Pictures: This makeshift hut sits (barely) on the side of a hill and is attached to the electric tower, a man doing his laundry near the only water source spigot in that part of Clermont, a view from Clermont to another township (the only way to that township is a 45 minute drive through 2-3 other townships due to a river that separates them), Dennis Nkosi with the grandmother who teaches at their church plant, Jason and Nkosi family.
Following our time with David and Virginia Morris we were able to spend the evening with Des and Sharon Venter and their young children. It was a special evening as we enjoyed talking about Grace Baptist Church's plans and history. Des is the first South African called to be a pastor at GBC-Amanzimtoti. Des received his theological degree from The Master's Seminary (TMS) in Los Angeles and they know some of the professors that we know at TMS and The Master's College in Santa Clarita. They served in Johannesburg for a number of years and then they were called to be the first South African pastor at Grace Baptist Church of Amanzimtoti. They have high hopes for further growth and ministry in the community from their church of 190 people. They currently have plans in January to begin a church plant in a rural township next to Amanzimtoti among the Zulu with a Zulu speaking pastor. This church plant will be a very tough ministry to begin and they will need much prayer support. The church has plans for involvement with HIV/AIDS ministry, education and care for orphans and leadership development with greater community involvement for outreach. The Venters have 3 biological children and they have adopted a little black girl who is HIV+. The child's mother gave birth to her and then walked away. She's getting proper care and medicine now and she has begun to thrive and grow physically. The Venters are in the process of adopting another little boy at this time and need prayer because they are experiencing difficulties from government officials as they try to meet the requirements for adoption.
I forgot to mention that also in the morning on day four we spent time with Darryl and Selvan playing squash. If you don't know what squash is then you are missing out. Squash is similar to racquetball, in that you are using the walls all around. However, it is different in that a longer racket is used, the ball is not as lively off the wall or racket and you don't use the ceiling nor all of the wall on the side and back. It is a game of finesse and placement rather than power and so Darryl and Selvan gave us some good lessons about the game. Following this we met up with Selvan at the future home of The Phoenix Fellowship. This property has finally become theirs after a court battle and the Lord is helping them get ready to build on it. This property was once a neighborhood dump and sits down the hill from a Hindu temple and up the hill from a Muslim mosque. It is a wonderful location for ministry, which may include a medical ministry as well as an education center for the community. Jason filmed Selvan at the property as he explained for us the present situation, plans and prayer requests for the property and congregation. Please pray for the Lord to open up the doors they need to arrange the next steps for building on the property. It has been cleaned and leveled off and the fencing is being built around the perimeter. Selvan hopes to have help from teams in the states as they begin the first phases of building on the property. It is our hope to be able to supply a team for them from those who are interested in helping to build and establish Phoenix Fellowship in their future home.
On day 5 we visited the Chung family over breakfast. Barnabas and Peggy Chung and their 3 teenage daughters, Sharon, Yee and Eunice. They are serving among the ethnic Chinese population in Durban by planting Peace Chinese Christian Church. The work there has been challenging for them as they have come from Hong Kong to live and serve in Durban. There are presently 20 members of this church. The girls taught Jason how to play ping pong Chinese style and then they spent time playing praise songs on guitars. I was amazed to hear their heart's desire to serve among the ethnic Chinese. This church plant is attempting to minister among both Cantonese and Mandarin speaking Chinese. Pray for their efforts among this minority of the population and for safety and security for their family as they serve.
We then spent time with Dennis Nkosi who took us on a car tour of Clermont township. We spent almost 4 hours driving around this huge township and hearing about its history and details from Dennis. Dennis shared with us about some of the violent history of the Clermont community as well as some of the religious influences and barriers there. In particular, he shared at length about the reasons why Zulu men are so resistant to the gospel. It all revolves around ancestor worship and the prominent position and identity that this religious worldview has for all Zulu men. When visiting a family Dennis has seen men welcome him, share his home, get their wife and children to come and listen to Dennis and then leave. When he has asked these men why they do this, the reply has been, "Pastor, I have given you access to my home, wife and family. What more do you want of me. Don't ask me to give up the worship of my ancestors. I will not do it." Worship of ancestors and seeking the help they believe is needed and possible through worshiping them is the reason why Zulu men will not come to faith in Christ.
