GANGSTER’S PARADISE

“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life, and realize there’s nothin’ left
‘Cause I’ve been blastin’ and laughin’ so long
That even my momma thinks that my mind is gone…”

The soundtrack to Coolio’s hit “Gangster’s Paradise” has been playing out at Elsie’s River in Cape Town for decades. The area is only around five square kilometres, yet is bursting with stories of joy and anguish, love and hate, death and hope.

This, dear reader, is a story of hope. It’s a story of brokenness. It’s a story of triumph. Even I don’t know how this story will end, but I will take you on the journey that brought us here.

It was 8:30pm one Friday night, when a congregant of Pastor Nolan Timmie’s church received a whatsapp message from her friend. Shortly thereafter, Timmie’s phoned pinged with the forwarded message – a cry for help from a 28-year old woman, desperately seeking assistance for her younger brother. The young man, Jamal, was 26, and a key member of a local gang. With tensions at boiling point, his sister was afraid that he could lose his life. 

Timmie, 49, has been working in the Elsies River community for the past 20 years. He knows the area all too well, having been involved in drugs at a young age, and dropping out of school. The trajectory of Timmie’s life changed when he gave his heart to God, at the age of 21, on board a train, while a group of passengers conducted a church service in the carriage.

Jamal was at a local spaza shop when Pastor Timmie approached him, accompanied by, a young man from his church. The 26-year old was still under the influence of drugs, but gave a polite nod to Timmie when the Pastor asked him for 2 minutes of his time, at his house. The three quietly walked down the dusty path and up the stairs to the third story flat.  They sat talking for a while. The Pastor’s assistant shared how he had left gangsterism seven years prior. They presented the Word of God, and shared how much God loved him, and how much better his life could turn out. Jamal freely and willingly told the men that he wanted to change his life. Going down on his knees, he gave his heart to the Lord.

Timmie had an impression in his spirit that Jamal should not remain in his parent’s home that night. He asked Jamal’s sister to fetch him that same afternoon and take him to stay with her for a while. However, things didn’t go as he had planned.

Later that evening, Pastor Timmie received a call. Jamal’s home was under fire from a rival gang. When his sister and mother arrived home they had to duck for cover as bullets flew overhead. Jamal’s younger brother, Khiaam, who had been making noodles in the kitchen was hit by a bullet. Fortunately he survived. 

Timmie was upset. He knew that this could have been avoided if Jamal’s sister had taken him away sooner. In a panic, the family asked that he rush over to their home to help them. This was a difficult decision, as the rival gang members were likely to still be in the vicinity. He enquired of his wife. “Let’s get into the car and go fetch him,” she bravely said. So, they got into the car and drove to Jamal’s house. When they got there, Timmie’s wife sat in the car and said, “You go and fetch him!” 

The tension was palpable. Fear filled the air. Jamal’s friends were standing whispering outside. Pastor Timmie slowly and quietly walked toward the flat and up the stairs. He could hear Jamal’s father on the phone frantically explaining to someone that a gang had just opened fire on his house. Timmie’s eyes were fixed on Jamal. He went straight to him and held his hand. There was no resistance. They quickly and quietly walked together straight to the car, and hurriedly drove off. They took the young man to a safe house, counselled and prayed for him before calling his sister to take him to her home. 

The next morning, Pastor Timmie fetched Jamal to take him for breakfast. They were planning to go to N1 City, but Timmie drove further to Canal Walk because Jamal just couldn’t stop crying. He cried the whole journey. He couldn’t explain why, but tears continued to well up in his eyes and stream down his face. Choking down tears, Jamal said “It’s been a long time that I cried like this”. After a healthy breakfast of not just food, but of encouragement and counsel, the Pastor took Jamal back to his sister. And so this routine would continue day after day.  

