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    Restore my Soul, Oh my Lord: The story of Hope Farm
    Restore my Soul, Oh my Lord: The story of Hope Farm
    Restore my Soul, Oh my Lord: The story of Hope Farm
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    Restore my Soul, Oh my Lord: The story of Hope Farm

    By Sally Seymore

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    About this ebook

    Drug and alcohol abuse has reached alarming proportions, not only in South Africa, but worldwide. It is a scourge, which robs people of experiencing life to the fullest. Addiction however does not only affect the person using drugs or alcohol, but it has a devastating effect on family and friends and it often leads to domestic violence and even crime.
    This book tells the story of Hope Farm, a place of restoration...a ministry...a dream of Mike and Lynne Steenkamp. Many young people who have attended Hope Farm have found an opportunity to start a new life – the proverbial second chance – they have recovered and have been reintegrated into society.
    This book is based on research and interviews and it tells the stories of young men who have found healing from addiction. The purpose of this book is to give hope to addicts and their families. We don't have to live with sin and addiction as we can have our lives changed by Christ. The first step to a sober life is however to acknowledge the problem and to be determined to get healing.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSally Seymore
    Release dateDec 6, 2014
    ISBN9780620634724
    Restore my Soul, Oh my Lord: The story of Hope Farm
    Author

    Sally Seymore

    Sally believes that all around us there are stories to be told. After working for many years in public relations she finally put pen to paper and has written two novels and a non-fiction book.'I'm passionate about my writing. My first two books were novels and then I ventured into writing a non-fiction book about drug rehabilitation. There is so much pain out there and it is not necessary.'Her studies included an Honors in Political Science, a Masters in Communication Management and a Creative Writing Course.Sally lives in South Africa and alternates between their house near Blouberg in Cape Town and their cottage on the banks of the Magalies River in North West Province.

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      Book preview

      Restore my Soul, Oh my Lord - Sally Seymore

      Restore my soul, oh my Lord

      The story of Hope Farm

      By Sally Seymore

      Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 12:28)

      Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Niv®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

      All rights reserved.

      Copyright © 2014 by Sally Seymore.

      First Edition.

      First printed in 2014.

      Cover design by Linda Graae.

      Cover photo by courtesy Garry Mackay.

      ISBN-978-0-620-63472-4

      Table of Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1: The enemy called ‘drugs’

      Chapter 2: Showing God’s love

      Chapter 3: Tik is all around us

      Chapter 4: Just take a breath

      Chapter 5: Rules create boundaries

      Chapter 6: Mandrax or buttons

      Chapter 7: Passion for the broken ones

      Chapter 8: Cocaine and Crack Cocaine

      Chapter 9: Falling again and again

      Chapter 10: Heroin

      Chapter 11: I would have died that night

      Chapter 12: God’s grace is for everyone

      Chapter 13: The prodigal son

      Chapter 14: A mother’s love

      Chapter 15: Tough love or no love?

      Chapter 16: The living Word

      Author’s Note

      Bibliography

      Prologue

      Drug and alcohol abuse is increasing worldwide and it is found in all walks of life, with no distinction between age, race or class. It robs people of their most important years, especially since it is often young people who fall prey to this scourge; but more so, its hugely negative impact on the family structure often results in domestic violence and can lead to criminal activities.

      Who are the people who make drugs available, often to those not yet old enough to drink, drive or vote? They are the dealers, usually managed by ruthless individuals and cartels. People regard drug dealers as having no conscience, whose greed for money has overtaken them, but in many poverty-stricken areas where job opportunities are scarce or non-existent, it becomes a means of placing food on the table, as the ‘moral choice’ of a business does not enter the equation. Still, it is no excuse as it becomes part of the vicious cycle of crime and violence that has been pulling our communities apart and it adds to the moral degeneration of society. Drug dealers are known to prey on the innocent, often children, and there is no excuse for what they are doing.

      South Africa has become a major player in international drug trafficking networks and authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with the explosion of the drug trade. In fact, the television channel eNCA, through their weekly documentary programme, Checkpoint, reported that the latest research shows drug dependency in South Africa has now reached children, twelve years and younger. Kyle, a drug addict who gave his testimony during this programme, said that when the need for a fix becomes overwhelming addicts would sell their own children (he was referring to an actual case in Durban) or even kill (Mabuse, 2014).

      Violence can however be found on both sides of the spectrum – users, dealers, their families and the community are all exposed to it. Death – as a result of the violence associated with drug trafficking – is often the inevitable end for those who make it their business; yet that threat is mostly no deterrent at all, as it is a growing industry and it provides a lucrative income to many.

      Many of our young people, from poor communities to wealthy families, have fallen into the trap of substance abuse. After many years of struggling with the situation they end up in rehabilitation centres – some only once, but it usually involves multiple admissions, often to a range of centres over a period of time.

      Dr Roger Meyer a former addict and medical doctor who specialises in addiction medicine says that to cure drug addiction is not the same as having your appendix out; where you go into hospital, have a procedure done and are then released. Instead, he equates addiction to a chronic illness and is of the opinion that rehabilitation centres are necessarily part of the process (Pampalone, 2014:19).

      Family and friends often ask ‘why?’ and they search for some kind of miracle…some sort of hope… to rid their loved ones of the bane of substance abuse.

      Hope Farm, situated in Hopefield on the West Coast of the Western Cape, is a place where many young people have found an opportunity to start a new life…a second chance…the miracle they were looking for.

      This book tells the story of Hope Farm. It aims to give some insight into the incredible work that is being done there. But it compels me to clearly state from the outset that Hope Farm is not a rehabilitation centre for substance abuse and as such their name would not be found in a registry for rehabilitation centres; instead it is a ministry, which has been a long-time dream of Mike and Lynne Steenkamp.

      There are a number of role players involved in an institution such as Hope Farm: those who have made the farm possible through years of determination, others who are involved in guiding people suffering from addiction and ministering to them, and then those who go there – often as a last resort – in dire need of healing. Obviously an establishment of this nature does not operate in a vacuum and has a bigger environment in which it has to function. It cannot succeed without the acceptance and support of its immediate surroundings, people and organisations – be it for prayer, funding, employment possibilities and often just acceptance of the youngsters who have to be re-introduced into society. I have been told that the support of parents and family members is critical; but they need to understand the importance of their role and that they form part of the cycle of healing.

      This book is based on research and interviews that I conducted with some of the role players; young men at Hope Farm, either in the process of recovering at the time of writing, or some who have left the centre and who have been re-introduced into the mainstream of society; and then there are those on the ‘outside’ who have offered insight into the workings of the farm.

      After the interviews I felt incredibly vulnerable and the life accounts that I have heard affected me deeply: here I was holding some of these people’s innermost pain and heartache of a wasted life in the palm of my hand and the question was, What should I do with it? Just retelling it wouldn’t achieve much as I didn’t want this book to be only a story of people’s pain and failures.

      In the midst of grappling with how to go about writing this book, I attended some of the Hope Support Group Meetings at View Church, Table View and it became clear to me what my role and responsibility was when Mark* gave feedback about ‘where he was at a specific moment in time’. He shared with the group that I had interviewed him the previous week; that he had found it difficult and felt depressed going through it all, especially since he hadn’t told his story for a while. What struck me however was when he said, I look forward to the day when my past is a faded memory. I know I can never get away from it, but I don’t want to be reminded of it every day.

      Mark’s words reminded me of Paul who explained to the Corinthians that we don’t have to live with sin all our lives and that we can have our lives changed by Christ:

      Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you

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