Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond! Day Eighteen.

Shades of Gambela…there was a slaughter house right outside our gate in Gambela where people would gather after sunset and catch-up on community time until late every night…loudly. Finally the din would subside, but by 5 AM the noise of passers-by would pick up again.

Last night, two dogs decided this was their time for sweet fellowship, all the way until midnight. Then at 3 AM fellow residents at the Guest House arrived after an obvious long night of looking rather too deeply into the whiskey bottle. That was the end of our night’s rest. By 6 we had read the Scriptures and prayed, breakfasted and showered and were ready for the day…way too early for the church though.

We met Eugene and Ria at St Peter’s earlier than arranged…but it gave us time to set-up for the

introductory talk in the church hall before the service started. Ria has several churches under her…this would be the first of two for today. The service was conducted completely in Afrikaans…not what one would expect in an Anglican Church in South Africa. This made me quite nervous as I had never given this particular talk in Afrikaans before.

The sermon was outstanding…I haven’t heard such powerful preaching in a long time. Ria drew parallels between the enslavement of Israel under Egypt and the enslavement of local children who had been abducted from the area to work as slaves on a farm in the Free State. Someone had tipped off the authorities and the children had been freed, but there was much that still needed to be done to help these victims of abuse. Apparently, sex trafficking is high here. I simply cannot understand how anyone in his or her right mind would want to harm a child, especially in this manner. To me this is the worst sin of them all.

After the service, we had about 20 people show up to hear about the Disciple Making course, LEAD. The interest is high as many are worried about the dwindling numbers in their respective churches, especially among the young. There are many “signs and wonder” churches springing up every day promising quick wealth and health…for a fee, of course. What I always say is lead people into a real, life changing, liberating relationship with the one true God and they will not go looking for thrills and fads.

After the talk we went to visit the Moffat Mission Station…this station was started in 1799 by the London Missionary Society and is still going strong. Robert and Mary Moffat and David Livingstone are the most famous names connected to this station. The church still has the original dirt floor and some of the original pews. This is where David Livingstone recuperated after being attacked and mauled by a lion…nursed by Mary Moffat Junior with whom he fell in love, proposed under an almond tree, and subsequently married in the church here.

The graveyard tells many a sad tale of infants dying of smallpox and other preventable diseases. Life was hard back then and missionaries made real sacrifices to bring the Gospel to the indigenous people. Moffat and Livingstone were rejected by those who still wanted to enslave the local people, but the persevered and won the day.

From there we drove down to Kimberley…thankfully not a long drive. The Diocese has put us up in an historic home…hopefully we will get some rest tonight! No dogs or imbibers please!  

Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond! Day Seventeen.

Louise woke up at 1 AM…not quite the time to get ready to leave, so she went and sat in the lounge and completed her 60 Day Chronological Study on the Life of Jesus. I continued sleeping…until about 3 AM when she returned. Louise is not known for stealth and silence. So we tossed and turned until 5 and then gave up. We had to leave early anyway.

It was sad to say goodbye to Innebos. We highly recommend it to anyone needing a place to stay close by Pretoria…actually it is in the Magaliesberg area, but close enough if you have transport.

We chose to drive back roads as the highways here are usually crowded and full of trucks. Besides, the countryside is always more pleasant that a dual carriageway. There is also quite a bit of road construction on the main roads so even though one cannot drive as fast as one can on the highways, one actually makes better time in the long run. We saw quite a few wild animals as well as many domesticated ones along the way. There are many game farms and lodges in this area.

There was a surprise waiting for us in Klerksdorp, our next stop. 30 people showed up and they were all rearing to go. Their main question was when could we start the training? People are hungry for something substantial and the LEAD program is exactly what they need. Of course, permission needs to be granted before we can move forward, but we are again tentatively looking at mid November for training.

They provided a wonderful luncheon for us and we continued chatting with various parishioners and clergy until it was time to leave again. This time we had over 350 kilometres to drive to Kuruman. But the countryside is lovely which makes all the difference. But 200 plus 350 is a lot of driving for one day and I am bushed, to say the least.

