Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1984 SAfrica

8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1984 SAfrica

1/8

Car yl , D in a, an d D aw n S tan ley s tand at th e

guardrail uverluohing th e m ai n c at ar ac t a tAugrabics Fal ls nn th e Orange Ricer. A ft er t h ey ou th c am p at Upington th e Michael Stanleystook Ezra Mbali to visit t he A u gr ab ie s FallsNat iona l Park , which is n e a r th e South-WestAfrica Namibia border.

N u m b e r 1

t/Ay ^ lampunto mfjutanialujh untomj fxilk - Tiolmi 119:105

K M M M Jiuf wovliAa^Lmm t A|^V lujkut o nufaiA

a F M c a N

Republic ofS o u t h A f r i c a TORCHPort ShepstoneTrariskei lUmzumbe BibleJnstitute)

Cape TownE a st L o nd o n*

F i rs t Q u a r te r , 1984 Vo l u m e 3 5

C H UR CH B U IL D IN G S T H RO U GH T H E Y E A RS by Alvin Nicholson

t iS. > S I

Michael Stanley took the wood fo r the roofto th eM b a n d an e T r an s ke i c h ur ch in A l v i nNicholson s Isuzu lorry. Dina went along to keepD a d c o mp a ny on th e trip.

On e of th e early questions to be f aced onan y mission field is how church buildingsar e going to be built and by w ho m. W henM a x R a n d a l l a r r iv ed in S o u t h A f r i c a in1950, th e number of permanent buildings(those of brick or cement block walls an diron roof) could be counted on one hand.The b r et h re n a l re a dy had a fund thatthey paid into for th e use of th e churches,bu t most of this money they spent for foodfor their annual meetings.

Brother Randal l helped th e people se tan amount t ha t they would pa y fo r tablemoney when they came to t he A nn ua lConference. They nam ed the account,into which they were to pay th eequivalent of on e rand pe r member, th eBuilding an d th e E va ng el is m F un d. O nan average, about one-third of th e peoplehave contributed y ea r b y year.

I t wa s agreed by th e people that when achurch had a recognized site, t ha t is, on ewhere government or local authorityhave given them permission to occupy, ifthey built a permanent building, brick orcement block, they would receive moneyf ro m t hi s f un d to buy th e w i n d ow s , d o o rsa nd roof. To explain ho w to ob tain apermit to occupy, it is th e following: Th econgregation must have 100 members of15 years of ag e an d overl iving within fivemiles of the p l ac e t o build.

Since abou t 1954, twenty-five churchbuildings have received help from this B E Fund. There a re t hr ee bu i ld ingsbeing erected a t t he p re s en t time whichhave jus t received help or will ge t it.

The Building and Evangelism Fund isbeing a bi t hard pressed a t t he p re se nttime. For some years it was possible each

year to l ay a si de so me m on ey in savings

so th e people di d no t se e an y need toincrease their giving or to do a better jo bof giving. Then al l at once we began tohave m or e p la ce s t ha t were asking fo rhelp. Along with this the cost ofproviding th e doors, windows an d roofha s taken a great jump. At th e close ofthe 1950 s, we built a ne w c h ur ch i n PortE l i z a b e t h for 4 000 a n d t h a t inc ludedl abo r a nd all. Today t h a t am o u n t will beused just to b uy t he roof alone.

The people have increased th e amountthat each member is to pay and we areworking toward th e ra i s ing of th i s moneyearly in the year rather than waitingunti l the l a st m i nu te when many find itdifficult to give this help. I believe todayth e people ar e beginning to understandbet ter w h at i t m e a n s to give to helpothers. A list ha s been prepared an d amap showing where all ar e located whichis a bi g help in showing the churches ho wm uch they have really done over th eyears in erecting new bui ld ings . A verysm all am ount of o ve rs ea s m on ey h asbeen pu t into church b u ild in g s ince th e

L yn n S ta nl ey an d Nic Q wem esha went toMbandane to help put the roof on th e churchbuild ing.