By the next Sunday, Jamal and his two younger brothers were at church. All three had been involved in gangsterism. The siblings gave their heart to the Lord. Their friends began to see a difference in their lives. One by one, they also started to engage with Pastor Timmie. The church began a Bible study breakfast on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. The former gangsters began to share who in their community needed to experience the love of Christ. Over the past three weeks, another twenty young men have turned their backs on gangsterism. 

Many in the community say for the first time everything is quiet. They can sleep again. They can walk on the streets again, without the anxiety of having to possibly dodge bullets. The shooting has stopped, and with it the anger. 

These young men were feared and despised in their community. They were violent, and made their living by robbing people of their cellphones, then selling it on the black market. They were constantly high on the drug known as Tik, and peddled drugs at street corners. 

Now, the community is slowly getting used to the idea of seeing these young men get dressed in the morning and walking through the streets of Elsie’s River to go to Church for Bible study. 

It hasn’t been an easy road. During a meeting with Pastor Timmie one morning, a young man in the group received a phone call. It was a ganger leader calling from inside prison to give an instruction for someone to be “taken out.” The 19-year old tasked with the assassination, and now sitting with Pastor Timmie, was the main gunman in the gang.

The truth is, some of the young men have pulled a trigger, ending precious lives. In a gang, if you are given an instruction to kill someone and you don’t do so, then you yourself could be killed for disobeying the directive. People are killed for gangs to claim territory, or even if a gang leader just doesn’t like someone in the community.  The vicious circle of intimidation is often what prevents gangsters from leaving the dangerous lifestyle.

Pastor Timmie was clear – there would be no such killings, certainly not from any of the young men who were under his care. He went to the father of the gangster who ordered the hit, and told him to let his son know this in no uncertain terms, and that all the young men had now chosen a new path of love and forgiveness.. 

“If my son calls me, I will tell him,” said the man.”

Pastor Timmie’s family and his church spend thousands of rands preparing meals for the young men. It started off with R300-R400 a day, but with the increasing number of young men turning their backs on gangsterism, the costs of provision are also growing. Jamal and his two brothers were very influential in gang circles, so everyone is now hanging out at their house. Provision is also given to their mum to be able to feed the young men looking for a lifeline of hope.  

They are hungry, not just for food to fill their tummies, but hungry for love, for acceptance, for faith, and the Word of God. 

Pastor Timmie tries to keep them occupied during the week, so the drug cravings are reduced and so they are able to focus on re-building themselves. Sometimes they watch movies, sometimes they play, and sometimes they just go for a drive and get some KFC. Most of them sit in on both church services on a Sunday, leaving the regulars out in the cold! It’s a problem they don’t mind having, knowing that a whole generation is being restored. 

Judah Community Life Church has great ideas for the young men, but they’re not ready for it yet. Once they are mentally strong some will be sent back to finish school, while others will undergo skills development courses. For now, Pastor Timmie has to ensure that all their needs are met for the next 4 to 6 months – from food and toiletries, to jackets, takkies, boots, beanies, Bible study material and of course, entertainment to keep their minds away from their toxic past.

Many have lost out on their childhood. Some don’t have fathers. Others have lost both their parents. 

This week Pastor Timmie was introduced to a shabbily dressed boy, just 13-years old. He was the youngest member of the gang. The child has not been attending school. In fact, he is also hooked on drugs, given to him in his own home. The teenager is no stranger to violence, and can fire a gun by himself. He has attended his first Bible study class, and the church is hoping it will be a turning point for this little boy. 

When they’re asked what they would like to become, the answers ring out in the air “An architect,” “a lawyer,” “an engineer…” Their dreams are big. Their opportunities have always been small. However, Pastor Timmie is hoping to change that. 

These young men may have “been spendin’ most their lives livin’ in the gangsta’s paradise,” but with their guns now aside, they are now thankfully “On their knees in the night, sayin’ prayers in the streetlight.

They have new hope and aspiration on the inside, and their future depends on all of us doing our bit to hold them up in prayer, in love and support.

I hope this story has left you blessed and inspired to make a difference!