Ever since coming to know Jesus, after spending years in prison, Sibu has longed to see change in his community. After fasting and praying, God gave him an idea of how to make this happen. Sibu’s two friends, also ex-offenders, decided to join him after hearing his idea. They wanted to share powerful testimonies of what God had been doing in their lives, share a message of hope, and extend their hands of support to the parents in their community.
Out of this, ‘Give Back to Parents’ was born, an organisation where the three men visit Cape Town’s taxi ranks during peak hour, once or twice a month (a taxi is a 16-seater vehicle used to transport people to and from work). At the taxi ranks, the men pray together and choose a taxi filled with people, waiting to depart. They then tell the driver that they were in prison, but have now been transformed and that they’d like to pay for the fare of every single person in the taxi. This is usually met with a bewildered response, the driver asking, ‘What’s the secret!? You were in prison?’ The men then take turns to share their personal testimonies of how God has shown them forgiveness and what He has done in their lives.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many passengers experiencing Jesus and asking ‘Give Back to Parents’ if they can bring their troubled children to be discipled by them.
Through their simple faith, generosity and obedience, these men are having a significant impact in their community. Sibu is also discipling his two team-mates, who are on their way to fully committing their lives to Christ.
Left: Sibu, Simphiwe and Keketso (the Give Back to Parents team). Right: Keketso sharing testimonies to the taxi passengers.
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