This month, we’re celebrating men in missions— men who have left their norm to advance the gospel and bring the love of Christ wherever they step.
Kyle Harper of July 2015 U Squad met a man who went from stabbing people to making sandwiches for them.
“Jesus came for the dealers. He didn’t come for the righteous. He came for the unrighteous.”
Alan and I sat in a park right by a plaza in Durban, South Africa. He told me a story. A story that was hard for me to believe.
Behind us was a huge mosque. The daily prayers echoed across the hills from the mounted speakers. On the adjacent hill, the police office and jail sat, surrounded by razor wire and fencing.
I got to know Alan on Saturday mornings last month. We made thousands of sandwiches together. Yes, literally thousands.
These sandwiches were for the people at the government housing development in Cornubia and the homeless at the beachfront. This is how Alan spent his Saturday mornings. And for a month, it was how I spent mine.
“I’ve been through all the bad things in this world. I tried all the drugs. I poked [stabbed] people. I chopped people with bush knives …. I have a testimony.”
This wasn’t the Alan I knew.
The Alan I know picks up snacks and cool drinks and takes them to the worst neighborhoods in the area. He gathers all the kids, tells them Bible stories, plays games, and sings songs with them. They eat, drink, and laugh together. He taught some of the older ones about Jesus and showed them how to disciple the younger kids.
The Alan I know is raising up kid churches all throughout the city in the darkest parts of town.
But this Alan, the one sitting with me, must be talking about someone else.
Growing up the oldest of 6 kids, Alan never had it easy. His dad, an alcoholic, provided for the family, but was tough on Alan. Alan rebelled.
He was 15 when he started robbing, stabbing, stealing, and dealing.
At 19, he went to prison. What started as a 10-year sentence grew to 12 after he stabbed another inmate. He became a full force 26, the top-level prison gangster. Released in his early 30s, Alan spent the next 15 years on and off the streets living the same life that put him in prison in the first place.
He will turn 49 in November this year.
“My brothers gave up on me. After I went back to prison they said, ‘Alan, you’ll never change. Don’t come back here.’”
Alan had nothing, no one. He had his drugs and that’s it.
Then, three years ago, his brother came to the place where Alan was staying. Alan’s brother said sorry and that Jesus was waiting for Alan.
He told Alan that he had a choice to make.
“The day that he came to tell me I’m sorry was the day the Holy Spirit convicted me. It was a Sunday. I was doing drugs then.”
Alan told me he didn’t understand what his brother was apologizing for. His brother had never wronged him. It was that moment that Holy Spirit took hold of him.
“Since that day, I have never done drugs. I have never sworn. God has done something for me. Now I am doing something for him.”
On Sunday, Alan went to his brother’s church. There he encountered the love of Jesus and surrendered his heart. There was a wooden cross up at the front of the church with names nailed to it. They were names of people who the church was praying for to come to Jesus.
“The day that I got saved. I went and took my name off that cross.”
As Alan told me his story, a man approached us, saying we were in a dangerous area. It was here that the young people came to do drugs and not too long ago two girls were raped. Alan thanked him and told him that we have the Lord with us, not to worry.
Truly, the Alan I knew wasn’t the Alan that I’d just heard about. He had a confidence, a boldness that I had rarely seen before. He knew who he was. He wasn’t afraid of anything. Everything he saw was in light of what God had done for him:
“If I take my focus out of God, I’m lost. My life without Jesus is empty, powerless. But with him, I have authority. I can stand up and say, ‘Thank you, Lord. Because you live in my heart, I can face tomorrow.’”
Not long after, another man approached us and demanded money (speaking in Zulu). Alan responded in Zulu, which he had learned while he was in prison. The man looked angry and stood there for a while. I was sure that he was about to rob us, but Alan casually turned to me and resumed conversation.
“I feel the presence of God with me everywhere I go because even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will not fear because I know God is with me.”
The man walked away. I asked Alan what he had said to him. He told me that he had told him about Jesus and told him we would not give him money.
Alan’s life shows what he believes. He is a pioneer. He doesn’t have a job and lives with his mom. He fishes regularly, giving his catch to people he knows in need. He spends Fridays at the police station, the one across the street from us, talking to the men there about Jesus.
The officers there allow him to come because they have seen him change.
He spends Saturdays feeding those in need and planting kid churches in the neighborhoods where he used to rob, deal, and steal.
I asked Alan what he wishes to tell people who are in the same situation he was in. He said:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and everything will be added to you. The earth can offer you a lot of things, but it cannot offer you eternal life. Jesus can offer you eternal life. There was a purpose for me going through those things.”
If there is anything I’ve learned from Alan, it is that it’s never too late to give your life to Jesus. It’s never too late to fix things. It’s never too late to say I’m sorry. It’s never too late to start over.
It’s not too late for you either. It’s never too late.
I think Alan would agree.
(photos by Kaitlyn McGregor)
Is God calling you to live the adventure of your faith on the World Race? In 2016, Squads launch in January, April, August, and October – including our newest Expedition Routes. Click HERE to start your journey!
