When God speaks something into our hearts, He speaks very clearly. It’s always a matter of whether we are listening to Him or not. Sometimes He deposits bits and pieces of revelation and moves our heart towards something throughout a period of time. He may also grip your heart almost immediately for something that is on His. The latter was the case for Kirolus Sivin, founder of Reviving Africa. When God spoke to Him about the many hurting and lost souls in the beautiful continent of Africa, his heart was completely stirred and ready to take action.
It was just another day for Kirolus in 2006 as he sat in a grade 12 general science classroom. At this point he was still questioning what to do with his life. Although he got his acceptance to a college engineering program, he was still not satisfied with a “normal” life. That is when his science teacher showed the class a video about pandemics and epidemics in the world. This particular video focused on the malaria and HIV/AIDS crises in certain parts of Africa. It spoke of the growing number of orphans as a result of these diseases. Many orphans would lose their parents to these diseases and would often find themselves taken in by their aging, fragile grandparents. They would join multiple other orphan children under a small roof with insufficient space. The grandparents inability to physically care for all of them require the children to take on adult responsibilities. Eventually, the children themselves would also die as a result of the deadly, incurable disease being genetically passed on to them.
Kirolus was brought to tears with the idea of children suffering and dying from a disease. It was unfair to him to see such evil prevail throughout a land and for children to have no future. He started talking to God and asked “what can I do?” God responded by telling him, “They have no hope. This world has a lot of humanitarian work but only temporary hope is given. Jesus is the eternal hope these people need. Go and share this hope with them so they may live forever”. From that moment onward Kirolus knew what compelled his heart and what he had to do. Although the plans were not yet laid out for him, he began to take action. He did all he could do to educate himself on HIV/AIDS and malaria and to learn more about the African culture and its people. As he learned more, he fell in love with Africa and the beautiful, amazing people that inhabit the land.
In August 2011, 5 years after God had placed the vision in his heart, Kirolus was on his way to Africa for the first time. Little did he know of what God was preparing during his time in Zambia and Zimbabwe. There he met his lifetime brothers and friends, William Banda of Zambia and Webster Kasiyamupanje of Zimbabwe. Before he was ever able to return to Africa, he somehow lost focus of his calling, although his desire for God and to live for Him remained. It took years of deep hurt and rejection to bring him to a place of complete surrender to Christ. This is when our amazing and loving Father reminded him of his sonship, resurrected his passion for lost souls and recommissioned him to his original calling to serve the African people.
May 2017 is when God sent Kirolus back to Zambia to partner with William in preaching the Gospel throughout various areas of the country. Since then, the original vision God gave him as a 17 year old teenager started to unfold. It became clearer how God wanted to use him in Africa and that is when the ministry Reviving Africa was born. In everything that is done, every word that is shared, and every plan that is made, Reviving Africa started and will continue forward with this one desire; to see all of Africa restored, renewed and revived by the precious blood of Jesus. As the evangelist Reinhard Bonnke proclaims, “Africa shall be saved!”