We have an early morning service to attend tomorrow, then the introductory talk, then another service, then lunch, and then on to Kimberley…but their meeting is only on Monday evening, so we have time to rest.

Ah, rest…

Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond! Day Sixteen.

Wherever we go on this trip we plead the blood of Jesus over the land and its people. So much blood has been shed through southern Africa over the centuries, not just in battles between ethnic groups, but in witchcraft and sorcery. Children have been sacrificed and adults have been slain for certain body parts needed in the traditional medicines. Of course there are some who are harmless herbalists, but there is much darkness even today in many places throughout the country. One hears reports of young girls and boys disappearing and never being found again. The community usually finds a scapegoat, guilty or not, and punishes him…but the children are gone forever.

We woke up this morning in a small paradise. Birds were calling to each other and once we opened our outside doors, a cool breeze wafted in the sweet smells of the bushveld. We read the Scriptures and prayed together with thankful hearts.

This tranquil picture was somewhat disturbed by an email from SAMS-USA, our sending society. It painted a bleak picture of how we actually took in less than we need this past month. We are at a loss of how to raise awareness with regard to the important work the Lord has for us to do here in the Province of Southern Africa. The material we use to train clergy and laity in disciple making is revolutionary and has the potential to set the whole Province ablaze for Jesus and His Kingdom. So, we continue to pray to the Lord of the Harvest….the Lord we firmly believe sent us here…to provide supporters to keep us on the harvest field. Please pray for and with us.

We drove to Pretoria to meet with Louise’s aunt from her mother’s side, and her cousins whom we have not seen for 31 years! It was a wonderful reunion and we had quite a lot to talk about…but the time was all too short as we had a meeting with our GtC coordinator that afternoon.

Rainard was super positive, but told us that he will have to clear dates with his Bishop and the Synod which meets next week. Apparently cost is a huge determining factor, but I told him that if that is the only hiccup that we would pray and make a plan. This has been a hard year for the Province…but that is why the disciple making training is so important. Churches are filled with pew warmers that need to be built up, equipped, and mobilized. But all in all it was a very positive meeting and we are tentatively working on dates for November.

We returned to our little paradise in the bush. The owners had made the braai area ready for us…it was a rather warm day and the pool was sparkling and inviting. I made a fire to grill the chops and boerewors we had bought on our way home. While we were sitting there waiting for the coals to be ready, two bush babies came up close to peek in on us through the trees. They are so unbelievably cute, but also very shy, so I could not take any photographs.

After a wonderful meal and a quick swim, we went to bed…tomorrow will be an early start as we have a long way to drive for a 10 AM meeting.

Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond. Day Fifteen.

We are surrounded by the sounds of the African Bushveld…and yet we are only a few miles from some of the largest cities in Southern Africa! Appropriately named “Innebos” (Dutch for In the Bush) is our stop for tonight and tomorrow night.

We left Graskop at about 8 AM and drove north along the same route we drove yesterday…but this time we kept going up to a town by the name of Tzaneen. As I’ve already said a few times, I was in this general area 40 years ago, but it was in Tzaneen that I first encountered the Anglican Church since having become a follower of Jesus myself. I was still a very young Christian and the liturgy was way above my head. Truth be told, I was bored stiff. So, to keep myself awake during the service, I started to harass the young lady in front of me. I tied her shoelaces together…I blew in her neck or tickled it…and then I attempted to steal her Prayer Book…when she tried to stop me, her head hit the pew in front of her with a crash! We giggled all the way through the rest of the service. Outside, one of my fellow missionaries bluntly stated: “If you do not respect the Anglican Church, at least respect God!” I’ve never forgotten that scolding. Dear Les died a few years later…

But there was also a church in an area still known as Ofcolaco….or, as one of the residents said, the last outpost of the British Empire. And that’s what this church was…a bunch of rich British farmers that wanted a piece of England in their African lives. After the Eucharist, one chap turned to another and said, “Now I’ve been cleansed from sin so I can sin all over again.” We chuckled thinking he was jesting, but no…they went to their British Club and got plastered…all of them. While trying to lead one of the women there to the Lord she looked me squarely in the eye and asked, “What do I need God for? I have a wonderful husband, we have two beautiful boys, we have a farm, and all the money we need. Why would I need Him?”

