My heart overflows with gratitude and my eyes well up with tears of joy when I look back at the past six and a half years of my life. 24 December 2013 was the day that this prodigal son returned home to his Father, here at Kwasizabantu Mission.
I was born into a Christian home and taught Christian values, by a born-again mom and true child of God. I even gave my life to the Lord as a small boy. However, at the early age of six, I got drawn into a life of sin with pornography. In my teenage years I started smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and it soon escalated to marijuana.
By the grace of God, I matriculated, and my drug use moved onto harder drugs such as cocaine, poppers and crack cocaine. Through all this God showed me grace and I could qualify as a teacher in 1993. At age 27 I was a full-blown crack addict. I went to a rehab, but after spending two months in the rehab, went back to my old ways and attempted suicide for the first time. I was unsuccessful in my attempt and went back into a life of porn and drug addiction and sexual immoralities.
Many years of heartache followed as a result of my addictions and lifestyle. I got estranged from my family as I blamed them for all my “problems”. However, I had a praying mother who never gave up leaving me at the feet of the cross. In 2002, I re-united with my family, but in 2004 my drug and porn addiction became worse. In 2008, after another stint in a rehabilitation centre, I attempted suicide a second time, yet I failed again, as I now realize that God had another plan.
Sadly, I continued with this lifestyle for the next few years and in 2013 decided I would try to end “my sorry excuse of a life” – as I saw myself then – again.
My plan was to end it all on 24 December 2013, but my heavenly Father intervened yet again. A few days before this, my mother, who had never stopped praying for me, showed me a letter in the Joy magazine of December 2013 of a young man who had received help at Kwasizabantu Mission. I arrived at KwaSizabantu Mission on 24 December 2013 and walking into the mission, I felt like I had arrived home. I accepted the Lord back into my life, confessed my sins, made right with those I had wronged and started testifying what God had done for me.
Here at Kwasizabantu Mission I had received the help that no one out in the world could give me. I am truly blessed to be part of this wonderful work of God, by being part of the teaching staff of Domino Servite School. All glory and honour go to God for what He has done here and is still doing daily.
Wayne Strauss
Kimberley