Great visit

The day following our last posting, we were privileged to be on hand for the ecclesial opening of the Mariannhill Good News Centre – and for the eleven baptisms that kicked off the day! An awesome day in every way!

A week ago Friday (20th) we picked up our son Caleb and his friend Shawna, who spent 30 hours flying in from San Francisco, after spending 6 hours driving there from southern Oregon. Amazingly, they were actually coherent! We headed almost immediately to the Mason Lincoln School for the Physically Disabled (known to everyone as Happy’s School, because the headmaster is a woman named Happy). Bro David White led a Bible study, and then Jane led an activity with the kids — she did a short study on water, and then each student wrote a Bible verse on a water cup, which they then could keep. Caleb and Paul pitched in to help out.

On Saturday we had a youth day in Mariannhill. Turnout was light, but we had a nice small study group. Caleb led one class, and Sister Lungile from Lamontville led the second one (in Zulu). Shawna and Caleb provided games, including a twister-type game that consisted mostly of laughter!

Saturday evening we participated in a farewell to Dan and Leah Egginton, who have now returned to Oz after a year here. They made tremendous contributions and will really be missed. God bless you, Dan & Leah, in the next stage of your lives!

On Sunday, Caleb and Shawna went to meeting out in Mariannhill, while Paul & Jane went to Westville, where Paul did the exhortation. That evening, Caleb followed up with a witness talk in Westville.

Then on Monday, the four of us headed north to the Phinda private game reserve. A family here are members, which enabled us to get into this very posh lodge for two nights, at a cost we could afford. We were treated like Hollywood stars or something! Unbelievable. And the wildlife was truly awesome. We took 2 game drives each day, spending about 9 hours a day in the bush. Started at 5:00 am each day, and didn’t end until a late dinner about 10:00. We saw a tremendous variety of animals, including cheetahs, buffalo, rhinos, hippos, elephants, lions, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, warthogs, monkeys, impala, kudu, nyala, mongoose, a python, a chameleon, and some of the biggest spiders any of us have ever seen! Our guide was amazing, and unlike other parks we’ve been to, these guides drive right off into the bush – no obligation to stay on roads. We had a pair of male cheetahs walk right by the 4x4, we were charged by a bull elephant (yes, we got away fine!), and we followed a lioness & her cubs down a road late at night. And the stars! This park is 3+ hours from Durban, way out in the bush, and the stars were simply breath-taking.

After this short vacation, it was back to work. Paul concluded a series he’s been leading for the Durban Bible class on Wed night. On Thursday Jane and the “kids” caught some time on the beach, and Caleb & Shawna did some shopping in downtown Durban on Friday morning. In the afternoon Paul & Caleb had the class in the BEC while Jane & Shawna helped out in the shop.

The week ended Saturday morning with leafleting in Lamontville to advertise the study day next Saturday. This put us in the homes of people in the township, many of whom live in a single room. Very sobering, and a reminder of how blessed most of us are. Then a quick shower, lunch, and we dropped Caleb & Shawna at the airport before heading to a wedding. Very full week! But very, very nice. It was tough saying goodbye to Caleb, since we don’t know when we’ll be able to see him again. And of course, seeing him also made us miss the rest of the family. Moms & Dads, sister & brothers, kids & grandkid, cousins and aunts and all the rest – we love you and miss you, and look forward to seeing you all! Hard to believe, but we only have 5 more weeks here.

Two baptisms, killing a cow, and other news

An update on various things:

The big news since the last posting is two baptisms in Durban. Dieu-Donne and Charlotte are both originally from Congo, and like so many fled here to get away from the violence. They have been students for some time, regularly attending the Friday afternoon classes at the BEC, and very faithfully attending the biweekly Sunday afternoon classes at the Durban hall. Each of them gave a sincere and loving confession of faith, and it was a real joy to witness their immersion into the death and resurrection of our Lord, joining the family of God in the hope of eternal life!

