HEALED OF CANCER AND SHINGLES

Barbara [Not her real name] is a person who stays in a shelter for the poor in Durban, South Africa. She pays 15 rand per night to sleep in a dormitory of about 100 people.

If she goes to the state hospital she has to wait between 6 hours and 2 days to receive treatment.

She was diagnosed with cancer. She then started to go to Christian meetings and asked for prayer. One of the meetings she regularly attended was House of LIFE. The result was that 2 weeks ago she was underwent a scan in preparation for surgery. She was completely free. The cancer which showed up on the scan was now absent.

Last week she asked for prayer. She was prayed for by myself, Steve Blomefield and other team members - and her shingles disappeared.

She is very poor but she is rejoicing in the Lord.

Petra Mercedes Luna

House of LIFE ministry

THE REHAB CENTER IS HERE

God is good!



Finally after much searching by Steve Blomefield and myself, and prayer, we have a wondeful building for the rehab center. We have been going to house after house. Some were overpriced. Some had rooms too small. Some had too few rooms. Some had inadequate security. Some were in dangerous neighbourhoods. Some had tennants in who refused to leave, though they had not paid the rent.

There are four large bedrooms; a small bedroom; a huge lounge suitable for public meetings; a large kitchen and a large bathroom and laundry.

It was decided by the team to not pay more than 7000 rand per month [USD650], but this was a big house [2000 square feet or 220 square meters]. In addition there was a small cottage with a bedroom and lounge. The landlord was planning to rent that seperately. So we suggested that we pay the R7000 for both. We waited for two weeks and the state agent phoned us to say that we had the house.

We have signed the lease and move in on May 1st.

I will add photos within the next few days.

Meanwhile, for you who are in South Africa, if you have any bunks or beds; Blankets, curtains, furniture, stove, fridge, deep freeze etc that is lying idle at home, and you would like to sow these into the kingdom of God, please phone us at the numbers in the title page.

Bless you,

Petra Mercedes Luna

HOUSE OF LIFE MINISTRY

CO-WORKERS AND CO-WORKERS

The Lord has mightily blessed us with a growing team of co-workers. It is miraculous how people have been attracted to the ministry. Team members come from Dominican Republic, Nigeria, and from the Indian community in Durban. We are one in Christ and have different gifts and ministries, all working together for the building up of the girls.

Pastor Julius, from Nigeria has been with me a long time. When I returned to South Africa last December, he immediately joined with me and has been a treasure to the ministry. He comes out with me, Peter and Patricia[Peter's wife] until all hours of the night. He also is very helpful in giving me understanding about African culture and African thinking.





Steve Blomefield, who has had a lot of experience in Drug Rehabilitation in Zimbabwe. He was on the staff of 'Bread of Life', a rehab Center for men in Zimbabwe for three years. He has a prophetic teaching ministry, using the principles of the Word of God to know where nations/churches/economies are going, just as the Old Testament prophets did. He has a very strong teaching ministry. He has done some teaching to us co-workers, some disciples and to a Phoenix [Durban] Churches. He knows how to use computers and he helped set up this blog site. He contributes wisdom to the daily running of the House of LIFE ministry.





Steve Blomefield

Rannimah from Phoenix. She is a helper, an intercessor, a cook, and an encourager


Silvia Moodley from Phoenix. She is an intercessor. She is an exhorter and has a ministry of helps. She helps call people from off the street and into the church. She also is a mature woman of wisdom, often giving very helpful advice at the right time.

Sally from Phoenix. She is a good cook, an organizer and a helper. She has loads of potential to help organization in the ministry.


Sheelan from Phoenix, Durban. He is a very active helper. He is also a very good cook. He has a lot of potential for the ministry.

















Rannimah, Silvia, Sally, Sheelan, the Phoenix team.



Keiko Kawasaki, from Japan. Keiko is an excellent violin player and her music sometimes brings tears to the eyes of the commercial sex workers. Once she played at midnight and the African sex workers began gathering into a crowd, singing and dancing worship to Jesus. She has heart of love and compassion for the girls.



Keiko Kawasaki


Thank you Jesus

Petra Mercedes Luna

Food, Glorious food [and clothes]

Food, glorious food...... so goes the Oliver Twist song.

One would think that with the high incomes that commercial sex workers, thieves and drug dealers get there would be plenty of money to go around. But it does not work out that way. What you sow you reap. ..... Give money to the poor and you lend to God- who pays with interest. Steal, make money from sin and the craving for the high, and Satan makes sure that those made in the image of God end up in the gutter.

Making an alliance with the devil may turn to your favour in the short term, but in the end satan is a destroyer, a thief, a liar. Those who serve him end up in need, in hunger, and live day to day in desperation.



A child cuddles sacks of maize meal - in eager anticipation- that comes from the USA via the container ministry of Grace Community Church, Durban.










Needy women and children fill small shopping bags with maize meal- enough for 3 to 4 days of meals.

Many familie from Phoenix, Durban regularly give cooked food to the ministry. Itgoes straight from the stove in Phoenix to the plate in the city center. The food is always eaten by co workers to ensure taste, health and quality. Dre Kruger from Grace cafe of Grace Community Church, Durban, also regularly gives fantastic, top quality meals weekly.

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Children are not left out

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Clothes are also given out

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A family has a box of food from Umhlanga Baptist Church that originated from Lions Club,

a donated Bible from Umhlanga Baptist Church and some clothes

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Thank you all who give weekly. It is all seen by the Almighty. It is enjoyed by people who cannot thank you in person.

