God Used It for Good

It’s been said that God never wastes a hurt. If we let Him, He’ll use the trials of our own lives to minister to others facing similar circumstances. That’s certainly been the case with one of my Living Hope colleagues, Shagmie Levendall.

Growing up in the township of Ocean View, Shagmie (pronounced Shock-me) faced long odds. He was surrounded by drugs and gangs. All he knew of spiritual matters was the impersonal Allah of his Muslim faith. He began a downward spiral at age 13 by doing drugs, which ultimately led to addiction. By 18 he was living with gang members. When the father of a friend became a Christian, Shagmie saw a change in the man and started to ask questions. Still, he recalls, “I thought, ‘I could never do that because I am a Muslim and that would be like being a traitor.’”

But when the man invited him to a prayer event at Cape Town’s rugby stadium, Shagmie went and ended up committing his life to Jesus. A local pastor  later began mentoring him and got him involved in leading worship at Ocean View Baptist Church. Shagmie began work as a Living Hope Life Skill Educator in the Capricorn township in 2007. He has since taken on the role of youth pastor at Capricorn Community Church as well.

“God brought me through drugs and alcohol and He turned it around for His good,” he says. “I can relate to kids on a level that a lot of other people can’t. I’m real with these guys – I don’t pretend to be something that I’m not. I just try to show them that with Christ they can make it out of their situation.”