R a n d a l l s a r r i v e d o n t h e field.There ar e three places today just

wait ing to receive their designatedbuilding sites from th e local authorities;s om e o f t he m have m uc h o f the m o n ey o nh a n d to b u i ld t h e ir c h u rc h h ou se s. S o w epray that th e breth ren may carry on withtheir ow n work a s t he y h av e in t h e p as t.Dur ing t h is time th e churches have alsob u i l t sev en h o m e s f o r m i n i s t e r s a n d m o r echurches a re p l ann i n g to do th e same asthey can .

A N E W T E N T by A l vi n N i c ho ls o nA great ne w Christmas gift has come

fo r t h e wo rk in Sou th Africa . O n t h e 17thof December, Lynn Stan ley an d AlvinNich o lso n took t h e i r veh ic l es to D u r b a nan d took delivery of a brand ne w blue an dyellow tent, with a ne t metal center poleand tackle for pulling th e ten t up. Ou rfirst great boost came with a check for 1000 from friends in Hanoverton, Ohio.W h e n I checked with the com panymaking tents, they gave me a price ofabout 5000 fo r j u s t th e top. Then wereceived a n o f f e r f r o m tw o m e n w h o m a k etents on th e side. They offered to do th e to pand sides for jus t over 3110. This offerwe q ui ck ly t oo k and a t th e same t imeordered th e cen ter pole an d everythingelse except th e side poles an d th e steels ta ke s. Tot al cos t w as 3700 with sa lest a x . O u r f r i en d s f r om O h i o s e n t u sanother offering and the church inE d mo n d s, Washin gt ion took a specialo ff er in g. W it h th e money from th e

Sunday even ing services we missionaries

have here plus money saved from rent ingth e tent in years gone by, th e ten t is al lpaid for. We even have money on hand toge t more steel s takes , which we no w findt h a t w e n e e d . T h is t en t w i l l c o n t i n u e t o

b l e s s t h e w o r k h e r e a s th e o th er s h a v e

bef o r e .

The new mission te nt which w as purchased iDecember will make b ig m iss io n e ve nt s m uc hnicer. Pray with us that it m ay be used to bringtheGospel to many people in areas where there ar e no

buildings in which to meet.


2/8

Y OU TH C AM P IN THE WILDERNESS by Michael Stanley

O n th e 1 st o f De c e mb e r we left o n ourannual trek to U ping to n and th e youthcamp which is held there. Ou r ne wToy ot a p ic ku p w as l oa de d w it h luggagean d supplies fo r the cam p as well asMichael, C ar yl , D in a, Dawn an d Ezra

Ezra Mbali left helpedleach at th e youth c a m p a tUpinpton. It seems stra/ ipe to t h in k o f an Africanhavinp to us e an interpreter, but Ezra spoke Zuluan d Enptish an d t he c a mp e rs spoke Afrikaansan d Xhosa. John Mpompo, a former Umzumbe

Bible institute student, t ranslated fo r him.

Since furniture is nu t available at ou r camp-site,t h e c h il d re n sa t on th e floor. This is somethingwhich th e c a m p e rs t a k e in stride.

Mich ae l taught in Afrikaans. It is nice to be ab leto communicate in the hom e language of th epe op l e, bu t teaching in Afrikaans is a l soas t ra in .

On Wednesday evening th e local congregationshired a bu s an d came ou t to jo in us for a service.The older campers . .African an d Coloured, joinedtogether to form a choir for th e occasion.

Mbali. Diane wa s left with Grandpa an dGrandma because she had just had anoperation to remove he r appendix. Ezrais an African school t e acher who agreedto help with th e camp.

J us t under 1000 miles of driving took usthrough Natal , over th e Drakensburgm o u n ta i n s, a c r os s t h e O r a n ge Free Statean d into th e Northern Cape. Afterpassing Kimberley, th e scenery becamemore an d more monotonous. Fields,grass an d trees g ra du al ly g av e w ay tosand, rocks and smal l thorn bushes.When a band of g re en i rr ig a te d land pr imari ly vineyards appeared in fronto f u s w e k n e w t h a t w e h a d c o m e to th eOrange River. F ro m t he re to Upingtont h e r o a d fo l lowed t h e r i v e r a n d it swinding path slowed us down. W h a t wasonly about 70 miles seemed much longer,bu t eventually th e l ights of Upingtontwinkled in t he d is ta nc e a nd our journeydrew to a close. T h e h e at was oppressivean d we were cramped from spendingh ou rs i n t he pickup. It wa s good to g e t o u tan d s tre tch o ur l egs . T h e h e a t inc o mb in a ti on w i th a very low humidityleft us cons tant ly th i r s ty and during th en e x t t w o w e e k s w e d r a n k a s m u c h

cooldr ink pop as we n o rma l ly wouldduring four months a t home.

