TLW TOUR TO PRETORIA - 4,000 sign pledge

On 4 March, 8 TLW-ers took time off office work, teaching and farming for a week of TLW meetings in different schools, university and technikon campuses. We were also joined by a TLW-er from Australia.

It was a full programme, and we were kept very busy by the tour organisers. However, we all soon realised that the attitude to the TLW message had undergone a vast change. In the past, we were received positively - this time, the reaction was enthusiastic, to say the least. We were encouraged not only by the huge amount of pledge cards signed (4028), but also by the success stories of the young people who’d joined TLW previously.One group of university students told us how they put up their TLW cards on a notice board outside their front door. "This way," they said, "the guys can know our stand before they can even think of proposing sex to us. It’s worked fantastically." At a men’s residence at the University of Pretoria, we had just completed our presentation and were handing out the cards, when a student walked in and requested a card. When the pledge was explained to him, he said, "I made the decision to stay sexually pure when I was fourteen. I’ve kept that promise. Now I want to sign that card. It’s my stand, anyway." It was great to see the seniors of the residences go for the message so enthusiastically, that very often they were signing the cards before we’d even finished speaking to the first year’s. We could only marvel, when we remembered the past, where the seniors were nowhere near the meeting halls.We also came across horror stories of weeping teens, asking if they could also sign the cards after their being raped or molested. Once again, we were thankful for TLW’s message of hope for all those who’ve lost their virginity.Once again, we’ve seen how the youth is tired of the ‘free love’ message - the cost is just too high. More and more young people want to associate themselves with the positive TLW message - there are no risks, no strings attatched.Finally, a big thanks to the TLW volunteers for their time and effort. Thanks to you, we are able to reach so many more.