With Faith Promise season upon us, we’ve been gearing up to open the door for you to see just how important your giving is and how far it goes. For those unfamiliar with Faith Promise, it is a fund to which our community gives in faith to bring real change across the street and across the globe. Three ministry streams are supported through Faith Promise: Hatfield Initiatives, Partner Ministries and Missionaries.
One of the six missionary families that are being supported by Faith Promise is Deidre Botha and her twin boys, Johan and Hosea. Theunis, her husband, sadly passed away in February this year, but Deidre is continuing the work they started together. Based in Zimbabwe for over 20 years, they have been instrumental in reaching young people who have lost hope due to the prevailing circumstances in Zimbabwe.
Deidre and Theunis answered a call and need in their Chegutu community by starting the Shanduko Transformation Project in 2015. The project includes discipleship and skills development training courses that allow young people to experience the Father Heart of God while learning skills like carpentry, farming and sewing. The Shanduko Transformation Project recently completed its 33rd class cycle, and many of the students have started small businesses and are now employed after completing the training.
Deidre shares how incredible it’s been to watch the students transform and mature as the classes progress. She has seen hope return to them as they each discovered that they are not alone, that God loves them, and that He always walks by their side.
Following are some short testimonies from those impacted by the project:
“When I first came to Shanduko, I was blind and didn’t realise it. I was addicted to drugs; I used to drink alcohol with my friends whilst my parents knew nothing of it. After Pastor Botha taught us about alcoholism, I stopped taking alcohol and drugs.”
“My life has been transformed through the Transformation course. I was not able to forgive, but through the lessons we were taught on forgiveness, I made a decision to forgive.”
“First, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to come and study at Shanduko. I was taught about identity, and now I know who I am.”
“I used to live in fear, but after we were taught about fear, my life really changed, and I am now living in faith.”
“I wanted to study law, but I had lost hope. I joined Shanduko in class 4, and I was taught goal setting. I told Pastor Botha [about my goal], and he prayed for me and later, someone offered me a scholarship, and I am now studying.”
Deidre testifies to seeing the change in these young people’s lives firsthand and says, “It was so powerful to see God transforming them and renewing their minds as they received the word of God and applied it to their lives. Their testimonies [are] remarkable, and God did a deep work in every student.”
Your giving to Faith Promise touches so many lives, brings hope, and makes it possible for thousands of people to practically experience the love of Jesus – thank you!
Find out more about Faith Promise and how to contribute here >> and join our Faith Promise Sundays on 14, 21, and 28 August this year.