We stopped at Ofcolaco today…not much going on there now. The church had burned down a few years ago, but a family member rebuilt it. Most of the old British folks have left and church services are only once every six or seven weeks or on special occasions. Sad really…did the Lord remove His candlestick? The young farmer who still works there – three generations, he told me – was very kind and showed us the new church built very much along the lines of the old one. I could still see myself standing in line to shake the hands of the parishioners as they left the building…

From Tzaneen we pressed on down to Polokwane where Bishop Martin Breytenbach lives…he is the head of Growing the Church…and we wanted to stop in with him to discuss possible dates for training in His Diocese. We are looking at March next year. We arrived at lunchtime…the worst possible time to arrive…but the electricity had gone off in his area and we were fasting anyway, so no one felt awkward. We prayed together and then left.

“Fasting?” you may ask. Yes, fasting. The head of J-Life Africa, has asked all the trainers to fast every Thursday for 13 weeks praying specifically for a paradigm shift in the way church is done here. Everything is still a holdover from the past and very attraction oriented. Clergy control just about every thing and parishioners do little more than show up for ‘church’. So, we are fasting a praying that the Lord will lead us all back to His biblical model…the model of disciple making…and that church folks will not view this as just another fad in the long line of other fads that have come and gone…but something that works and ought to become part of the warp and the woof of their lives as followers of Jesus. Pray with us, please.

It was a long and rather boring drive to Pretoria. Besides the Toll Booths there was not much to break up the monotony of driving on a Highway. But it was far and my rear end began to have a loud conversation with me…I told him to be quiet and longsuffering. And it paid off in the end…oops, that’s a pretty good pun, even if I must say myself.

Innebos is a place where a weary soul can rest and be replenished…and now for bed…goodnight all y’all.

Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond! Day Fourteen.

Today was a day of rest. While we could not exactly avoid driving altogether, we did not have any set agenda or anywhere to be at any specific time or any people to meet. Just God’s stunning creation and us.

We started with the B & B manager telling us off in a rather gruff tone as it appears we left the electric gage open after we returned from dinner last night. Apparently, the police woke him up at 3 AM. Oops. The gate does not close by itself after entry, so if you neglect to press the button again, it stays open. Sigh. We forgot. Everyone here lives behind high walls, razor wire fencing, and security gates with alarms and constant police surveillance. This is in stark contrast with Swaziland where there is no crime or poverty visible…at least to visitors.

As I had said earlier, I was in this area 40 years ago and a lot has changed…some for the better and some…well, let’s just say there is a lot of neglect. Some roads are well kept while others are full of potholes.

We did a round trip of the area today…not much driving, but a fair bit of walking to see various sites. Our first stop was Pilgrim’s Rest…a beautiful historic town still very much like it was in the late 1800’s during the gold rush. Sadly, things have gone downhill since I was here, but it is still worth visiting. The old Royal Hotel is pricey, but gorgeous inside. Lords and Ladies frequented this place back then, as did commoners and fortune seekers.

The old graveyard is interesting. One grave is that of a robber…while all the other graves face East…towards the rising sun…his faces north. Hmm…no hope for him in the resurrection? 

An unemployed gentleman washed our car for us while we were out walking through the streets of yesteryear…we hadn’t asked, but he needs the money for his family. So many people without jobs here…again, this is in stark contrast with Swaziland.

From there we drove through the most beautiful scenery imaginable…it is hard to describe the grandeur of the mountains as one weaves ones way over the pass…The Robber’s Pass…apparently two stage coaches were robbed here. We hoped this would not be our lot today…or any other day for that matter!

We saw another marker marking the many paths Jock of the Bushveld walked with his master Sir Percy Fitzpatrick. (See here: http://www.graskop.co.za/jock/) There was a herb nursery close by so we stopped in to look…and walked out with a curry tree. Let’s hope it survives the rest of the trip.

