Gangs, Guns and God: South Africa

Country Profile

Gangs, Guns and God

OM International

Lindsay can still remember that night he went out to buy drugs. He had used them for many years already, and the desire to get high led him deep into the gangster world of Cape Town. As he walked in the darkness, a police car approached. His heart pounded and he ran—he was carrying a gun. The last time he had been caught in a similar instance he had escaped a sentence, but this time he knew all too well that, if caught, he could expect at least 15 years in prison. He threw the gun and ran as fast as he could. Hiding in someone’s yard, he heard the sound of police vans approaching. Soon, only deep silence followed. They had gotten the gun, but not Lindsay.

Though he had escaped, Lindsay knew this wasn’t the end of his troubles. Friends had told Lindsay that a gun is like a wife, and he has lost something that no one should ever loose. Shortly after, the gang appointed an assassin to take his life. When the man first pointed a gun at him, it jammed. The second bullet, however, pierced his leg. His trousers covered with blood as he tried to run and his friends called an ambulance.

As Lindsay lay in the hospital bed, snapshots of his life ran through his mind. “I saw myself as a child, making a decision that I would never become like my father—in prison, using and selling drugs,” he says. “I saw my neighbourhood, where drugs were a part of daily life. I recalled the first time I got high, the first moment of helplessness and despair, the first time I sold my clothes for drugs. Then, I remembered the faith of my mother, and how she had led me to Christ when I said “No” to my addiction for the first time.” From the time he accepted Christ, Lindsay was aware of God’s presence, protection and deliverance, but later turned his back on God.

After leaving the hospital, Lindsay’s mother encouraged him to go to a Christian drug rehabilitation camp. He didn't know what to expect, but was determined. He knew he couldn’t continue to live like he had. There, Lindsay made a decision to return to God. “The Lord took away all the masks I was wearing, restored my life and gave me freedom,” he recalls. Again, Lindsay was delivered from his addiction.

This time, Lindsay also started to serve God and help others struggling with the same problem. He was involved in rehabilitation camps for a few years, and then his was encouraged to go to TeenStreet South Africa. This is when he learned about OM.

“It was a great experience,” says Lindsay. “God called me to follow Him, wherever He leads. I believe God Himself brought me to Missions Discipleship Training [with OM South Africa], to prepare me for a lifetime of service for His glory.”

Lindsay graduated from the Missions Discipleship Training programme in July 2010 and will continue serving on the Logos Hope for two years.