A Journey of
Grace, a Journey
of Faith
The story of how God brought a
prodigal from Africa to Hartland
by Godfrey Miyanda
God used that mission trip to change my dreams and bring me back to Himself.
I was born in Zambia to a Catholic father and an Adventist mother. They both passed away when I was very young, so my siblings and I went to live with our Christian grandparents.
Despite my Christian background, in high school, I got involved in the dangerous business of selling precious stones, lying and duping people to make money. Like a prodigal son, I was wasteful with the money I made. My single-minded goal in life was to become rich, yet a deep longing remained for something more satisfying.
In December of 2013, I was invited to join a mission trip. I tried to excuse myself because I knew I was not in right relationship with God, but later I was convinced I should go. God used that mission trip to change my dreams and bring me back to Himself. Through the lessons my friends were sharing about God’s love, my selfishness was touched, and I longed to have Christ in my heart and be transformed into His likeness, blessing others as He did. I came back reconverted!
After that, I struggled with the conviction to become a missionary. I felt I was not qualified to be God’s messenger because of my past life, but God reminded me that His grace is sufficient. It was not about my past; it was about letting Him work in my life, about falling at His feet to drink from Him. Finally, I surrendered to His will and guidance.
After that, I struggled with the conviction to become a missionary. I felt I was not qualified to be God’s messenger because of my past life, but God reminded me that His grace is sufficient. It was not about my past; it was about letting Him work in my life, about falling at His feet to drink from Him. Finally, I surrendered to His will and guidance. I chose to study health evangelism and became a full-time missionary. In October 2017, I was invited to Zimbabwe to conduct a medical missionary seminar, and while there, I heard about Hartland through the seminar organizer, Judge Hove. She had met Hartland students who were on a mission trip in South Africa. She said if I’d consider attending Hartland, she’d help me with the application fee and air ticket. I looked the school up online and felt God saying, “This is the school I want you to attend.” A giant among the challenges I faced was finances. In 2019, I was accepted to Hartland, but I was not offered a Missionary Training Fund (MTF) scholarship. Having no sponsor, I was not able to go. God was teaching me patience! In 2020, I applied again for the MTF scholarship, and this time God worked a miracle. I was picked! But I was still not able to go due to COVID 19 lockdowns and travel bans. Delay is not denial, though. Finally, in June 2021, God opened the way. Coming to Hartland has been a journey of grace, a journey of faith. Looking back, I can only say, I am here because God brought me! My major is theology with a health minor. Every Hartland experience is special and life-changing; however, there is nothing more life-changing than sitting in classes like Pauline Epistles and History of the Christian Church. Studying the life of Paul and Christ’s works in him—his missionary zeal, pastoral care, administrative abilities, and articulation of the gospel—is indeed life-transforming. Tracing the development of the Christian church and the role of missionary training centers during the long period of persecution was a great motivation for me to keep alive plans to start a Bible school.
It was a great motivation for me to keep alive plans to start a Bible school.
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