We’ve written before about the epidemic of alcoholism that plagues the townships in Jeffreys Bay. Obviously, each individual makes their own choices about it, but the plethora of taverns that litter the landscape in the townships doesn’t help. These places are open (and busy) until late every night, and are often a source of solid income to those that own them. This year, three of our students, Cassie, Amber, and Sarah, had a burden on their hearts for a tavern that was on the way to one of the families they would regularly visit during the week. Every week they would pass by the tavern, see the hopelessness through the doors, and they began to pray for the place to be closed down.
So serious were the prayers of these girls that when Amber went home for Christmas she began to raise money from people there to buy the tavern outright from the owner! Not even knowing if she would sell, Amber trusted the Lord to answer their prayers and petitions. They all came back in January, confident that the Lord had some great plans for that tavern. But what happened next was more than they ever dreamed. On their first day back in ministry in January, Amber, Cassie and Sarah went into the tavern for the first time, though their goal was a little different than what they had originally planned. As they sought the Lord’s will, they all heard Him tell them to begin building a relationship with the owner, Peela. This would require a step back from what their original plan was, but for a God whose ways are not ours, this was not a huge surprise.
So they began to spend time with the owner, as well as her nephew Joel, and they began to show her God’s love through that relationship. And the more they talked, the more she opened up. And then one day, Peela confessed to them that running that tavern was really exhausting for her. She hated dealing with the drunkards that would come in and out of her tavern and how much trouble it was for her. And what she really wanted to do, most of all, was turn it in to a shop. A place where everyone could come and buy bread or washing powder. Needless to say, the girls hopped on the opportunity to encourage her in that, knowing now how the Lord had been working on bringing that tavern down long before they even stepped foot in Jeffreys Bay, and how cool it was that they could be used to further His Kingdom even in that tavern!
That process of change is still happening in that tavern, as Peela is working on converting the place into a store. But Cassie, Amber, and Sarah knew that what the Lord started, He would continue to work on until it was completed. And this was definitely begun by the Lord!
The tavern that soon won’t be a tavern anymore!
