Shock as Bishop drink beer to get over depression. But a man of God had no one to turn to when he sunk into depression. So he turned to booze. However, Bishop Sammy Gitonga managed to beat his demons and found his way back. Worshippers usually turn to the men and women of God for help in their time of need.
He shared with Daily Sun that his challenges started in 2004 and they affected the running of his ministry. The founder of Remnant Ministries in Tshwane said he had depression and stress and had nowhere to turn to. “My wife and I, whom I married in 1999, got divorced in 2005.
“The cause of divorce was stress and we burnt out. Running the church also affected my personal life. My wife and I started to fight. It escalated and we decided to separate,” he said. “We almost lost our property and it was a serious challenge as I lost weight. There was no income.” Gitonga said he lived alone for more than two years after the divorce and it was challenging because of loneliness.
“I tried to pray and cried out for help, but help was not coming. People, friends and colleagues distanced themselves from me and part of the congregation left. Other church members remained and continued to pray for me and encouraged me,” he said.
Gitonga said he started to drink alcohol around 2015, with wine becoming his comfort. “I used to drink one glass of wine, but found myself addicted to alcohol, especially wine. “I was drinking alone almost daily from 2016 to 2018,” he said.
The bishop said towards the end of 2018, the Lord told him in a dream that he wanted to heal him. “God even said he will heal my marriage and my life. We called the elders, they reconciled us and we remarried in 2019.
“I went to a rehabilitation centre in Joburg in the same year for three months and I am now healed. I even opened a Bishop House Rehabilitation Centre in Pretoria CBD in August,” he said. “When you are going through problems, this is what you get. I have faithful sons and daughters together with my wife.
“My daughters also have a few friends from America and London. “We lost a lot of church members, but I see the number is growing and the family is stable,” he said. The bishop appealed to men of the cloth to stand together and support each other.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else shall be added to us.” He said people embraced them. “Those struggling with alcohol and substance should come and we will help them.
“Don’t die alone and don’t worry about stigma,” he said. His wife, Reverend Margaret said: “A few years ago, our marriage was attacked by the devil and we got divorced. Life was not easy after the divorce.
“God restored our marriage. My husband is delivered and we are opening a new chapter, which looks good.” The Gitonga’s church has four branches, three in South Africa and one in Dubai.
Source – Zimgazette
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