A crowbar quietly pried open the side door of Kathorus Bible Church (KBC) in Boksburg, South Africa. It was 2:00 A.M. on May 29. A thick, cold darkness surrounded the building. Thabani Mthethwa, a pastoral intern at the church, suddenly woke to shouts as five armed thieves violently broke into his room, pointing guns at his head. “I’m meeting my Savior today,” Thabani thought.
The thieves carried Thabani into another room, where they had tied up other residents in the building. They demanded information about the church’s sound system and Thabani's iPhone, even forcing him to transfer money from his bank account. As a result of the robbery, the church lost $10,000 worth of electronics and tools, including all of Thabani's possessions.
Alex first heard about Village Mercy through Grace Bible Church in Purcellville, VA. He had been searching for a biblical counseling internship for the summer. When Ryan heard that his friend was serving in South Africa, he eagerly asked to join. By late January, both men received the green light from Village Mercy to come as the program’s first interns.
“[Village Mercy takes] in residents from off the streets, typically who … are addicted to crystal meth,” Alex said. “Along with crystal meth come things like prostitution, being in gangs, murder, theft, all sorts of other issues.”
Residents participate in a nine-month-long program that seeks not only to physically heal individuals but also to spiritually heal them through the Gospel. “Village Mercy is not a side project,” Thabani said in a promotional video for Village Mercy. “It's a frontline mission of the church. ... [I]t steps into the world of addiction with the hope of the gospel saying, ‘Here's Christ who can free you.’”
Alex and Ryan stayed with Eddie Matovu, a hard-working Ugandan and executive director of Village Mercy. As they drove to the church each day in Eddie’s black SUV, they saw heaps of burning tires keeping people warm. Day laborers waited for work on the side of the road. A man lay motionless in the street, likely hit by a car.
In South Africa, the government and police are usually ineffective in stopping crime and lawlessness. “The area that we were sleeping in was actually a pretty safe area,” Ryan said, “but every house has some kind of security. … Most houses subscribe to a 24-hour armed response private security service.”
About 12 hours earlier, Ryan had led an evening Bible study. “If we had been there a couple hours later,” Ryan said, “or if the robbers had come when we were there and they found out that Alex and I were American, there’s not a small chance they would have taken us and ransomed us.”
The robbery shook everyone, yet Village Mercy continued to operate. Alex led a Bible study on hope that morning, and the residents continued their daily chores.
Fear of the robbery did not turn people away from attending church. The Sunday following the robbery, KBC watched as the rows of folding chairs filled up with men, women, and children. Where a normal Sunday service welcomed 60-80 people, Alex estimated the numbers on June 1 reached 80-100 people. People grabbed more chairs to accommodate the influx of church attendees. Pastor Nhlakanipho Sithole stood at the pulpit and stared out at the sea of concerned faces.
“Even though I will say I do not feel like standing here this week,” Nhlakanipho said, “I do count it as a privilege to be used by God in this way.”
Nhlakanipho read from Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“It was a very timely message because of the robbery, but it was also a very South African message,” Alex said, “because security is always on the minds of South Africans. … It was also a great testimony to the church of how to respond to a devastating robbery like that.”
Nhlakanipho called his congregants to consider where they were placing their hope. He also went a step further, urging the church to pray for the robbers. “[For the Christian], this life is the closest thing you will ever get to hell,” Nhlakanipho said, “but for those without Christ, this present life is the closest thing they will ever come to heaven.”
The robbery was only one event of Alex and Ryan's internship. Yet Ryan believes that God ordained them to help with the church’s recovery. Looking back on their two months in South Africa, the men remember the faithfulness of God.
“Although the robbers did steal many things with tremendous earthly value, they did not take anything from us that truly ... mattered,” Ryan said. “Our treasures are in heaven, where no thief can break in and steal.”
Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.