Mario Maneville and Reformed Faith Mission Community Church – 2015 Annual Report Part 2:
As a popular charismatic preacher using drugs and alcohol and on the verge of suicide, the Lord radically saved Mario. He started listening to sermons from men like Conrad Mbewe and Paul Washer in 2005, and God used these men in a special way in his life. Is it any wonder that the Lord would now use Mario to lovingly speak truth into the lives of Pentecostal pastors, prostitutes, and drug dealers? In this second excerpt from his annual report, he shares about ministry to prostitutes and drug dealers in his community.
Grace to a Dying Sinner
“Last February, the Lord opened a door for us when a woman who sold her daughters into prostitution fell sick with cancer and called us to pray with her. This was truly a grace-given sickness. This woman used to hate us because we tried to get her youngest daughters out of prostitution. What was amazing to us is that she could have called the charismatic pastor from the ‘church’ that her eldest daughter attends to pray for her, but she didn’t. She was looking for people who really feared the Lord. We praise the Lord for the testimony that our church has in the community.
We had several services at her home with her whole family in attendance. The prostitution and drug sales that happened from her house came to an end. We had the privilege to disciple her and we are convinced that the Lord saved her. Her whole family witnessed the change that took place in her life. The daughters that she once sold into prostitution now had to daily read the Bible for her, as she was too weak to do anything for herself. We served her for three months before she passed on. What an amazing story of God’s grace to a woman who sold her kids to prostitution and then, like the thief that hung next to Jesus, she obtained ‘like precious faith.’
This opened opportunities to preach the Gospel at the night vigils and the funeral service. The funeral service was packed with all sorts of sinners, from rastas to drug dealers and gangsters and pimps, all under one roof to hear the powerful preaching of the gospel. We have since preached at several funerals and were even nick-named ‘The Funeral Preachers.’ We wear this name with honor as it gives us the opportunity to refute the false gospels and present to people the message of Christ crucified and the implication of their rejection of Him.
The Gospel Preached in Drug Houses
The Lord has opened more doors for us to preach in the homes of drug dealers and ‘lollie lounges’ (a house where the owner sells drugs, with rooms where people can get high and women prostitute themselves for their next fix). We have a standing arrangement to hold a service once a month at one of the notorious lollie lounges in Bellville South. This place has been in operation for more than 20 years and is responsible for many deaths, drug addictions, prostitution, robberies, house break-ins, teenage pregnancies, HIV… and the list goes on. It used to be a drug lab where ‘tik’ was manufactured. There are about 40 people that stay in this small municipal flat – all on drugs. We thank the Lord that we can reach out to them. This house is a cancer in our community and God has opened the door for us to preach the only cure – The Gospel of Jesus Christ!
We also preached at another drug dealer’s home, and while Quinton (Mario’s brother) was preaching the wife and daughter of the drug dealer started crying. After the service my wife had a private time with the daughter. We urged them to seek the Lord and to repent and to believe the Gospel. The husband didn’t seem very open when we asked him if we could have another service there at another occasion, but we trust God to keep that door open for us.
We have decided to target all the drug dealers in our community and bring the Gospel right into their homes from where they sell their drugs. May the Lord grant us favor.
