Samela Signoria Sotuku-Panya
The Fountain of Life Prophetic Church South Africa
My name is Samela Panya, I was born in South Africa by 2 African parents. I am a wife and a mother of 3 children and a teacher by profession. I have a Bachelor Degree in Education in 2002 from the Nelson Mandela University. Currently, I have 2 adult children in university.
I am a married woman with 3 children. I am a primary school teacher. In South Africa, Queenstown, Christianity is well embraced and that is why I got the opportunity to spiritually grow fast and be exposed to many Christian values that I had to uphold and own. I am a born-again Christian and I received Christ in 2001 at the Word of Faith Christian Centre and was baptized after 6 months of taking Baptismal-classes. I served in my local church as part of the church intercessors for 2 years, then I was later trained on apostolic leadership.
Having completed the training, I served as one of the advisory committee members in the Apostle’s office. One day whilst in the church service, I had a vision. In that vision I saw thousands of women walking in rows, they came towards me and in the vizion I was interacting with a voice of someone I couldn’t see. I asked him why those women were coming towards me and the voice said, “they are here to listen to you for I have given you a message to pass to them. Then whilst I was surprised, the vision stopped. I carried this vision for 5 years without giving it attention. I continued to serve in my local church until one minister prophesied to me confirming the vision and that it shall come to pass so I needed to prepare myself.
In every church I visited, no preacher or minister closed the service without giving me the same word confirming the vision. This made me to start focusing on my calling. I was later exposed and given pastoral care duties in the absence of my leader, the Apostle of the church. This cultivated the internal hunger to serve the Lord even more.
My agenda with the Lord is to “Seek and Save” the lost back to our “Abba” father. I am blessed to say I am a pastor at the Fountain of Life Prophetic Church.
Being a school teacher made it impossible to afford tuition/study fees in order to get formal ministry training with an award and a certificate. I therefore decided to look through the internet and search for help and by the grace of God I found myself in the CLI website. I couldn’t believe it. I had to stop and pray, thanking God for honoring His word that says, “my steps are ordered by Him”, indeed “the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord”.
CLI, thank you for this divine opportunity that you have afforded me free of charge. You are like a bridge that connects me to my spiritual dream and more.
Ndibamba ngazo zozibini !!
Hello! My name is George Sawyer II, and I am studying at Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here) and applying to the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School to get my bachelor’s degree. I am a husband and father of three children. We are from The Bahamas, and with little exception, we have lived here our entire life. I am happy and privileged to greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
My journey to walking with God is not a straight path. It started when I was seven years old. My uncle used to carry me to church. One evening service, when the altar call came, I felt the call and gave my life to Christ. The next few years, until I was in senior high, I attended church whenever I could. My parents were not churchgoers, so I could only attend when one of my uncles picked me up.
Side Tracked
After I left home, my walk with God grew more inconsistent. I started college seeking a bachelor’s degree and majoring in Bio-Chem to become a doctor. Until recently, I didn’t realize that my desire to help save people’s lives, while translating to an eight-year-old as a want to be a doctor, was actually a call placed on my life. To minister to people and help save people’s lives was actually a calling to lead them to the Lord so that their souls could be saved through surrender to Christ.
Therefore, I faltered and quit college. I ended up in trade school to become a jeweler. I needed a faster way to make a living because I met a young lady, got married, and had a son. We did not live a Christian lifestyle at all. Her wants actually drove us apart as she wanted a lifestyle with multiple men and drinking. We argued, and she divorced me. Still, I was bitter and lost and did not seek to reconnect with the Lord.
I Called on God
Shortly after this, I met another young lady and fell in love once again. We married and had a daughter. When my daughter was 4, we moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. Our life was so stressful, and I was so lost and bitter that I felt only a complete change in our life would help. So, I did something I hadn’t in a long time. I prayed to God. During the prayer, I said that I was lost and that I needed His help. We were going on this journey, and I was stepping out in faith and asked God to bless this change to be what we needed.
I had no idea at the time how much God’s answer to my prayer would change everything in our life. It changed everything in my life. I soon found out that God’s knowledge of what I needed and my idea of what I needed the change to be were two totally different things.
From the moment I arrived in West Palm Beach, my spirit was calmed. I felt something come over me. It wasn’t until later that I realized it was the Holy Spirit beginning to work on my life. Through work, I met a woman that invited my family to church, and the reconnection I felt with God was strengthening. After a few months, I felt the call to get baptized. I spoke with my wife, and we decided to do it together. A few weeks later, my wife, son, and I got baptized together.