Dennis also relayed to us that early on missionaries came and tried to give the gospel to the Zulu. They translated the Bible into Zulu, but when it came to translating God's name it proved to be very difficult. There is a name in Zulu that completely identifies God accurately. "ELINGQANGI" is the Zulu name for God and it literally means "He who has been existing before anything else existed". However, the missionaries could not say the word correctly. If you've ever watched the movie series "The God's Must Be Crazy" then you know that the Zulu language is a difficult language to speak and that it adds clicking sounds to it. As if it wasn't difficult enough to study the Czech language with the trilling of the "r" and crazy, difficult grammar. Now we come across Zulu! :) Well Zulu is so difficult that the translators and evangelists early on sought a word for God that they could pronounce well. They ended up using an easier word that means "Grandfather of Grandfathers", which ends up placing God on a par with all their ancestors. It was not as effective and has confused the gospel. There are Zulus though who prefer to use the better name for God.
Dennis took us to visit one of his special workers in children's ministry. This grandmother came to salvation in Christ when Dennis was going door to door and shared the gospel with her. In spite of her being drunk at the time, the gospel stuck with her and she responded to the Lord by faith. Now she teaches 3rd to 6th grade Sunday school at their church plant. This can be contrasted with the rest of the family who responded to a different door to door evangelist, a Jehovah's Witness. Now she lives under the same roof with family members involved with a Christian cult! You could see however her life in Christ is vital and vibrant.
Dennis pointed out the difficulties that people in these communities face with some areas of it having no running water or just one community spigot or no electricity. There are makeshift homes using whatever is available and when a building is built, there can be a family of up to 8 living in a space the size of my walk in closet! We also saw a number of the false spiritual influences in this community. We came upon the service of a Nazirite congregation. This was held outside and all members were dressed in white. The men and women sat separated and between them the "pastor" was shouting out an enthusiastic and passionate sermon. They believe the pastor is the messiah in human form and before he passes on he will pass this title to one of his sons. At this moment a younger son is taking the church and his older brother to court because the younger son believes that he is the messiah incarnate! Interesting theology. Dennis also pointed out to us a local medium or channeler. This was a young woman with a baby on her back who wears colorful anklets to distinguish her role in ancestor worship. The trip into Clermont is etched in my mind as the most amazing part of the trip and certainly the most eye-opening part. Dennis and his wife Violet have 4 wonderful children: Nonhlanhla (21), Nkulukeko or "Leko" (15), Neo (13) and Mpume (11). We shared a special meal with them at their home before returning to the Meekins' home for dinner and a chance to watch some soccer on television.
Our last day started early as we attended The Phoenix Fellowship and I preached from 2 Peter 1:1-15. It was a special day to get to know some wonderful people. Selvan and Darryl expressed to me that the passage and sermon were timely for their congregation. I was very encouraged by the friendship that was begun between Jason and Thabo. The Phoenix Fellowship was the 8th church plant that ABWE started and it began in 1987 by Dale and Karen Marshfield with Dave and Karen Hamrick. It is primarily made up of ethnic Indians formerly from Muslim or Hindu beliefs. Jason sat in on the youth Bible study during a Sunday school hour. Thabo is the youth leader. The Phoenix Fellowship beginning training for Biblical counseling and a midweek ministry to strengthen marriages and families. Following the service we got our bags at the Meekins and went to lunch with the Govenders. It was a special time to wrap up our visit with these wonderful people who serve in a difficult setting. Pray for them as they work to establish this congregation in the Word of God and as a witness to the gospel and a light in the darkness. Jason and I had an even longer flight and travel home, but except for an extra long security check in Dakar, Senegal, it was uneventful.
We felt so blessed and privileged to be able to see this city and its people and to hear from the missionaries and South Africans firsthand. Many have been asking us if this trip helped to confirm our plans and desires to serve there. After returning home and talking with Kim about it and praying over it, we believe that the Lord confirmed it to us. In particular, we were glad to see the strength and closeness of the ABWE Durban team, even though many serve in different ministries from one another in the city. In addition, the fact that the ministry role that is being offered to us fits exactly what we had been praying for gives to us a confidence that the Lord is leading us to serve there. The role with the college plays a vital part in the strategy for church planting in Durban and South Africa as a whole. As we have been saying for a year and a half, we intend to serve in Durban if the Lord will open this door to us.
This trip allowed us to strengthen ties with the missionaries and South Africans we will serve with and gave to us a greater vision for impacting and entrusting God's people for church planting ministry. Colossians 1:28-29 has been a key verse in my mind since the Lord orchestrated this survey trip to Durban. "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. It is our hope and prayer that we can make it to this important ministry early in 2010. As always, we must place the timing and provision for this goal in the hands and plans of the Lord. Pray for us as we continue to try and raise a support team and reach full support status. Kim and I are so grateful for the team that the Lord has assembled for us so far and are hopeful that others will join us to send us out to this important opportunity in ministry.
