“So the Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” - Acts 19:20

Jean Botuli Kazadi was born in 1981 and at the tender age of 13 joined the Zaire (renamed Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997) Defense Force of Mobutu Sese Seko.

"They changed our birthdates on all documentation so that the army could not be accused of using child soldiers," Jean said.

Jean lived with his father, mother and brothers in the diamond-rich town of Mbuji-Mayi—until rebel soldiers murdered his parents.

In 1998, an urgent call came through from the east of Congo for reinforcements to help the defense force battle one of the rebel movements. Jean and his unit were immediately dispatched by airplane to Kisangani. When they landed their plane, they discovered that they were surrounded by the rebels. The rebels announced that they would now be joining the ranks of the movement. Some protested and were immediately executed. The rest obeyed.

This was the start of Jean’s life as a child rebel soldier.

US children help Jean

 

I was very excited to receive an email from some young friends at a local US church-based “Christian Service Brigade” – they wanted to know how they could partner in our ministry.

They were so moved by Jean’s plight, struggling under adverse conditions to provide for his family, that they are raising funds “by doing extra chores and shoveling snow” to buy a bicycle for Jean.

Jean, who is now married and a baptized member of the Come and See Church, will use the bicycle as a taxi and be able to provide for his family with honor and far greater safety.

Opportunities

I have had wonderful ministry opportunities while visiting the USA.

Lending my support to a Georgia-based firearms group working to secure citizens the right to carry in churches—the value of which can’t be overstated - can be viewed here.

WorldNetDaily.com, a news site with a monthly readership of more than 2 million, has recently published a commentary of mine: Gun-free churches – anything but safe and this interview with me: Ministers start preachin' 'guns in church' message.

I also had a very interesting interview with a secular parenting magazine – I’m not too sure if they will publish my Christian response to their questions.

Right now I have ministry invitations in North Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Virginia, New York and Florida. One invitation is to speak to more than 40 pastors; another to the Christian Service Brigade—the group raising funds for Jean.

Further afield, I’ve been invited to minister in Nigeria, Pakistan and Zambia.

Family

My family and I have been blessed with visas to stay in the United States until June 2011.

Next month, Sonja will be a guest speaker at a Bible study group of wives of men in the U.S. military.

We experienced a snow storm in Springfield, VA that caused a power outage of 18 hours. It felt like we were back home in South Africa except for the below freezing temperatures. I was up 3am starting a fire to heat our home – this gave me a whole new respect for the early American pilgrims who started a new life from scratch in such adverse conditions.

Our children have enjoyed their home-schooling co-op and Bibles studies at our local church; they have made lots of new friends. Snowboarding (the African version thereof), horse riding, frolicking in hay bales, fishing, boating and visiting museums with friends have formed great memories.

We have less than four months left in the United States – we leave for South Africa on June 8, 2011.

Please pray with us that the Word of the Lord will grow mightily and prevail – Acts 19:20.

Yours in His service

 

Charl van Wyk

PS: US tax-deductible donations may be made to our ministry by clicking HERE or phoning 1 (480) 968-4100.