This year, our emerging leaders grew dear to our hearts. We’d like to tell you about Azola.
Azola is 19-year-old Xhosa young man, tall and lanky, with a quiet disposition and a deep love for Jesus. Azola first heard the gospel from his soccer coach who also became his pastor. He is from Khayelitsha, a predominantly Xhosa township (a slum neighborhood developed during Apartheid as a way to isolate “undesirable” tribal groups).
Azola participated in the Residency program and was at our house every week as part of our small group. He was an eager participant when Jack taught on the Big Picture, an overview of the Biblical story. Shortly afterwords, as part of the ongoing discipleship in the residency, Azola was baptized.
In the small group at our house, we read through the Bible and focused in on key passages. One of those was Deuteronomy 6, the Shema, and Azola was deeply touched by the instruction to fathers to teach their sons God’s law. Azola observed that in his community, there are few fathers. Growing up, no man in Azola’s life ever taught him about Jesus or the Bible. He didn’t know anyone in his family or his community where this was true.
God did a mighty work in Azola’s heart. He shared, “I am now determined to teach my sons and the young men in Khayelitsha about the gospel. This will be my life’s work. They need to know how important it is for us - even more important than our traditional Xhosa stories of a warrior’s glory. THIS is what will turn around the lack of direction young boys face in Kayamandi. It is the gospel!”
The residency program under Jack’s direction provided the perfect place for Azola to learn God’s Word so that he could teach it to others. He quickly found out that this is no easy task. In classes at Hope Training Course, Azola faced a mountain of challenges: to learn new vocabulary and concepts, new ways of studying, and developing skills to lead Bible lessons and give talks to peers. Instead of folding under the pressure or giving up, Azola demonstrated true strength in persevering. By God’s grace and the Spirit’s work in his life, Azola grew tremendously.
““I’m excited to continue dealing with my past and becoming more bold and positive so I can go out after this year to help my community.””
Halfway through the year, Azola was a key leader in our Summit program. He helped to facilitate skills workshops and teach the Bible. After a rocky start, Azola thrived at Hope Training Course and his learnings compounded the more he worked at it. We were blessed to be a part of his life and developed a friendship with him.
You were a part of what God did in Azola’s life. Thank you!
