First weekend

On Friday, Leonie took us to Soweto - a name many will recognize as a focal point of the unrest that eventually led to the end of apartheid in 1994. The name derives from SOuthWEst TOwnship, because it is southwest of Joburg. The population of Soweto current is greater than that of Joburg proper. There is still very clearly a lot of poverty there, including shanty towns, but it has come a long way toward developing its own economy. Vastly better than Tembisa. We visited the Hector Pieterson Museum, a museum of the incident on 16 June 1976, in which 69 people, many of them students, were killed by police – including the young boy Hector, made famous in a very moving photograph.

We then visited a brother who lives in Soweto, and did a reading with him. He, a few other brothers, and some contacts in Soweto could eventually be the nucleus of a new ecclesia there, someday. The afternoon was spent reviewing material for the weekend.

Saturday was a very long day, but very worthwhile. We got off about 9:30, picked up Bro Emmanuel in central Joburg, and headed for Rustenburg (2+ hours away). We picked up a young family, Kevin and Tatenda Chaibva and their live-wire 3 year old daughter Vanessa, who are the only Christadelphians in the area. We then went to set up for a seminar in a city-owned facility, where we had a large conference room.

They had advertised for 1:30, planning to actually start at 2:00 – but by that time only 2 guys were there. (Some of you may be familiar with the term "Jamaica time". Here they call it "Africa time"!) We decided to go ahead and start about 15 or 20 after, and just then 8 more people came, and 1 more came just after we got going, making 11 total visitors. Paul did a Bible Prophecy Workshop, and Emmanuel did a brief recap of their last seminar in Rustenburg, regarding the return of Christ, resurrection, judgment, and the kingdom.

Five stayed for discussion, including one couple who have attended before. The man came loaded for argument, and we had a lively discussion about the Lord's return. The others who stayed also had questions & challenges – but it was a good exchange. One young man seems to be very interested and eager, and has a wonderful attitude. He will be moving soon to the Joburg area, so it’s hoped that contact can be continued. Meantime, Kevin will keep in touch with him.

After dropping off everyone, we got home after 9:00 pm, and then had dinner. We used Skype to call Jane’s mother and our son Caleb, to wish them both happy birthday. We also learned that Paul's Uncle Glen had fallen asleep in Christ. We pray that his sleep in the dust of the earth will be short, and that our Lord's coming will be soon, to raise him and all the faithful to eternal life. "Even so, come Lord Jesus!"