S u n d a y m o r n i n g I p r e a c h e d a tP a b a l l e l o fo r th e c o n g r e g a t i o n ofAfricans a nd t he n in th e evening it wa sover to Louisvale to preach fo r th eC olo ured m ix ed race congregationthere. There were s t i ll f ina l preparat ionsto be made for camp and Monday foundus v i s i t in g th e c a m p s i t e . Mosteverything looked jus t as we ha d left itth e previous year, bu t improvements hadbeen made to th e water system. Areservoir on th e campsite had w a te r i n it,bu t it w as also apparen t t h a t we wouldn o t have runn ing wate r i n t he k it ch en ort h e t o i l e t s .

On Tuesday morning while th e cooksand I bought supplies fo r th e c am p, t hebu s c a rr i ed t h e campers to Keimoes andthen onto t he i sl an ds in the O rangeRiver. The road is narrow and windingas it passes between vineyards an d fieldsof wheat, cotton, lentils an d alfalfa. Th ebridges which join t he i sl an ds a re verynarrow an d a t one point on th e tripeveryone g o t a g r e a t f r ig h t when th edriver misjudged hi s approach to a

Mrs. J a x a left is a nAfrican a nd h ashelped with camp fo rtw o years. She wash ead cook this y ear.M r s V i s s e r s

helped y ear.S h e is C o l o u r ed a n dh e r s t at u re i s t yp ic alof Coloureds i/i th eNor t he rn Cape.

bridge. Some of th e campers said that thebu s nearly overturned.

Ezra Mbali can speak Zulu andE ng lis h, b ut n ot A frik aa ns . T he resu ltwas tha t he ha d to teach in English an dus e an interpreter. I t w a s a consola t ion tok n o w t h a t e v e n th e f r i c a n s h a v e to u sean in te rpre te r somet imes . Fortunate lyEzra enjoyed singing, so he worked withth e choir each a f te rnoon . H is h el p waspar t icu la r ly apprec ia ted s ince Bill Weberwas o n f ur lo ug h an d t he re fo re d id no thelp with th e camp.

F or t he second year in a ro w we h ad ad e a f s tu d e nt a t camp. We di d n ot h a ve ad ea f i nt er pr et e r so w e h a d tocommunicate t hr ou gh s ig ns a n d writing.I t was a s lo w p ro ce ss , but it allowedF r a n k to benef i t b o t h f r o m t h e s oc ia l a n dt h e t ea c hi ng aspects of camp.

On Wednesday evening the tw oco n g reg a t io n s from U p i n g t o n g o tt oge the r, h i r ed a b u s and c am e o ut t o th ecamp-site to join us in a worship service. Ibrought th e message, a nd Ezra Mbaliand t he c am p c ho ir provided th e specialmusic. Several o f t he people wh o camet h a t e v e ni n g c o m pl a in e d a b o ut t h e roadsa nd th e quality of th e driving t h a t w asdone. Next yea r we will have to ensuretha t we ge t a more experienced driver.

A p o pu la r r ec re at io na l a ct iv it y thisy ea r w as ju mp in g rope. T he childrenobviously pu t in a lot of practice a t home.They could enter t he g am e w he n th e ropew as moving a t a speed t h a t di d no t evengive Dina and Dawn a chance. Caryltook her tu rn working th e rope an dlearned some ne w rhymes and songs a tt he s am e t i m e .

This yea r we ha d our usual Biblem e m o r y w o r k c o m p e t i t i o n a n dpart icipa tion was good. Katrina Visserwo n first prize fo r th e second yea r in arow. We congra tu la t e he r on receiving awell-deserved prize.

