Bishop Festo Kivengere founded African Team Ministries in 1984, and wrote columns for its Newsletters, and also for those of African Enterprise. With the permission of Keith Jesson, ATM's president, I present this column from July 1978 (Vol. XV, No. 7).
"I have seen what God can do to a heart of stone. Thoma is my personal friend; he lives in Burundi.
"He was a tough young fellow, a fighter. When he was overcome with liquor, he was almost demon-possessed. He fought the police, he fought the soldiers, he was mad. Unfortunately, he was married, and the poor wife had the roughest treatment you can think of: unspeakable!
"One day, the big fellow, drunk as usual, was wandering in the streets of his town when he ran into a crowd of Christians, about twenty of them, singing, 'Glory, glory, hallelujah!' Their testimonies were real. They talked of how Jesus had come into their lives, forgiven their sins, reunited them with their wives-- very practical on the street corner.
"This fellow despised them, became angry, but came closer. After he had listened awhile, he asked,
"'Can that happen to me?'
"One said, 'Yes, it can, for the asking. And if you are very bad, you qualify!' Thoma was taken aback. He was more serious than the Christians realized. He knelt down in front of them and they prayed for him, hesitatingly.
"He was converted immediately, stood up, and told them so and then went home. His wife opened the door for him with the usual trembling, but instead of the expected beating, for the first time in their history, he embraced her! She was absolutely paralyzed. She thought, 'Thoma must be sick.' He was weeping and said,
"'I'm sorry. I have made your life miserable, but Jesus has come to me. I am different now. Please forgive.' The wife did not believe it and did not answer, but he stayed home that evening and before they went to bed, he prayed. Early in the morning, he prayed again, and then said, 'Dear wife, look at those chairs. They don't belong to us, I stole them.' He began to tie them onto his motorcycle to take them back to the people he had stolen them from.
"At the garage, where he worked as a mechanic, he astonished everyone by saying, 'I came to Jesus.' To several he apologized, for example, 'I nearly killed you with a hammer. Please forgive me.' This went on.
"After a while, his wife became angry. She had scars on her body and said, 'You made my body like this! You can't get away with it. I will pay you back!' She took a stick and beat him until she had had enough. He never lifted a finger, only with tears in his eyes, he said, 'I deserve a lot more.' The beatings went on for a month.
"Then one day when she lifted the stick to beat Thoma, the Spirit of God said to her, 'You are no longer beating Thoma. It is Jesus you are beating. Thoma died. This is a new man.' The wife was under conviction and fell down weeping. Thoma picked her up, embracing her.
"The home was united and changed-- liberated! Thoma is over sixty now and they still have peace. This is what God promised: 'I will give you a new heart . . . I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love' (Ezekiel 36:26, Living Bible).
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