Getting Anele into a Drug Rehab
One Hope met Anele in December 2021 while on one of our feeding outreaches on the streets of Pinetown. Anele has been on the streets of Pinetown for the past 7-years and has been addicted to drugs since grade 11, but today we rejoice in what God has done in a life that once was lost.
We have been trying to help Anele by getting him into a drug rehab for some time now, without any joy. I remember having a conversation with Anele one day, and he was brutally honest. He asked me, "Why must I get clean? I have nowhere to go, so if I get clean, then what?" These words played in my mind for some time.
The reality is, as Anele put it, "What do I have to look forward to? I have nowhere to go, and nobody cares for me!" And this is the reality for many like him, that find themselves on the streets of different cities around the world.
And then about 2-months ago, Anele got a call from his sister. She asked him to come home because she needs him! She needed him to be home with her so that they can support each other. And this was the push that Anele needed.
For the next 2-months we saw a noticable change in Anele. He was at church early every week. His praise was like a person truly abandoned in the presence of God. He came to me on one occasion and just said, "I need to get clean! I need to go home!", and I knew that this was real.
For the next 2-months we tried to get him into a free rehab as we did not have the funds to pay the monthly costs required for a rehab. We even got Anele to see a social worker in Durban, trying to get into their centre, but to no avail.
Then last Thursday, while on a church leadership conference in Cape Town, Bronwen called me to tell me that she feels God requires us to step out and ask for assistance to get Anele into a rehab cntre that would take him, even if it costs us. Well, she managed to find a rehab centre that would take him and then through a fundraising campaign, in just 2-days, we managed to raise the funds to get Anele into the rehab! So we made all the arrangements to get him to the centre on Monday. But then Saturday came.
On Saturday Anele was arrested by the police in Pinetown for smoking drugs. They placed him the police van, and when he re-tells the story, he said all he did was pray for the 4-hours that they drove around with him in the back of their van.
Eventually, they released him again 4-hours later.
That afternoon we heard from Anele's sister that he was picked up but later released. Not wanting to take any chances, I jumped in the car and drove the streets of Pinetown for over and hour with my daughter, in an effort to find Anele and bring him to our home to be safe. We just wanted him to be safe until he was able to check into the rehab. But it did not work out that way. Anele was nowhere to be found, and we feared the worst.
Then came our Sunday church service, and we waiting in anticipation to see Anele come through the doors. But he never did. I started to worry when we got to 3:45 and Anele had not yet arrived. Anele was normally the first to arrive, but not today. By 4PM when our service started, I must admit I lost Hope of Anele showing up! But as Bronwen began to open our service, Anele walked in! THE EMOTIONS WERE TOO MUCH TO BEAR!
Today I dropped Anele off with Sheldon from the rehab. And as we stood in the parking lot and prayed, I know that Anele will be OK. He is in the right place physically but more importantly, he is in the right place spiritually & emotionally to see this journey through!
