Mama Lizzy and the Children

This story comes from fellow South African missionaries living in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, Tammy and Charles Hasselbring. At our mission meeting in March 2013, Tammy shared an amazing story about a woman whom they called, Mama Lizzy. She said that they had been caring for five abandoned children, ages five to fifteen, for over four years. The people in the village had very little to do with the children because they had been prostituting and stealing and were no longer welcome. A year ago, Tammy said they started looking for someone to help them and so Mama Lizzy came to them from Zimbabwe to work with the children.

When the children’s relatives heard about Mama Lizzy, they tried to run her off because they did not want the children to stop making money for them. Tammy said they also discovered that the family was very involved with witch craft, the worst they had ever seen. An older sister of the children showed up and tried everything in her power to force Mama Lizzy to leave. The woman finally said she was going to an all-night Satanic worship service and would pray sickness and death to Mama Lizzy and the Hasselbrings. Mama Lizzy then called Tammy and Charles and they all agreed in prayer for God’s protection. They also prayed that this woman would not have any power to harm them or the children. Tammy said they even contacted their church in the US and asked them to agree with them in prayer. Within thirty minutes of their call, the woman was running through the streets screaming that they were burning her and she had no power. Afterwards, she wasn’t even able to approach the property without falling to the ground. She left and never came back.

That was a huge turning point for Mama Lizzy and the children. The children started confessing their sins and told her about the demonic spirits that visited them almost every night. Mama Lizzy taught them how to pray to Jesus and the children were saved, delivered and transformed. The oldest girl struggled for a while but has had a complete healing and has been preaching in revival services in the village.

Mama Lizzy’s story really just takes off from there. She began teaching the children after school because they had been doing very poorly and not making the grade. The school would just pass them on to the next level. One of the children even has cerebral palsy, which after talking with several therapists they said she was incapable of ever being able to read. At the end of the school year, she received an award from her school for most improved reader and all of the children passed with flying colors. Mama Lizzy also started teaching other children in the neighborhood when parents noticed how improved these children were. Other students were also asking for help after school when they saw their fellow classmates improve.

Word spread that Mama Lizzy was helping children after school and they were all improving and all the parents were very grateful to her. They wanted to pay her but she did not feel right about taking money. Instead, the parents brought food, clothing, shoes, and whatever else the house needed to help support the children. The community has even started taking care of their own needy children. The community not only has come to love the children, but they also assist in caring for them whenever they are asked. As a result, the size of the house and number of children have grown.

The police department also brings their troubled children to Mama Lizzy when it is a case of demonic possession and they don’t know what else to do. As a result, families are being saved. The local church has begun a building program to accommodate the new converts. Tammy has also heard the testimonies of several ex-witch doctors who have come to Mama Lizzy for prayer. They couldn’t understand why they lost their power and became sick. They are coming for prayer and leaving as new Christians and delivered from their demonic possession and oppression.

The community continues to support Mama Lizzy and the children. Originally, they thought she had come for the children but now they realize that she ended up helping them all. This is the living testimony of a person who has given God her all and the harvest continues to be plentiful. God took this abused wife of an alcoholic and transformed her into someone who is truly an inspiration.