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!