Twila – “Who urged me not to give up, to continue studying?”
I really would like to voice my concern at all these fabricated stories being spread about CTMI. I don’t agree that young members of CTMI are told to give up their studies. I am a 24-year old and currently working in Durban. Basil O’ Connell Jones, who has known me since I was a child, is my pastor at Grace Gospel Church. However, in 2003, when I finished school, I was facing what many young people face: what should I do with my life? Should I go to University, and where? What should I study? What career should I go for? My parents, who are so supportive… sent me to a career adviser to help me in deciding what career I should take up. After that session, it was concluded that I was “university material”, alas… Now the decision was: where to go?
Since I was living in Zimbabwe, I looked at the options of studying at Rhodes or University of Pretoria. It was during that time that I began to feel that the best place for me to study would be in Mauritius, at the new private university. Let’s be clear here, no one told me to go study in Mauritius… it was purely my own decision, which I came to on my own, in part because I had visited the island many times in the past, and I knew and loved so many people there. I made the choice, in discussion it with my parents, who gave me their approval. I’m so grateful to my parents for always supporting my decisions! I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to learn new cultures, new languages, and how to adapt to another society. Therefore, in 2004 I moved to Mauritius where I stayed for 4 years. I successfully completed my degree and have a B. Comm. in Marketing and Management.
Whenever I became discouraged, or was having a bad day and just wanted to give up on my studies (which all students go through…check university drop-out statistics on the Internet), it was the elders in Mauritius who urged me not to give up, to continue. I can’t say that I felt at any time that it was because they wanted me to stay in Mauritius… definitely not! What I did really sense was that many of these men of God have known me since I was very young; and they knew the benefits of me furthering my studies, and the self-confidence that I received by completing my degree studies. I am so grateful to them and all those other brothers and sisters in the CTMI family in Mauritius, who supported me during this period. I also stayed in the most amazing homes; ordinary people… just like most folk in CTMI, but I felt part of the family in every home I stayed in!
At the end of my studies I reached the point of what to do next. Which country to live in, where to work? Like any other young person, I asked those I am close to for advice, those who know me. So, I asked my family, I asked my friends, I asked the elders. I want to end by quoting what the Elder Peter McKenzie wrote to me from the UK:
“…Thanks for the update. I think it’s great for you to go to CTMI Zim and SA camps. This will take you to the end of September, and will give the Lord enough time to settle things in your heart. Obviously it’s good to listen to the counsel of others, but at the end of the day, you must open your heart and do what the Lord wants you to do. Then you will be at peace. So my girl, just put your heart before Him and have some faith for His guidance.”
Does this sound like pastors who encourage young people to abandon their studies, or a church that controls young people’s lives? You tell me…
Posted: February 25th, 2010 under Youth.