New Direction
During this time, we struggled with finances and the ability to move forward with our plans. It weighed on me. My job involved unloading trailers of items my employer emptied from abandoned apartments. One day, I felt discouraged and talked to God as I unloaded the trailer. At one point, I said, ” Lord, I am having a hard time here. I’m sure you didn’t bring me to this place to be doing this for the rest of my life. What is it I am supposed to do?”
Then, I moved a box of items, and another fell over at my feet. The contents spilled out, books. Not just any books but training manuals for ministry. One was how to start a church by Michael Chitwood. Two others were on how to be an effective pastor and how to start a nonprofit Christian ministry. There were also all types of supporting literature on these subjects.
I was overwhelmed with emotion. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Could it be? Trembling, I asked, “Is this you, God? Is this what you are telling me? How can I know if this is you? If it is, please let me know.” As I righted the box to put the manuals back, the next book to spill out was a Bible. I picked it up and read the title, “The Holy Spirit Encounter Bible.” I never saw a Bible like it before or after. I was terrified. God was talking to me.
Discouraged
I felt unworthy and thought it over for weeks. I didn’t know what to do. Finally, I went to the pastor of the church I was attending to seek direction. What I got shut me right down. I got discouragement and was told that they couldn’t help me and made me feel that maybe I was mistaken. So, I put the books away.
Shortly after that, we moved back to the Bahamas. Several years went by. One day, my wife and I were talking about things. She said we needed to go back to church. On my way out to get the kids from school, I sarcastically told her we needed to pray about it and ask God where to go because I didn’t feel comfortable in most churches.
As the kids and I got out of the car at home, a small group approached. They handed us a pamphlet inviting us to church. Stunned, I went inside and told my wife that I was out of excuses because God just sent an invite to church.
A New Church Home
I had told them that I had to work that Sunday, but I would be there the following Sunday. The Friday before, I had an accident at work. I ended up in the emergency room and a neck brace. The spiritual warfare started. I felt the devil was trying to stop me from going! So, even though I was in pain and a neck brace, I went to church. For the first time in a long time, I felt spiritually at home.
Over the next 6 months that I wore the brace, there were ups and downs on my spiritual journey. One particular Sunday, as I was at church feeling low, I asked God why he had me attending this church. His answer was instantaneous. So fast I almost missed it because I was still asking the question. The assistant pastor made the announcement right at that moment that they were starting the lay minister’s course for this year in a few weeks. God extended the call again.
However, there was a fee, and I hadn’t worked in months. There was no money. I was disappointed but decided to email the Reverend anyway and inquire when the next course would start. Maybe I would have the money by then. The Reverend said not to worry about the fee but to come anyway. I was scared and excited. God opened the door to the path he had for me.
Seeking a Bachelor’s Degree at CLI’s Leadership Excellence School
I prayed for direction during the lay minister’s course. The Holy Spirit said that I would go all the way to becoming an ordained minister in the Methodist church. I asked Reverend about the path and was disappointed to learn that they required a bachelor’s degree. Then, I needed to attend a seminary to pursue a master’s in divinity to achieve my goal.
Still, I determined not to be dismayed by the enemy. While taking the lay minister’s course, I continued to pray and search for the answer. God provided the answer by directing my path to the Christian Leaders Institute and CLI’s Leadership Excellence School to obtain the education and bachelor’s degree required to make this goal a reality. CLI and CLI are doing the work of God. I pray that God continues to bless all of those associated with making this happen.
To whoever reads this, may God bless and direct your life to the fullness of the plans He has for you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost bachelor’s degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
My name is Michelle Hanscom, and I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. My Christian Life Coach journey has started with studying at the Christian Leaders Institute (Learn more about online Bible classes, Click Here). I live in a city within Northeast Massachusetts called Haverhill. Massachusetts is part of New England, which is considered the least churched region in the United States. On October 9, 2020, I married a God-fearing man willing to accept my two adult sons and two granddaughters as his own.
The Younger Me
Growing up in a single-parent home, I was the oldest of two siblings. Going to church was only to attend weddings, funerals, and Christmas Eve service for my family. During my mother’s childhood, she had an unpleasant experience with attending church. Her opinion regarding church and her children was that we would find our own way.
