Bread for the hungry: Sharing God’s reconciling love with the world
Leon SteenkampOn National Women’s Day, South Africa remembers the brave women of 1956 who walked together in defiance of injustice. But courage does not only march through the streets of history – sometimes, it walks through the neighbourhoods of Cape Town with a pocket full of gospel booklets and a heart filled with love.
Marietjie Bowers is one of those women.
At 78 years old, she continues to share the love of Jesus on the streets – at traffic lights, in shopping queues, outside unemployment offices and even from a horse cart. To those she meets, she is simply Maria – a friend, a prayer warrior and a witness. But to the kingdom of God, she is much more: a woman of resilience, obedience, discipline and joy. A daughter of the King.
Survivor, witness, servant
In 1993, Marietjie was one of 58 people wounded in the St James Church massacre. A further 11 churchgoers died in what is considered one of the most traumatic attacks on Christians in South Africa’s recent history.
Marietjie was struck in the neck and shoulder and lived. “Other people died,” she says, “but I did not die, because I have still got work to do,” she says adamantly.
Her survival was not a matter of luck or coincidence. “God stopped it right there,” she says, her finger vehemently pressing on the scar in her neck.
Marietjie believes that only once her purpose for God’s glory has been fulfilled, she will be called back home. “While I am still busy with God’s purposes, I will not die.”
She uses the shooting incident as a powerful introduction when approaching people on the street to tell them about God.
“I can now tell them, ‘You know, I am alive, and I am meeting you today because it was on God’s programme for me to talk to you.’”
And her purpose? Reconciliation between people and God.
“I have been given the ministry of reconciliation,” she says, echoing 2 Corinthians 5. This is what drives her to hand out Bread of Life booklets, which contain the Gospel of John and are distributed by the Bible Society of South Africa.
“I love using it. It is not just a book,” she says. “I tell the people I meet, ‘It is written by John, who was a close friend of Jesus. He tells you what he saw and what he experienced – it is real life.’”
Strength in obedience
Marietjie’s story is not about comfort – it’s about calling. She lives by one central prayer: “Lord Jesus, You for me and me for You. Use me but help me.”
She therefore does not rely on her own strength or emotions. “Sometimes I am tired,” she admits. “I think, oh no, maybe not today … But then I remind myself: it’s this moment. The next moment, they are gone, and the opportunity is lost.”
That is why she carries the Gospel of John everywhere: in her handbag, in her car door, even in her hand. “If I do not have anything to give, I do not talk,” she says. “But when I carry the booklet, I am eager. It is so easy to talk. It is part of me – I do not feel dressed if I do not have it.”
Discipline and deliberate love
Marietjie does more than wait for moments – she plans them. Whether it is waking up before dawn to speak to people queuing for unemployment registration, buying toiletries for recyclers with a horse cart, or swapping gospel booklets with pamphlet distributors at the traffic lights, her love is intentional.
“Out of 50 people, I might get one who says no. The rest? They are hungry. And when I do not have time to follow up, I say to them: ‘When you see Table Mountain, say, Maria pray for me.’ And I do. I look at the mountain and pray for all the people I have met over the years.”
A Biblical woman at heart
For Marietjie, the Bible is more than just a book on the shelf, it is her code of conduct, her GPS and her lifeline. She reads not only for inspiration, but for application. She asks God, “How do I apply this verse to my life? Show me how to love my enemies. Show me how to witness to this person. Give me insight.”
Marietjie takes special care to not grow weary or despondent in her Godly goal.
“It is so crucial to remember that people are going to hell. And I must remember, I am safe from hell,” she says.
“It is the same with the St James attackers. I did not wish this or that upon them. I say, I received mercy. Oh God, have mercy on those people. There is more glory, I believe, for God in those people if they would become Christians than being hanged,” she testifies.
Strength, value, and identity
Older women, quieter women and unseen servants are often overlooked. Yet Marietjie’s life loudly proclaims the value of a woman rooted in God.
She is not defined by age or circumstance, but by her obedience, availability and identity in Christ and her heart for people and their place in God’s Kingdom.
“I have learned that my significance, security, and self-esteem must lie in God alone,” she says. “If you do not find it in Him, you are in trouble. But when you do, you are rooted for the difficult days.”
A woman to celebrate
On this National Women’s Day, we celebrate women like Marietjie Bowers – women who are strong not in status, but in faith.
Women who show that sharing the Good News is not a task for the few, but a lifestyle for anyone willing to be used by God.
“It is my life,” Marietjie says. “It is my joy. And I am grateful.”
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