September 2012 Zimpeto Bible School Update

In this update we want to share with you some glimpses into the impact that you our donors are having on the lives of the men and women who are able to come to the Zimpeto Bible School. Your financial support has both impacted and truly transformed the lives of many over the years.  Below are the stories/testimonies of two young men who attended the school last term.

Valdo:

Valdo (a first level student) came from a broken home whose parents separated when he was a child. While this is often the norm in Mozambique, most often the children initially remain with their mother and then later are either abandoned or severely mistreated when a new man comes into the mother’s life. While the new men do not want any sons from a previous man, since girls can be used as prostitutes to bring in money, they are often allowed to remain in the new family.

In Valdo's case he lived with his father who spanked/beat him for even the slightest thing. Whenever his father spanked him he would cry and call for his mother, who according to the father had abandoned him. Valdo held a deep grudge against his mother, and as he grew, hardened his heart, not wanting to see her any more. At the age of 14 he began drinking and stealing and several times ended up in police custody where he would be whipped and then released. Because he was only 18, by law he could not be imprisoned. Fortunately Valdo lived in a different province than we do. Where we reside people are often killed by those who catch them stealing. And so, though he experienced horrors, his life had been spared.

On one occasion after being brutally beaten by his father, someone shared the gospel with him. Though deeply wounded by life, Valdo joined a church and attended it for two years. It was there that the pastor felt to send him to the Zimpeto Bible School. While with us his heart was touched and he asked to go back to his home to reconcile with his parents. He has forgiven them now; a great testimony to his neighbours who knew of his former lifestyle. Valdo’s pastor was so amazed by the sudden growth and changes that he recommended Valdo to return to Zimpeto to continue in the second level.

All of our students come with a recommendation. Either they are already pastors, or as in Valdo’s case, a believer in need of more in depth attention/assistance).

Benedito:

Benedito was orphaned at 16. He was a very unhappy young man and began drinking and using drugs to get by. At 17 Benedito joined a cult and became involved with a girl who made a living by prostituting herself. She and her friend provided him with drugs and offered him the hope of much money, trying to convince him to become a prostitute himself.  Benedito knew this was wrong but needed money; the pull was great. The girl called him two and three time a day trying to draw him.  How he needed an open door to enable him to find freedom from this lifestyle.

It was during this time that Benedito met one of our drivers from the centre who told him about Jesus. The driver introduced him to some of our pastors who had graduated the school and were ministering full-time now, and they began to spend time and teach him more. This is how Benedito ended up at our centre.  

After completing his first level at the Bible school, Benedito is free from alcohol, drugs and homosexuality. To direct his growth we asked that he continue on immediately with the second level. While we normally send the students back home between terms so they can apply what they've learned during the term in their local churches, in this instance we felt that he was to be an exception.

One of our dear friends (one of our first Bible school students when we arrived in Mozambique) is continuing to pastor and mentor Benedito. At our weekly Monday morning prayer meeting at the centre, Benedito recently shared his testimony, a most wonderful story of the transforming power and work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the lost and the broken.

[One of our first students who is now both pastoring and teaching alongside of us; here he is praying for one of our graduates.]