T he youth camp continues to provideChr ist ian teaching and fellowship for th ei n te rr ac ia l g ro u p i n U p in g to n . T h i s y e a rI w a s p le a se d t o se e Jo h n Mpompo acceptmore responsibi l i ty in h e lp i ng w i th th ecamp. J o h n is a former s tuden t ofU m z u m b e B ib l e I n s t i t u t e w h o i sp r es e n tl y c o m p le t in g high school. O u rtr ip to Upington each year also meanst h a t tw o i so la te d c o ng re g at io n s a revisited and e n co u ra g ed e a c h y e ar.

Rope-jumping is a favori te recreation an d weenjoyed hearing t he ir r hy me s English a ndAfrikaans . Caryl took a turn at swinging the ropeon e afternoon. T he b o y at th e othe rendof the ropeis F r a n k P am po en . H e is deaf, bu t h a s a t t en d ed

c a m p f o r tw o years .


3/8


4/8

B I T S A N D P I E C E SHenry Lekivate, wh o ha scompleted tw o years atU m z u m b e B i b l e I n s t itute, waspiuen th e honors t u d e n t a w a r d in 1983 .H e w as f i iven a hookwhich sh o u ld be useful tohi m in h i s m i ni s tr y.

S c h oo l c l o se d on th e 2 5 th o f N o v e m b e rafter th e usual en d of t he y e ar activitiesA t th e sc h o o l d in n e r he ld o n th e 1 7thHenry Lekwate received th e honours tu d en t a wa rd . T hi rt y y ea rs ag o Henrywa s a young man living in Kimberleyand at tended th e Bible t ra in ing schoolfor a couple of terms. Tw o y ea rs a go hecame to school to ad d to t h a t t ra in ing sothat he might serve as a m in is te r. H iswife, Sylvia, wa s a bl e to c ome with hi mfo r t h e l as t tw o terms. S he showed a gif tfo r teaching. A t th e en d of th e school yearin 1982 H en ry b ega n work with th echurch a t Papierstadt, and they gave hi mfin an cia l help while he was here.No w he has gone to a full time ministryw it h t h is congregation. We were pleasedto give this award to Henry for hi sd e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d c o m m i t m e n t .

Visitors with us during t he m on th ofD ec em be r w er e miss ionar i es R o n a n dMargaret Whisman w or ki ng w it h th eKimberley Road church in J o h a n n e sburg an d members o f t he ir f am il y w howere visiting them from th e States. Nineex t ra s in o u r h o m e n e ce ss it at ed t h a tsome sleep on th e floor, which theygraciously did.

R on w as a n x i o u s fo r h is f ol ks t o visi t

an African church, so we had madea r r a n g e m e n t s to be w i t h t h econgregation a t Imvutshini whereBarnabas Songo mini s te r s. Attendancea t th e service w as hindered by th econtinuous r a in t h ro u g ho u t t h e morning.We arrived very early an d th e serviceonly b eg an abo ut 12. Ron brought th emorning message an d with several of hisfamily provided special music, which th e

folk enjoyed greatly. Some of Barnabasfamily treated us to t hei r spec ial music.Lynn ha d the communion service.

A n n a Songo, with th e help o f hert ee n ag e d a ug ht e rs , served a deliciousd i n n e r a b o u t th e mi d d l e of th e af t e r noon .It wa s an especially enjoyable day, an dou r visitors will no t soon forget th efellowship of th e day.

T he W hi sm an clan w it h s om e o f t h e m e m b er s o fth e ch u r ch a t I m v u t s h i n i .

Special music a t t he service which the Whismansa t t e n d e d .

C H R I S T M A S , 1 9 8 3

Just before noon on December24th Lynn, Lucille Michael P** .Caryl, Dina, Diane, and Dawn Stanley arrived at Lynton and ^ Debbie (Stanley)Neethling s home at Oribi (about 15 miles the . 1other side of Port Shepstone). Since it is summer here and thetemperature was in the 80 s we enjoyed a light lunch under W > ^B| | |a big shade tree in the front yard. Inside the house it was even mwarmer. j- f 4

The afternoon was spent in preparing our Christmas dinner. |In the evening Alvin Nicholson joined us for our traditional The table was setandturkey and dressing and all the trimmings. After dessert we then covered with amoved to the lounge and opened our g if ts . Very few gifts fromoverseas arrived in time for Ch ristm as, but everyone still A ^ rnucreceived some gifts. reau

Then Lynton's grandmother, parents, three brothers andsister-in-law joined us for coffee an d a visit. The chi ld ren weresoon tucked into bed-sleeping bags on the floor, as weStanleysall stayed overnight. The adults continued chatting until longa f te r bed t ime .

