Word of Life Ministries International, also known as WOLMI, was established in the hearts of my wife, Rirhandzu, and I on January 18th, 1998. Our first service had only one attendee, but we did not allow that to discourage us. Word of mouth quickly spread, and we had eight attendees the following Sunday. We believe that God had called and destined us for something better, greater, and powerful, as outlined in Job 8:7 – “Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end should greatly increase.” We have enjoyed seeing God’s grace over WOLMI over the years, growing from faith to faith, grace to grace, and strength to strength.
In my experience, before God promotes a person, He often rotates them. This was the case with WOLMI, as we moved from our first service in my apartment to a TV room that could only accommodate 15 people. Two months later, we moved to 140 Hamilton, with only seven solid members, occupying a 75-seater auditorium. In about two years, it became full, and we had to relocate to SG Lourens nursing college and later to the Jewish synagogue.
In 2004, WOLMI moved to Arcadia Centre, where we began a vigorous fundraising campaign for land. Initially, we received an offer of 3.314 hectares for R2.050 million, but we could not raise the full amount, and the landowner increased the price to R2.3 million. A few days before signing the necessary papers, the landowner sold it to someone else for a much higher price, which tested our faith. However, we persevered and eventually purchased our current property of 8.5 hectares (22 acres) for a few million rand.
It is a great joy to see how far WOLMI has come over the years and the many lives it has impacted. We give all glory to God for His faithfulness and grace, and we continue to believe that the best is yet to come for WOLMI.