Khayelihle Mholong is 30 years old and looks calm and organised at first glance. But a relaxed and friendly face can hide a troubled past.
“I was always an angry child and gave my parents a hard time”, he said. “I had many grudges with my mother. I was a fighter and later became a gang leader. I was imprisoned for the first time when I was 16 years old. Everybody was afraid of me. Around 2016, I left home and went to Johannesburg. I started to drink more. My brother was selling drugs, and I joined him in 2018. The drug lord eventually killed my brother, and I became a drug lord in his place.
“I went back home in 2019, but very soon, I used up all the money I earned through drug dealings. I became broke and homeless, sleeping under the bridge. I started to break into houses, and by then, I was addicted to heroin, mantras, rock, and crystal meth.
“In 2022, I started to fight with the community where I lived. For every crime, they would point a finger at me. I left the community then but soon was looking for capital again and started killing people for money. Those images still haunt me at night. Evil spirits took over my life, and I got involved with witchcraft for special muti that would increase my customers. But the muti did not help, and my customers left me. The witch doctor then advised me to draw human blood, which I did. In 2023, I ran away from Johannesburg to Daveyton in Mpumalanga, but I could not find the peace I sought.
“I was then reminded about KwaSizabantu, and I started attending church services in Daveyton, but that also brought me no peace. My younger brother had a passion for fraud, and he was also selling drugs. I joined him, but my love for crime was gone. I went back to Johannesburg and joined my friends again, but now I was doing fraud while selling drugs.
“In August 2023, my life improved when my parents sent me to KwaSizabantu for help. It was also my choice to come here. They accepted me for who I am and helped me get rid of the demons in me and the addictions. I now want to live God’s way.”
The KwaSizabantu Mission cannot be compared to other church ministries in terms of how it functions. The Mission runs, among other outreaches, annual youth conferences and the CYPSA restoration program for people with addiction. They work in extraordinary situations, under exceptional circumstances, with unique challenges, and with people from broken homes. Young people and adults from the streets face difficult circumstances and turn to the Mission, seeking refuge and salvation.
READ THE FULL STORY BY FOLLOWING THE LINK: https://devotedmag.co.za/restoring-lives-khayelihle-mhlongo
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