' F ' On Sunday morning after leisurelyJp k coffee, rushed breakfast, and a hurried

packing of cars we headed for Portf I Shepstone for the9 a.m. church service,i J Lynton and Debbie then had Christmas

Neethl ings an d th e LynnStanleys hosted a cold meats and saladslunch fo r th e Michael Stanley family,A l v in N i ch o ls o n a nd Mrs. D ot G uy an d

Diane Stanley checks to he r son, G er al d ( m ot he r an d b r ot h er o fsee tvhat is in Cirandpa foj-nier missionary toSouth Africa,BrianNi c h o l so n s p a c k a p e . ^ i jEveryone enjoyed ou, Guy). We all enjoyed a delicious mealandevening together. a relaxing afternoon together.

S o u th A f r ic a n T O R C H

Published quar ter ly for tho following;

M I S S I O N A R I E S

a n d t h e i r

F O R WA R D I N G A G E N T S

Mr . Mrs. Alvin N i ch o ls o n u n d fam il yP.O. Ho x 21 9

Port Shepstone-1210 Rep.


5/8

Te a t ime At 10 a.m. e ac h d ay , t he s tu d en t sg a t h e r in th e k i tc h en f o r a w e lc om e c up o f tea.w h i c h is s e rv e d w i th b re a d

N u m b e r 2

Jfuf we d is a lanf u/domifjutandalujkLuda nuff/aiL -- J^olns 111:10

m m m m Jk f wed a a,I^ ^ M mi^m lujkudo t aik

a F M c a N

Republic o fS o u t h A f r i c a

TO R C HPort StiepstoneTranskei tUmzumtte Bitgejnstitute

> C ap e To wnE a s t L o n d o n *

^

\ c t

Se c ond Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 4 Vo l u m e 3 5

U m z u m b e B i b le I n s t i t u t e 9 8 4

b y A lv in N ic ho ls on

Umzumbe Bible In s t it u t e 's campus consists of a church building, severalclassrooms, dormitories, offices, a n d s to re ro o ms se t in th e midst o f s u g a rcan e fields.

1984 student body an d faculty. Back ro w 1. to r. Lynn Stanley. Ni cQwemesha, Alvin Nicholson, an d Michael Stanley. Middle ro w 1. to r.Ollfeet Mkhundlu, Patrick Si thebe , Gabrie l Kolberg, Percival Mazibuko,Johannes Fortuin, an d Abel Dube. Front row 1 . to r.)i?osf A'da6a. CorinaHintsa . L uc i a Ha debe , l . indie Lusithi (secretary), Joyce Gwala , andMi tahKolberg .

E ac h y ea r a s i t is t ime fo r UmzumbeBible Inst i tute to open we th ink of th eBible verse, Fo r m a ny a re invited, butfe w a r e c h o se n . We h av e m a n y moremake applicat ions to come to schoolthan fin ally m ak e it. This year Ireceived the application forms an dt h e n w r o t e a l e t t e r to e a c h o f t h e mSeveral replied s a y in g t h ey would no tbe a ble t o c om e th is year.

I th ink we opened school on the 7 th o fFebruary with 5 s tuden ts and af ter tw ow e e k s w e h a d 1 1. W e w e r e s u r e w e w e r ego ing to ha ve 12 as on e man, w hoat tended ha l f of l as t y ea r, g a ve t h e datefo r h is coming, bu t then the m and r iv i ng h i s t ax i qu i t an d t ha t left hi mw i t h o u t i n c o m e fo r h i m s e l f a n d h i sfamily.

We ha ve only one second years tuden t , t ha t is Jo h an n es Fortuin, aColoured s t u d e n t from P o r t E l i z a b e t h .We have on e married couple Gabrieland Mitah Kolberg from Postmasburg.

