TAWANDA | Zimbabwe

Tawanda grappled with the weight of his past transgressions and the bleakness of his future. Having previously escaped from a lengthy prison sentence, he found himself on the run for eight months before being recaptured. Upon his return to prison, consumed by despair and facing the daunting reality of his situation, Tawanda contemplated ending his own life.

“That night, I prepared a rope and waited for everyone else to fall asleep.”

Yet, in his darkest hour, a divine intervention unfolded. In the dark of the night, his cellmate whispered, “Jesus loves you. Do not think of ending your life because of these silly acts of the world. Jesus fights for everyone. Do not lose hope. This will come to pass. Jesus is there for you.”

Startled by the unexpected grace, Tawanda’s heart stirred with newfound hope, realizing that his life held significance beyond the confines of his mistakes. “I thought it was God who had spoken through me,” he confessed. The following morning, Tawanda wanted to speak with the man who whispered to him but he was attending The Prisoner’s Journey, so Tawanda followed him. He found himself intrigued, wanting to listen to the presentation, but was informed that he would have to wait to enroll in the next class session.

When the new class commenced, Tawanda prayed about his life, knowing that Jesus died for sinners like him. True to the Word, miracles started happening. He had left two children behind and his incarceration meant his wife was unable to cover their school fees alone. One day, his brothers visited to share that each would take one child and send them to school. A few weeks later, his wife came to inform him that she got a job at the same school his two
children attended.

“This can only be Jesus at work.”