From there we headed north. We drove past lush farmland…orange trees and sugar cane galore. We saw an interesting Big Shoe and stopped to take a photograph and buy a cold drink. Interesting folks in that shop...reminded me of the Stepford Wives or something like that. Then we turned back East to the Blyde River Canyon…again vistas that take your breath away. 

Our first stop was the Three Rondawels…mountains shaped like round huts. Spectacular. Next on the map was Burke’s Luck Potholes…natural and in a river, not the tarred roads. Stunning. Then we stopped for lunch…in the middle of nowhere, there is a restaurant called Potluck Bush Kitchen, situated on the Treur (Dutch for Mourn) River…nowhere in the world is there anything to beat this ambiance and view. 

We went for a short hike along the river after lunch just to let it all settle before hitting the road again.

On to Wonderview, God’s Window, and The Pinnacle…a lot of walking up steep stairs, but the view was well worth the effort. I’m not sure my knees agree, but we will chat again tomorrow.

This was a good rest and we are ready to take on the next part of our journey tomorrow. A lot of driving first…

Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond! Day Thirteen.

The birthday boy drove all the way to our next stop…and I enjoyed every minute of it. It took us a while to get out of Swaziland because we had decided to go north instead of west as it saved us from doubling back once we got back in South Africa. But this is a very mountainous area, so the road goes up and down and round and round…but it is breathtakingly beautiful.

We tried to make contact with the Bishop in the Diocese of Mpumalanga as we drove up, but failed. He was not where we thought he would be! We made a few wrong turns because our map still has a few old names on it and the signs have changed to the new names. I had visited this area 40 years ago and a lot of things have changed…more than just the names. Travelling can be tiring and we still have a lot of miles to cover before we get to our next meeting place…but we are making the most of the road in between. This is lovely country and needs to be explored in a more leisurely manner.

We drove up Long Tom Pass, named after some canons used in the Anglo-Boer War…2154 metres above sea level…yikes! 

This is Jock of the Bushveld country…as children, we cut our literary teeth on the adventure stories of Sir Percy Fitzpatrick and his dog, Jock, and his right-hand man Jim Makhokhele. In the late 1800’s someone discovered alluvial gold in the streams here that attracted fortune seekers from far and wide. Looking at the mountains and ravines today, one wonders how anyone got over and through them on ox wagons…bearing in mind that there were no roads back then and the forests thick and lush.

We are staying over in a tiny town by the name of Graskop (grasshead)…we will explore the area a bit more tomorrow before moving on to Pretoria. Hopefully, we will not miss meeting someone from that Diocese this time!

Louise took me out for a birthday dinner at The Glass House…scrumptious dining. Spoiled rotten…I know…and enjoying every moment of it!

Gauteng, Swaziland, and Beyond! Day Twelve.

A quiet day. Once again at breakfast, I had a captive audience. Our Dutch friend is still here as are our friends from Lesotho. As there is no time like the present, I spoke about God’s powerful presence in my life and about the real relationship we have with Him. Seeds have been planted and we can only pray that they may germinate in God’s perfect time.

Louise and I headed off to Milwane, a national wildlife sanctuary close to the city. But today is the big day for the “Reed Dance” and we set off early to miss all the buses and taxis and cars filled with people flocking to see the young girls dance and perhaps catch a glimpse of the king and the queen mother. We were not in the mood for crowds so we chose a quiet game viewing drive instead. And we were so glad we did.

There are no predators in Milwane, so the animals are fairly tame. We saw a family of warthogs (my favourite animal!) as we drove in the gate.

From there on we saw every animal in the sanctuary save the hippos. Pity…but we did see everything else so we are not complaining. The drive itself is beautiful. The mountains around us, the forests, and plains, the large ponds, and the rivers all serve to make this relatively small preserve something rather special. The camp itself is lovely, clean, and neat, and animals roam freely around the huts, bungalows, campsites, offices, curio shop, and restaurant. Visitors can drive on their own, hike on several trails, bike, ride horses, or take a guided tour on jeeps. And none of it costs you an arm and a leg…

On our way back to Mbabane, we stopped to buy a few supplies for the birthday drive out back to South Africa tomorrow. We will be driving north first and then west to get to our three stops later in the week…

For now, we are in recovery mode…