“Prayer works!”- Phindile Khoza’s Story

“Prayer works!”- Phindile Khoza’s Story

• 06 April, 2022
• 1 comments

My mother taught us how to pray. Even from her sickbed we would hear her praying, and she would often ask us to pray for her too. So we prayed. Before we left the house, we prayed. When we came back home and before we went to sleep, we prayed. Even when we knew there was no food in the house, we prayed. My mother would say, “Pray for food. God will provide.” And so we prayed and indeed He provided. 

I grew up in a town in the northern part of Eswatini called Piggs Peak. My father worked at a hotel nearby and my mother was a stay-at-home mom. My 2 siblings and I went to school there and often got rides with my father. It was just the best! But in 2006, my father got sick and passed on, and things slowly began to change. My mother was sickly and struggled to put food on the table. We didn't have school uniforms or shoes for us to go to school. So my siblings and I would often walk 20km to school and back - barefoot. Sometimes, the teachers would even send us back.

It was not easy growing up. The walk to school was not clear terrain; it had thorn bushes and long grass. Not only that, but the cold winters bruised our feet as we walked. The situation at home was not getting any better as my mother’s sickness got even worse. So, when I was 8 or 9, our community came to our rescue. Some elders in our community contacted social workers around our town and they in turn contacted Bulembu Children’s Homes.

I arrived at Bulembu in February 2009 with my two siblings - my younger brother and older sister. It was a scary road there, and I began thinking that maybe we were being kidnapped, but the two adults travelling with us assured us that we were going to a safe place. They told us that where we were going, we would meet many other children just like us who had been excitedly awaiting our arrival. They had even been asking about us! So, straight through the forest we went and finally arrived at a BIG house - our new home!

We were received by 2 big families and an Auntie who we all called our house mother! The family we joined was incredibly pleasant. The rooms were divided into ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ rooms, so my sister and I joined the girls room and my brother found good company in the boys room. We were so warmly welcomed that it felt just like home.

Life at Bulembu was so good - bathing with warm water, having new clothes, and being asked what we would like to eat. It was the best life we could have ever asked for after all that we had been through. It was a better life than the one we were living before. I continued my studies from where I had left off in Piggs Peak, in Grade 3. I had shoes on my feet, a new uniform and had lunch to carry with me to school. My new school was only a short walking distance away and I had made friends with everyone. It was JUST SO GOOD!

God blessed me with the opportunity to receive good education and indeed, I flourished where I was planted. I passed with distinctions all through my primary and high school education and quickly adapted to speaking English. Then, I applied to Regent Business School in Manzini (Eswatini). When I applied there, I found that the full-time classes were full. So, I opted to learn part-time. However, this presented a problem for me. Bulembu was very far from Manzini, so I would need a place to stay nearby.

The favour of God upon my life was ample in that it did not take long for a solution to present itself. In the same year that I applied to Regent, CMS needed an intern in the Accounts department. So, straight from high school, I was able to join CMS as an intern in accounting while studying Accounting and Human Resource at Regent Business School. I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in December 2021.

The journey is far from over for me. I still want to spread my wings. I would love to start my own business one day and be competent enough to run my administration. In the future, when I have the capacity to provide employment for others, I would love to still understand the ins and outs of my business and be in a position to apply sound decision making, especially in terms of finance and administration.

Today, I am grateful to the parents who raised me and the community that saw my family’s need and reached out to help when we couldn’t. I am also immensely grateful to Bulembu Children’s Homes. God brought them in the midst of our despair. I can only imagine what would have happened if my mother had died. We probably wouldn’t have even gotten the opportunity to go to Bulembu. But she lived, and was able to take better care of herself because we had someone taking care of us. When Bulembu took us in, they treated us as their own. We were raised in a good environment - a place we can call home. Even today, if ever I want to visit, I am more than welcome.

Bulembu Ministries saw a future in us. They saw leaders and never gave up on us. Sometimes we misbehaved as all children did, but they corrected us with love, and continued to support us in all the ways they possibly could. They continued to sponsor us in all areas of life that they could. So as I look at my future, I feel even more grateful, knowing that I can spread my wings because I was given a good platform to stand on. I was given a good foundation on which I can build.

Beyond the physical things we can control, my heart is filled with gratitude for the gift of life. This life I live is quite the miracle. You know, while growing up and seeing my mother sick, I often wondered if tomorrow would come. When we slept on empty stomachs and didn’t know where the next meal would come from, I didn’t know if I would continue to live. But perhaps because my mother is a prayerful mother, we got to see another day. And so it’s this one thing I would like to tell people … pray.

I believe we are where we are today as a family because of prayer. Prayer works! Today, my family remains a close-knit family. My younger brother, my older sister, my mother and I, are each on our different journeys but held together by the same God - a God who continues to fight for our lives, and our cause - His purposes. I often communicate with my siblings and maintain a close relationship with them and my mother. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for these relationships and for the improvement of my mother’s health over the years. She is getting better and can take better care of herself than when we were all home. To God be the Glory!

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