A broken home has a significant impact on a person’s life. Children from broken homes can feel less
competent and develop social and behavioural problems. Divan and Vicky Koen, a couple with similar experiences, know how a broken home can affect a person and want to share their experience. They are now paying it forward and helping others.
Divan and Vicky came from broken homes and grew up in difficult circumstances. They started using drugs at a young age and tried everything the world had to offer, such as money, pleasure, big houses, and nice cars. But there was always an emptiness in their souls. Both of them made many wrong choices in life, which cost them dearly. They lost everything they had and everyone who was part of their lives. They ended up living on the streets of Pretoria North for almost two years.
In February 2020, they took a massive step of faith. They took what they could carry and started to walk from Pretoria to Kranskop in KwaZulu-Natal. It took them seven days to reach the mission. On day three of the journey, they woke up to heavy rain, and two of their four bags were stolen while sleeping under a train bridge. At that point, they felt like they had reached their end and cried out to the Lord, asking Him why He allowed this to happen to them. Couldn’t He see that they wanted to be helped?
When they eventually arrived in Durban, it was late afternoon, and they could only get a train the following morning, so they slept at the police office at the train station that night. Early the following day, they left on the train for Stanger and travelled the rest of the way to the mission by taxi. “Arriving at the mission, we left our addictions at the security boom gate, as we were desperate for true deliverance, something we knew the world could not offer!” Vicky said.
In February 2021, Divan was able to start working at the mission. In May, Vicky also started working at the mission. In September 2021, the mission agreed that their son should come to live with them, and today, they are living together as a family at the mission.
The Koen couple has the following message for those in the same situation they were in: “All glory to God for His Grace upon our lives and the life-giving gospel preached at the KwaSizabantu Mission! For anybody who needs deliverance and true salvation, as described in John 8:36, CYPSA at the KwaSizabantu Mission is where people can receive real help free of charge. After all, Jesus said, ‘Freely you have received, freely you should give.’”
The Koens
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Image credits: All pictures provided by KwaSizabantu
