One late evening the young man, Robbie du Randt was walking through the streets of Durban, South Africa. Suddenly a man trod out in front of him from a dark alleyway and started beating him over the head with a large hammer. Robbie was strong, but not strong enough to cope with the six strokes from the hammer....
Robbie felt himself slipping into darkness, and when he awoke two days later he was lying in the hospital, his whole head covered in open wounds. He remembered nothing. Standing by his bedside was a frail elderly dame. She asked if she could pray for him, and despite feeling far away from God, Robbie said "Yes". The old lady prayed a fine little prayer:
-"Lord help him", she said and when Robbie opened his eyes she was gone. He looked down the corridor but he couldn't see her anywhere. The nurses didn't understand whom he was talking about. But when the doctors took an x-ray of his head there wasn't a single mark on his cranium after his beating. The doctor had never seen anything like it, so he checked again, he finally had to write in the records that Robbie had been beaten 6 times with a hammer to the head, without receiving any serious injury.

Child of Missionaries
Robbie tells how God has been with him throughout his life, looking after him, even in those situations where he should have looked out for himself. Right from the beginning he has been a "fighter".
-I am born in 1957, which is a miracle in itself. Actually it shouldn't have been possible because I faced the wrong way when I was inside my mother. At that time it was impossible to perform caesareans in South Africa, but my mother prayed together with the local minister. God performed a miracle and so I was born normally, on the 21st August, says Robbie, who turns 50 this year.
His parents were missionaries amongst the Zulu tribe, and Robbie had a strict upbringing, his parents always being busy serving God. There wasn't much time for the children.
-I learned to hate God every Sunday in front of the pulpit, says Robbie today, where he sits together with his wife Jolanda in their cosy lounge. Already at the age of 14 Robbie was out roaming the streets, where he smoked hash and got into trouble together with his friends. If it wasn't for his parent's good reputation in the community he would have been kicked out of school.
At 20 he had his first child, together with a casual girlfriend, whom he left, when his daughter was only 8 months old. His life was quickly filled with many women, drinking and fighting, it was also one of these girlfriend's ex-men that had tried to kill him that late evening.
-And so I fought, as did all the other young white men, in that stupid apartheid war, tells Robbie. A war that also set it's mark upon the already hardened young man.


A Blond Woman
His mother tried to talk to him about God, but he told her that if she ever did that again he would stop coming home to visit. One day Robbie, who was now nearly 25, agreed to pick up his grandmother from church. At that time he was living with her, and she never preached to him. Because Robbie had grown up in the State Church he expected that the meeting would be finished after an hour, therefore he waited outside the church she attended, which was a charismatic church, already after one hour. Time passed and she didn't come out. He became more and more bad-tempered and was ready to give his grandmother a good scolding. Suddenly a blond woman climbed into his car and sat down, she asked him how he was doing. He explained that he was annoyed with his grandmother, who still hadn't come out from church. The blond woman smiled kindly and said:
-You should be angry with me, because it was I that was preaching. My name is Sandy Brown, I was a prostitute in Los Angeles but Jesus has saved me. I just want to tell you one thing, and that is that Jesus loves you. Robbie explained to her that he wasn't interested. But she repeated her message and left him there. Over the next few weeks Robbie couldn't get her off his mind and he could hear her saying repeatedly:
-Jesus loves you.

God has a Message for You
Some time after his grandmother coaxed him into coming to church. Because he was well known in that town he sat in the back row. The minister was just about to start preaching, when his wife came forward and took the microphone.
-I have never done this before she said. But there is a young man here this evening and God has a special message for you: You are wasting your life.
God has spoken to you time and again, but you haven't been listening, today is your last chance, the minister's wife said. Robbie was in doubt that it was him she spoke to, but he had no plan to respond. Despite that he found himself, a few seconds later, in front of the alter, where he gave his life to God.
That was the start of a whole new chapter in Robbie's life, which from then on centred on Jesus. He read in the Bible from early morning to late evening, and after a short time he met his wife Jolanda. They married after 12 weeks and have been married now for 21 years.


Disappointments and Battle
Jolanda tells about life with Robbie at that time:
I quickly dropped any expectations I had for our marriage. Robbie met all our material needs, but spiritually and emotionally he wasn't really there for me. He was raised without compassion and didn't really understand feelings. Jolanda was a Dutch citizen and after some good years in South Africa they decided to move to Holland, where they became youth leaders in a newly established church. Everything went well until the day the couple fell out with the church leadership. Deeply frustrated they returned to South Africa, along with their 2 children, a son and a daughter, and with custody of Robbie's first daughter.
-That time in South Africa was the worst time of our marriage. Robbie went around the whole time trying to figure out what had gone wrong in Holland. He became extremely aggressive and I was close to leaving him many times, but I knew that wasn't God's will, tells Jolanda.
After three years, God starting slowly healing Robbie's heart. But Robbie couldn't find peace.