Obviously the Friday and Sunday classes have been continuing, and attendance seems to be going up at both. A couple of women have recently joined the Friday group, and it appears that they will be regulars. The last two weeks we’ve had seven of us squeezed into the little room in back of the BEC for the class!

Overall, traffic at the BEC has been significantly lower the past month. Sales are down as a result, as are new sign-ups for the courses. But on the plus side, we’ve seen a definite increase in the number of people who are actively continuing in the Bible courses through the BEC. One young man completed the entire first 8-lesson course, and the first 5 lessons of the follow-on 22 lesson course, all in one week!

We had our first “First Saturday Good News” session at Lamontville last week. Turnout was less than we had hoped – 9 visitors. We would be ecstatic about 9 visitors at home, but it’s way down from the 45 we had in January. We are trying some different approaches to getting the word out for the April session. The talks for that one will be given by Paul and Bro Jonathan Sabo from the US, who will be here visiting.

The biggest event in the area, which we’ve been involved in on the fringes, is the opening of the Mariannhill Good News Centre. There were many setbacks due to weather and such, but the formal launch was held yesterday. We spent the day on Wed working there on getting it ready—the contractors were also still there doing painting, installing kitchen cabinets & appliances, and a number of other things.

Then in the afternoon in the middle of the work day – a real highlight! – there was the killing of the cow. Yep, exactly what it sounds like. This is a Zulu custom for a big celebration, and basically means you get a lot of meat for a pretty good price. Brother Phinda from the Mariannhill killed the animal, and several of the guys skinned & cut it up, then took the pieces to a butcher to be sliced into cookable pieces.

We heard the community launch went well yesterday, and the corporate sponsor for the building was pleased. Presumably the cow was consumed (along with a literal truckload of other food – hundreds of people participated.) We plan to be there on Sunday for the ecclesial launch (along with 150 or so others! including the entire Westville ecclesia, which is joining Mariannhill en masse for the inaugural Sunday service).

Other stuff continues, of course. Paul continues to lead the Lamontville class each Tuesday, while Jane does a kid’s class (which is growing beyond being manageable!) Paul is now leading the Durban Bible class each Wednesday also. Plus the administrative side of the BEC; however there may be a local brother taking that work on, which would be a great help!

We have lots coming up. This coming Friday, our oldest son Caleb will arrive, with his friend Shawna, for a week. That day Jane will be doing the craft for a class at “Happy’s school” (officially the Lincoln Mason school for the physically handicapped). There is a weekly class there led by David White, and then a craft, game, or other activity led on a rotation. The following day will be a youth day at Mariannhill, and Caleb will do a Bible talk, with he & Shawna then leading some games.

A few days after Caleb leaves, Jonathan and Megan Sabo will arrive for 4 days. They’ve agreed to take the Fri BEC class. The Saturday will be the next Lamontville study day featuring Jonathan & Paul; prep work is underway, with Jane handling the physical arrangements & Paul doing the advertising.

Then a day after the Sabos go, a P2P team will arrive from UK. We’ll be hosting one of the sub-teams of 9, and Jane is very involved in the planning & prep for a Holiday Club (like our vacation Bible schools back home) in Lamontville. We’ll also put some people from the team in the BEC each day. The next weekend will be the annual 4-day Easter gathering. Jane is again working with the P2P team on classes for the kids, and Paul will be doing 3 adult class sessions. After the gathering, the P2P team will go to visit Candu, down the coast. We would love to go, but it would be difficult logistically, we will need a break, and of course the BEC work goes on.

Right after P2P leaves, or possibly sooner, Cam and Kim Beeler will arrive from the US, and we’ll be doing our handoff to them.

We still have not managed to get in the water to do any diving, and with our final weeks so crammed full, we’re not sure it’s going to happen. Really, our time here is just about done. Amazing how quickly time can go by! We are very grateful to be part of the work here, and we do still have almost 2 months to go, but it’s clear that those weeks will fly by!