Looking back at my childhood, I can see God trying to get my attention. Weekly, a van would come to pick up children in the neighborhood to attend The Salvation Army’s Sunday service. Then, they invited me to their youth group called Sunbeams. Faithfully, I attended Sunday service and Sunbeams. After a few years, when my mother thought I was old enough to babysit, I was no longer allowed to go to these because I had to babysit.
Around 11 years old, sin started to rule my life. After running away from home, my problems became my number coping mechanism. Then I started hanging out with older friends, experimenting with sex, alcohol, and drugs. These added to the list of newly found coping mechanisms. These behaviors led me to become part of the Department of Children and Families and the Juvenile Court System. Consequently, it started the cycle of foster homes and residential treatment facilities. At 16, when I was in one of the residential treatment homes, I became pregnant. Once the Juvenile Court found out about it, they sent me back home to live with my mother and two siblings.
At 18 years old, I graduated high school. I attempted college multiple times but failed. At the age of 21, I was a single mother of two boys.
Chains of Bondage
During the next 10 years, unhealthy relationships and drugs became my master. Slowly my life spiraled out of control leading to multiple suicide attempts and inpatient psychiatric stays. As much as I wanted to be a good mother, my children suffered severe neglect. Financially, I depended on the government and men to take care of me. In 2003, my children were removed by the Department of Children and Families due to a drug overdose. It took me six years of hard work to bring them back home. At that point, I was drug-free. However, the alcohol soon became my master. My boys returned home but brought their newfound anger. Less than a year after my boys’ reunification, I was right back to where I was the day DCF removed my children.
December 2009, I experienced a drug-induced seizure while driving. I want to say that this was the last time I used drugs. It wasn’t. It was also not the last time I went into treatment. However, this was the incident that God used to get my attention. My life was shattered. Something needed to change.
Rescue Story
On New Year’s Day 2010, I started AA/NA with periods of sobriety. Staying off substances was a constant battle. No matter what I changed, I could not figure out what was missing. I did everything my sponsor suggested except going to church. How could I go to church? All the stuff I’d done. No one would want me there, especially God.
In June 2013, I finally surrendered after a two-week relapse and took that one suggestion. June 16, 2013, I attended my first church service since my youth. My memories of that day are foggy. However, one thing is clear, God removed the chain of drug addiction that day.
December 2013, I attended my first Celebrate Recovery meeting. God started exposing these unhealthy coping mechanisms I learned as a young girl. CR is where I found women who loved me unconditionally. They loved me when I couldn’t love myself.
These meetings are where I found freedom from my hurts, habits, and hang-ups. There I identified that Jesus was the missing piece of my life which I filled with other things. This is where I was able to forgive myself, God, and others. This is where I was able to make amends for my wrongs.
Infant in Christ
Women took me under their wing to teach me the basics and build a strong foundation in Christ. They taught me how to read the Bible and pray. They taught me what the trinity represented and what Christ did for me by dying on the cross. The biggest struggle I faced was identifying God as my father. My relationship with my father consisted of abandonment and rejection. How could I look at God that way? Slowly God revealed the difference between conditional and unconditional love. Also, the definition of sinful nature and that God does not want bad things to happen to me. That moment was life-changing.
In March 2017, after a broken relationship, I realized I was trying to find my identity and purpose in people, places, and things. Always taking what other people and society said I was. Lovingly, Jesus showed me that I was not a “drug addict,” “no good,” “whore”, “an embarrassment,” or “unlovable.” Jesus reminded me that I am a daughter of the King!! That I am enough!! That I am beautiful!! That He was bringing beauty from the ashes of my life.
Currently, I am a leader of Celebrate Recovery in Lawrence, Massachusetts. This allows me to sponsor other women and the opportunity to pay it forward.
Spiritual Dream
At age 38, I graduated from nursing school. I started working with substance abuse and psychiatric patients up until the end of 2020. God called me to lessen my hours to focus more on the plan He has for me. My dream is to mentor women the same way that the women in my life mentored me. Becoming a Christian Life Coach at my church is my ultimate goal. Just because we are Christian women does not mean we do not struggle with life.
My Christian Life Coach journey starts with the Christian Leaders Institute! The free Christian Life Coach classes and ministry training will equip me for my journey and my spiritual dream. Praise God for this study opportunity!
Learn more about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.