Seeing The Impossible
A Testimony by Jeffrey Malebe
of Thulamahashe, South Africa
Apostle Jeffrey Malebe has witnessed the power of God in the salvation of souls and divine healing, the restoration of broken families, divorced people recovering from brokenness, and God providing daily needs for us. It's no wonder our life verse is Luke 1:37, 'Nothing is impossible with God.'
I, Apostle Jeffrey, know the truth of this verse in my life. I know what it is like to go to bed hungry...to sit by my mother's sick bed as she slowly died of pneumonia. Thankfully, I was saved in a tent crusade as I listened to a preacher, preaching about the story of the paralytic man in Mark 2:1-10. This was the first time I had ever heard that Jesus had authority to forgive sins. I knew in my heart I was a sinner, and I wanted that forgiveness so much. I immediately repented of all my sins and joined the Church of the Nazarene.
To some extent through the love and the leadership of the people, I grew in faith and understanding of the life of holiness. When God called me into full-time ministry, I had no one to help me financially to study theology. My senior pastor gave me a second-hand jacket to sell, which enabled me to enroll in extension classes. I worked very hard to study, but after completing five classes, I simply did not have money to continue. That didn't stop me from trusting God and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In 2005, I was excited to hear that a church in Cape Town had heard of my need and wanted to sponsor my studies at Nazarene Theological College (NTC.) They paid my enrollment fees and my transportation, but a reversal in their funds prohibited them from assisting me further. Fortunately, the NTC president was able to connect me with Education United Development Foundation (EDUF.) This scholarship greatly assisted me, but was not quite enough to get me through my last semester. God once again did the impossible by using a recording of one of my sermons to touch a donor's heart, and I was able to graduate with my diploma of theology in 2008.
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Jeffrey and David after our CityCelebration crusade in a soccer stadium in Thulamahashe, South Africa, August 2015
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I met David Stockwell and his wife just after graduation from college, inexperienced in the ministry. Since I have joined David Stockwell Evangelistic Association, this ministry has transformed my life as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. David soon recognized that I was gifted, dynamic preacher. David and Amy supported my call and taught me to go to schools and evangelize with authority and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Under David Stockwell's leadership ministry each year, we shared the Gospel in more than forty schools from Acornhoek to Bushbuckridge with over 28,000 students, distributing Bibles in partnership with the Gideons. We were able to organize a stadium outreach crusade with over 15,000 people over the week. God used David Stockwell and Amy to touch millions of souls in South Africa.
In one of the leadership conferences, David shared a sermon about brokenness; that was a changing moment in my life. I was healed from brokenness. My heart was broken after I got married to my lovely wife Sharon in 2009. I began to pastor a church in Thulamahashe. A few months later, I was going to pick up another pastor to come and minister in the church, when I came upon a serious road accident. Much to my horror, I realized it was the car belonging to my in-laws. My mother-in-law died instantly. Three years later, my father-in-law passed away from cancer of the backbone. Through these incredibly painful situations, it was David's sermon which brought healing in my life. His sermon was life-changing to me and Sharon, since from that time we have leaned on God to give us strength and wisdom. Believing that "nothing is impossible with God."
David and Amy taught us to cling to our dreams to see people saved, to share with sinners that Jesus is the spiritual bridge to everlasting life, to preach the Gospel without compromising the message of its impact.
Last year, I felt God calling me and Sharon to establish a ministry called PENIEL Worship Global Ministry. I shared this vision with Amy and David. I was glad how they motivated me to seek spiritual counsel. Through their support and guidance, souls are being saved every day. There are people in our community who live in extreme poverty and without God, but we are seeing God doing the impossible, breaking down strongholds. The community is shaking with what God is doing. PENIEL Worship Global Ministry and the NEST team is effective in our community.
The financial assistance from David Stockwell assists us to reach and take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to schools, and places where the Gospel has never been heard.
Thank you, David, for your continued support. Looking forward to work with you in the future.
With love, in Christ,
Jeffrey
Jeffrey Malebe