Grace Reformed Baptist Church Update – August 

What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. (Psa 116:12-14 ESV)

In this update I share with you Trevor L.’s tale of sin and its consequences. He is 32, unmarried, unsaved, unemployed and has a 10-year-old son born when he cohabited with a woman who is now married and keeps this child. Trevor, the last born in the family of 5, lost his mother in 1996 when he was in grade 12 and later his father in 2000. He says he inherited the house, which he sold in 2006, the same year that he joined Youth for Christ Bible School to do Short Term Missionary Training (STMT). He used much of the money on drugs which he had been involved in from 1999 to 2008, and deposited the remainder in the personal account of the director of the Bible school. He claims the director misused it and paid back 20% less than what he gave him.  He failed to complete his course, and in 2009 he was imprisoned for ten months for stealing. After serving the sentence he came and stayed with his niece who later chased him away for the theft of a cell phone. He then moved into the drainage pipe and made it his home.

On the evening of 8th August 2010 he strayed into the evening service at Grace Reformed Baptist Church. When he sneaked out after the service, he was followed by a church member who felt Trevor was deeply under conviction. After talking to him, Trevor indicated he wanted to change his life. I invited him for lunch the following day and after sharing the gospel with him and hearing the sad ordeal in his drainage pipe home, I asked him to stay with me temporarily. He testified that for the first time in a  year he was able to soundly sleep the entire night. He had not been able to do this in the drain due to fear of being murdered. He said his greatest wish is that we pray for a place to stay, a job and transformation of his spiritual condition. Trevor has a pleasant personality. He is obedient, clean and efficient in house chores. He is currently haunted by his craving for a cigarettes.

UPDATE: I regret to mention that the young man I wrote about who was picked up from the drainage pipes left. Although he claimed to have become a Christian, I could not keep him under control and had to ask him to leave. Too much sleeping out, lying, stealing, etc. He did not leave empty-handed, but with my towel and a neighbour's puppy. I think he is still heavily on drugs. Pray for Him.