He wanted to go back to Holland again. Jolanda didn't want to move again. They had already shifted more than most-17 times over 21 years, including five times from country to country-so it was no wonder that Jolanda had had enough.....
She fought against it for a long time, but at last gave in. in 2004 they moved once again......

Dependant on the Adrenalin Rush
Back in Holland they never really found a church where they felt at home. Robbie who was working as a repair man on the oil rigs, was only home half the time. He worked two weeks at a time, was home for two weeks and then away again.
-I had come to the point where all Christianity said was like a dream to me, nothing worked anyway. I couldn't see that God had given anything of value to my life, remembers Robbie. The emptiness in his life had to be filled with something. He took up parachuting and got an adrenalin rush that kept him going until the next time. He was hooked. He found his identity in the thrill and in all his knowledge. The man, who had earlier read the Bible from early morning to late evening, never opened it again.

A Sudden Death
But suddenly something happened that changed the course of their lives. Jolanda's sister, who lived in South Africa, became acutely ill and died, from infection, at a hospital. It was a chock that woke Jolanda up. Robbie wouldn't allow her attend the funeral, but he helped his mother-in-law buy a plane ticket.
-I waited impatiently for Robbie to return to the oil rig the day before the funeral, so I could have some time to grieve. Because he never really understood those kinds of feelings, she explained and continued.
-The evening prior to my mother's departure, God met me. I asked Him to reach into our lives; I said I wanted 1000 souls saved in exchange for the life of my sister.

God's leadership in the Skies
At the same time, Hans Mollen and Christian Hedegaard from Evangelist were on their way from Denmark to Zambia. They were delayed by a day and had to fly via South Africa, as compensation for the delay they were upgraded to better seats. So here they sat- on the wrong plane, on the wrong day, travelling to the wrong country and sitting in the wrong seats-but it turned out God was in control of everything that seemed so wrong. Jolanda's mother was namely also on her way to South Africa for her daughter's funeral. "Coincidentally" she was moved from her place in the flight and ended up sitting next to the two evangelists! The older dame had asked God to give her some encouragement on her journey; the two Danes were the answer to her prayer. She told them about her family, and Hans gave her his business card, which she later gave to her son-in -law, Robbie. He contacted Hans Mollen, who visited them in Holland. After that visit they decided to come to Denmark to visit Evangelist.

Cried for Hours
They visited Gørløse one weekend in May 2006. They were invited out to Karen and Christian Hedegaard whilst they were visiting, and here the conversation became serious.
-Christian told me that I was wasting my life. I became angry; I didn't like what he had to say. He spoke a lot of truth to me , for example he told me that I was a hardened man, finally he asked me if I felt like crying, said Robbie.
-I broke down completely, and cried for a very long time. Eventually they had to take him into the next room; I think he cried for hours! I had never seen him cry before. Once or twice he might shed a tear over a film, but he never cried over the things that happened in his own life, added Jolanda.
-My father had taught me that real men don't cry, that is one of the biggest lies that anyone has ever told me. That day I finally cried out over everything that had ever gone wrong in my life, says Robbie and continues:
-Tears have nothing to do with whether I am a man or not. It is all about opening your heart.

At the Powerschool
Jolanda noticed the change in Robbie when they came home. Not only had Robbie returned to God but he had become alive on the inside.
-He started to really be there for me, in a completely new way, she remembered. The couple set their house to sale in Holland and together with their two grown children, moved to Denmark and started at Powerschool, Evangelist's lifestyle school in Hillerød.
Here they started a process of restoration and Robbie was met by God. He cried a lot, and soon his life was back on track.
-I have been a part of many large and wonderful congregations, led by internationally acclaimed God's men and women, but I found compassion here that I had never experienced before, he explained. Robbie and Jolanda attended Powerschool in the autumn of 2006; today they are co-workers in Evangelist. They live in Gørløse, where they have become "mum and dad ", for a whole group of Christian guys aged between 16 and 32. They give them discipline, wisdom and love.
Robbie explains:
-The men in Europe are"not home". The lights are on but there is no-one home. That is how we define ourselves as men, but being a real man is a choice we make. He continues:
-I was a man that knew much about God and life, but there is no power in knowledge without compassion. This mature man has thought deeply about what he has said. His wife Jolanda has listened intently. There is a sense of determination in their speech and directness in their look, which cannot be mistaken. They will achieve much in their lives, as compensation for the many years wasted.

Evangelist paper number. 1, 2007