Written by: Jaco Strydom
Article source: JOY! Magazine
From being homeless and hopeless to leading a meaningful life as part of a farming community in the Free State, Petrie Schutte shares his powerful story:
Petrie learnt the hard way that we all need mercy. “I come from a good home,” he says, “but in high school I got involved with the wrong group of friends which led to alcohol and drug abuse.”
After school, Petrie went to England where his bad habits spiralled out of control. This shattered his dreams and plans for the future and he had no choice but to return to South Africa. However, being back home didn’t change much as he soon lost everything again due to his drug addiction.
“Giving hope to other young people gives my life meaning.”
A home for vulnerable young people
Petrie remembered hearing about Echo Youth Development’s programmes when he was still in school and decided to get in touch with them. Shortly after, he moved into one of the Echo community homes for youth in need.
“It was a good experience and I made many new friends. A year later however, I started using drugs again. For the second time, I lost everything and I ended up on the streets, homeless.”
Desperate for help
Petrie shares how he wandered around during the days and at nights slept in a park. “It was the loneliest time of my life. I’d finally given up all hope,” he says.
“Someone told me about a free rehabilitation centre in Johannesburg. It took a lot of effort to convince them to take me in,” he says, “but I kept calling every day for a week, until I convinced them that I was serious and would not stop phoning until they took me in.”
Follower of Jesus
For the first time in years, Petrie was not only physically clean, but also clean from drugs. He decided to become a follower of Jesus and that changed everything in his life. Today, Petrie is the leader of the Echo Youth Development’s farming community on a farm just outside Frankfort.
Echo Farm gives school-leaving boys from orphanages, rehabilitation centres, and special needs schools an opportunity to learn new skills and grow spiritually, preparing them for the working world. Many of these young people followed the same path as Petrie – either lived on the streets or were involved with drugs. “We are a spiritual family,” says Petrie. “We have Bible study together, work together in the vegetable tunnels, take care of the cattle on the farm, and we go fishing in the Wilge River.”
Echo homes for young people like Petrie
In addition to the farm project, Echo Youth Development currently has 13 homes for young people in need. They have weekly youth programmes at 11 schools and a hostel project in Calitzdorp. There are Echo houses in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, and Stellenbosch. Echo Youth Development also has a small campsite on the farm where members of the other Echo houses can come to for a retreat, without having to pay.
Presence makes the difference
Many child care projects provide for young people’s physical needs (food, accommodation, and opportunities), but their deepest need is for someone’s presence in their lives. Petrie testifies that the deepest emotional need of vulnerable young people is a feeling of loneliness. You often see it in their eyes. Even after all their physical needs have been met, there remains a deep longing for true fellowship and community.
“Young people in need’s deepest emotional distress is often a feeling of loneliness.”
‘It gives meaning to my life’
“The Lord has brought a lot of people across my path to help me. Now I am the one who can give others hope. This, more than anything else, gives my life meaning. With the help of the Lord, the difference I can make in the lives of others gives me the hope to keep going. I see a lot of myself in them and I believe it is my calling to help them,” says Petrie.
True freedom is found in Christ alone
Petrie admits that there are still many challenges and that he often struggles with the Lord, but through it all he has discovered something big enough to live for. God took Petrie from a dirty park in the city, into beautiful nature along the Wilge River in the Free State. Petrie Schutte’s new life is living testimony and serves as an inspiration for many other young people.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Click here to KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
Date published: 04/09/2020
Feature image: Petrie Schutte
DISCLAIMER
JOY! News is a Christian news portal that shares pre-published articles by writers around the world. Each article is sourced and linked to the origin, and each article is credited with the author’s name. Although we do publish many articles that have been written in-house by JOY! journalists, we do not exclusively create our own content. Any views or opinions presented on this website are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
