Testimony about the Grace of God. My wife and I both came out of broken homes and grew up in difficult circumstances. We started using drugs at a young age. We went into the world and tried everything the world had to offer; money, pleasure, big houses, nice cars etc. But there was always an emptiness in our souls. Both of us made a lot of wrong choices in life. Our addictions cost us dearly; we lost not only everything we had, but also everyone we had in our lives. We ended up living on the streets of Pretoria North for almost 2 years. Life on the streets was not easy and we went through a lot of bad experiences and did stuff that we are not proud of. We were in a bottomless pit! Deep inside I knew it was only God that could deliver us.
I have been to several drug rehabilitation centres before but none was effective. I’ve also been to KwaSizabantu mission a few times because my family wanted me to go. The impact thereafter was short lived as I did it for the wrong reasons.
Even whilst being on the streets the Lord kept on reminding me of a place where true deliverance is free of charge. In 2019 our lives were heading for complete destruction staying on the streets. Thank God we realised KwaSizabantu was our only hope. Thanks to a lot of prayers the Lord heard our cry and made a way where there seemed to be no way at the time...
In February 2020 we took a huge step of faith by taking what we could carry and started walking from Pretoria to Kranskop in KZN. It took us 7 days to get to KwaSizabantu mission. A testimony on its own. On day 3 of our journey we woke up under a train bridge, as it was raining heavily. Only to find 2 of our 4 bags have been stolen while we were sleeping. At that point I’ve reached the end of my rope and I cried out to the Lord, asking Him why is He letting this happen to us? Can’t He see that we want to be helped? I said: “Lord I am going to turn back to Pretoria if You’re not going to come through right now! My wife knew that if we were to turn back, the cycle of addiction would surely destroy and ultimately kill us! She started praying. She then told me that Lord was busy testing us to see if we were truly willing to change our lives. Hearing her talk, I knew it was the Lord speaking to me. We took our 2 bags and headed towards the highway again. To our surprise a car stopped in front of us and picked us up. The Zulu couple asked us where we were going and when we told them, the lady said she knows KwaSizabantu, as it close to her family home. We thank God for these 2 angels who housed us in their home in Alexandra for 2 nights and then took their last money to buy us 2 bus tickets to Durban.
On 24 February we arrived in Durban late afternoon and could only get a train the next morning, so we slept at the police offices at the train station that night. Early the next morning on 25 February we left with the train for Stanger from where we traveled to the mission with a taxi. Arriving at the mission we left our addictions at the security boom gate, as we were desperate for true deliverance, something we knew the world could not offer!
We were booked in as visitors for the first 2 weeks. We attended all the church services every day and read the Bible and listened to old sermons we got from the library. After the 2 weeks we were each assigned a councilor who guided us spiritually to be delivered from the spirit of addiction by starting to break down the walls between us and our Saviour Jesus Christ, by repenting of all our sins. We were starting to experience life that only the cross of Calvary and the price the Lord Jesus paid can give to a dying soul.
Towards the end of our 21 day rehabilitation period at the mission we learned that due to the COVID pandemic in South Africa, the mission decided to instill a lock down. By God’s grace we were ”locked down” at the mission for as long as the Lord decided!
In May 2020 we were assigned to assist with a renovation project and in November we were given opportunity to go home and make right with the people we have wronged. We were allowed to come back to the mission in December. In February 2021 I received a contract at the mission and in May my wife also started working at the mission. In September 2021 the mission granted permission for my son from my 1st marriage to join us at the mission. Today we are living together as a family at the mission.
All glory to God for His Grace upon our lives and the life-giving gospel of KwaSizabantu that is preached there ever since inception. For anybody who needs deliverance and true salvation as written in John 8:36 “When the Son sets you free you are free indeed” KSB Mission is the best place where people can get help free of charge. After all Jesus said: Freely you have received, freely you should give. We thank God for raising us from death to life!
Glory be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Divan & Vicky Koen