Petra Luna

House of LIFE ministry

Lonely in a crowd of 100

Queen [not her real name] worked on the streets as a commercial sex worker for over 21 years. At 13 years old she was raped by 7 unknown men. She ran away from home and lived by prostitution. Many years later when we found her she was very thin, but able to walk and able to come to meetings. This photo was taken in the premises of an HIV center, where we hoped she would be admitted for HIV treatment, but she was rejected.

We took her back to Durban and put her up in a shelter. At the shelter there are about 100 men and women staying in double bunks all together, including women with babies and whole families. There is no privacy.

Last week when we visited her in the shelter she was dying- but not from HIV but from thirst. With 100 people around her, no one cared enough to get her water from the tap. She was almost unconscious but when she saw Steve [Blomefield], and he held her hand, she started to cry. In the midst of a crowd of people she was utterly alone and in deep despair. Then I came to her and she began to tell me her story, I burst into tears. Steve and I rushed her to hospital [ambulances take 5 hours to come]. In hospital she was put on a drip as she was highly dehydrated. In spite of being in the terminal stages of AIDS, she was 'discharged' the next morning by the hospital. She had no strength to walk home.

She is too weak to line up to get her medicine. She simply cannot stand up long enough, waiting for the queue at the hospital to finish, so she gives up and goes home. Neither are we allowed to take her medicine for her.

Fig. 2 Queen When stronger

Right now she is dying of hunger as she has no appetite. Her arms are being shaped, not by flesh but by the bones of her arms. She is weak but she is able to eat the Chinese noodles we buy her that are cooked by adding boiling water. She lies in bed at the shelter, paid for by House of Life Ministries each day. At some point the desire to die will be greater than the desire to live, and from that point the end will come quickly.

However she has hope, because she has surrendered her life to the Lord, and is a born again Christian. When her suffering ends, her life in glory will begin.



Fig. 3 Queen in the last stages
of HIV/AIDS

In South africa, 25% of adults are HIV positive, and nearly 100% of commercial sex workers are. They also have sexually transmitted diseases of various kinds. Most commercial sex workers have been raped by close relatives or family friends. Then they go and work as commercial sex workers in order to live.

Petra Luna
House of Life Ministries

The story of three girls

Mar 6:34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

This describes exactly the situation in point road in Durban. So many people, especially the girls are being exploited, abused, deceived and rejected. Satan paints a picture of hope and money and popularity and luxury but the truth is that they are poor, they become addicted to drugs, alcohol and are enslaved by their pimps.

A good example is N..... who is 18 years old. She was sexually abused by her stepfather. Her mother is also a commercial sex worker who did not have time to spend with her and care for her. The only choice available to her was to continue with the tradition that her mother set for her.

She ran away from her home in Cape Town and came to Durban, but her life rapidly fell apart. Instead of hope, there was despair. Instead of cash, they she was penniless. Instead of freedom to do what she wanted, she was addicted to alcohol, cigarettes and drugs such as crack cocaine and ‘sugar’.

But Jesus in his love and compassion reached out to her. I told her that Jesus loves her and died for on the cross of Calvary. With tears in her eyes, she received Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Then I sent her to a nearby mission where she heard the Word of God daily.





Fig. 1 N.......
She returned to Durban where she is receiving more discipleship daily. She is also being used by God in the meetings that I am holding, where she is testifying of how God has touched her and delivered her. The street girls are being touched and they are surrendering to Jesus. They often ask to be taken to a rehabilitation center, so I am in the process of looking for a place where the girls will be taken for salvation, deliverance and discipleship.

N ... has returned to Cape Town where her family are. She is beleived to be serving the Lord and has expressed a desire to come back to house of life as a staff member.  Steve Jan 2010

Another girl is B...... She has been sexually abused by family members. She has been beaten up by family members and clients. She now has no family to care for her. She felt that the only choice available to her was to become a sex worker.

One day she heard the gospel from me. I told her that Jesus loves her. She had a hunger for Jesus and the sacrifice he made for her on the cross. She kept coming to the meetings, and one day she felt Jesus in her heart and decided to leave her sinful life and live for Jesus.

At present B....... is being discipled and counseled. Soon she will be ready for baptism. She wants to learn computers, so she can be empowered in order to rejoin the community as a fruitful individual. Training for this At present Bridget is being discipled and counseled. Soon she will be ready for baptism. She wants to learn computers, so she can be empowered in order to rejoin the community as a fruitful individual.


Fig.2. B........

Training for this and other vocations will be done at the rehabilitation center and with Christians that have a desire to assist with life skills.

B ... has returned home to Johannesburg and is believed to be with her family. Unfortunately we have lost contact with her.

I met P...... on the street corner, selling her body to any who came by. My heart was moved with compassion when I saw this young, pretty young girl in despair. At the time I saw her she was in the act of being beaten up by a man. P.... is only 17 years old. She was sexually abused from the age of three years. The abuse continued from that time on till the recent present. She ran away from home at the age of 14, and became a sex worker.

I preached Christ to her and prayed for her. I invited her to a meeting and to see me for counseling. Ever since she began to come, listening to the Word of God, her life has been transformed. Today she is a new creation in Christ Jesus and she is full of the joy of the Lord. Isn’t Jesus an awesome God!



Fig 3. P.....

P ... went home for several months but has now returned to the streets in the point Road, Durban. Please pray for her. Steve jan 2010