As we sail past the middle of the first month as a functional rehabilitation home for abusers of alcohol and drugs, and a home for Christians in Crisis, we as its founders are in touch with many stresses and anxieties. Accountancy issues, legal issues, food stocks, further furniture needs, staffing, and then there is the absence of all the alcoholics and drug addicts! Where is every one? Is no one going to turn up?  But then we see how these are all born in the lack of faith.


As it happens, we met with a really nice, self-employed Chartered Accountant yesterday who loves the Lord. He has gladly taken us on and is keen to help us. He also mentioned being set free from nicotine addiction by the Lord. We also met with the lovely Lisa Bower this week, a clinical psychologist, who had to concede by the end of our meeting that, "one can really see the Lord’s hand upon your life". Lisa is very keen to be involved. We had visits also from the local health authority and fire department. We were congratulated on our cleanliness by the health authority, who also expressed a sense of relief that "it looks like somewhere really good is open for addicts". The fire chief was also bowled over by what we have here, and to boot, we sat and chatted about how the Lord set him free from addiction to booze and other drugs over 20 years ago. I was left to reflect that, though we Christians are in the minority (Matthew 7:13-14), we actually have the world surrounded.

Our one client, ‘J’, has undergone some major realisations about his life in "Christian leadership". Coming out of running a Drug Crisis Office, he now sees how this job was actually giving him his significance, and by doing all this work for God, out of a Church office, he had actually drifted away from his own relationship with God. For seven years he has been "in ministry" like this. It is no coincidence that just over a year ago he also turned to medication "that may cause drowsiness" on a daily basis. This has taught him a most basic lesson; take your significance from people and there is no peace. Use people to tell you who you are and that is all you are doing, you are using people. J is now humbly doing well. What a pleasure it is to see people breaking free from the sickness of their secrets.

As the fortunate founder of The Bethesda Christian Unit I can peacefully declare that we are dedicated to The Light. This is no fly-by-night-outfit but a fly-by-light-outfit. Staying humble is a daily conversation within our rooms, but we do declare who He has made us to be and what He has done in us. Our work creates a real thirst for unsaved people to fill our beds. We’d love to be sharing this with Christians all the time, but we want the lost. We want the captives. We want those who are bound up and believing that addiction is their god. We want those who are spiritually and emotionally crippled by lies and deceptions and whose families are broken into millions of weeping pieces. Sisters who have spent years weeping, parents at a loss for how to pray and children lost in confusion about the state of affairs within their homes. The wife who is fighting every day to survive another day with that drunken husband   …  that’s our prayer   …   these are the people we want   … simply because we know.

Bethesda is getting known among the local community. We have been asked if we will allow our premises to be used for the local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and we have gladly agreed. I’d like to extend the hand of fellowship and welcome to all who might come and we hope that you find what it is your soul needs the most.

On April 8th fourteen members of The South African National Council of Addictions are coming to visit us at Bethesda. Our hope is to develop a working relationship with SANCA and to help ease their burden of not knowing where to send people next! Our doors are open for any and all such visits. So tarnished is the current reputation of Christian rehabilitation units, we feel that we would gladly extend an invitation from any such (legitimate) group to scrutinise what we do. We reserve the right to turn anyone away subject to Group activity, but we do open our doors for unannounced visits.

That’s about it from Bethesda Christian Unit for the moment. Should any questions arise within you as you cruise our website or read my letter, please, give us a call or email any questions through to us.  We will make time to get back to you