T h e r e a r e tw o m e n f ro m t h e c h ur ch e s

in Jo han nes bu rg : Able Dube andOl l f ee t M k h u n d l u T h e r e a r e tw oyoung men from Natal . PercivaleM a z i b u k o is t h e so n o f Vi c t o rMazibuko o f Ladysmi th an d Patr ickSithebe is th e nephew of FreddySithebe, minister a t Estcourt. Patr ickh a s w a n t e d to c o m e t o s c ho o l fo r s o m et ime and is being h elp ed b y o ne of th emissionaries. The Kolbergs ar e alsoreceiving help from one of themissionaries. O f the g irls C orinaH in t sa is t he o nl y on e from Tr a n s k e ithis year. The o t her t h re e girls ar e al lfro m E sc ou rt . R o s e N d a b a w a s i ns ch oo l f or one term l a s t year and isrelated to Alpheus Ndaba, who isministering no w a t Hammersdale an dD u rb an . The other t w o g ir ls ar e LuciaHadebe an d Joyce Gwala.

A s h as been t h e c a se fo r th e p as t fe wyears on an a ve ra ge t he se s tu de nt sh a v e s p e n t mo re t ime a t th egovernment school than those before

t h e m . I w o u l d a l s o s a y t h a t t h e y h a v e a

better Bible t ra in ing than those beforethem . Two h av e t ak en classes t au g h tby th e missionaries an d four havereceived better teaching in their homec h u r c h e s

We are so thankful fo r this largegroup of me n a nd t he prospects whichthere are fo r t h e m to p re a ch t h e gospel.But stil l we pray th a t th e Lord will sendu s m or e w or ker s for H is vineyard, fo rmost o f t h e se m e n a l re a dy h a v e a placeto p re ac h w he n they complete the i rs ch oo l w o rk a n d t h e r e f o r e w e do n o thave man y m en to us e in filling v acan tpulpits.

We would ask yo u to pray fo r theses tudent s by na m e an d to continue topray to Go d th a t he shal l call forthmore m en to l a b o u r f or H im . A ls o p rayfo r t h e t e a c h e r s i n t h e sch o o l -- t h a t w es h a l l b e a b l e t o f u l f i l l o u rrespons ibi l i t ies in t e ach in g an dleading in preparing these p eo pl e f orH i s s e r v i c e


6/8

Ly n n St a n l e y F ur lough

go Lflir.iiiolxL. l^

allot i>ut aituit 51cklllLwro itiooo.^ Attii- al. IkiA I

^iMoamhL /jo cjsrt\css.(SS/aciy.,a/ie/mmjdctas-ifh^ailsjt nrnja OjTe /JTM .diS/iuid jrJmxtei ma/cL xlovr,

ItbrrJi^.

Ly n n a nd Lurille Stanley t ri l l he onfurlouuh from Ma y WH-L u nt il a ft erC /iris lnias . Th ey t ri l l be report ing to

su p p o r t in g churrhes a n d getting re-acquainted i ri th children an d grandchildren in t he S ta te s. They ca n bec on ta c t e d : c o D ut in e S t a n l e y

:}< l2-.Wlh Are. N. K.Minneapolis . M N nn-tSIP h o n e )l 2i 7SH-. i i77

C h i l d r e n s N e w s

>iilO-cAcJ3/^kX. - - W ^ Crl^^yjtd cf r^


7/8

Plot .iO. Pumula. Beginnings o f foundations an d stone a n dsand waiting fu r o b u sy day.

S to ne w as m ov ed from th e back o f t he t ruck to th e cementmixer by Gladys. Sh e m u st h a ve a very strung neck . LynnS t an l ey m a n n e d t h e c em e nt mixer,

Ear ly in 1982 we decided to movec lo s er t o t o w n . O n e o f t h e f a c t o r s t h a t

s t rong ly i n f l u en ced us w as th ediffi cu lty w e had in gett ing ou rc h i l d re n t o t h e s c h o o l b u s i n w e t

w e a t h e r . W e l o o k e d a t h o u s e s b u t

prices were very high. Final ly wedecided i t w as best to bu y a plot o fground an d build ou r ow n house. Welooked a t several places an d readilyagreed on o ne w hich is jus t 3 blocksf rom Dad a nd M om Stanley s h o use inP u m u l a .

In March , 1982 th e t i t le deed w ast r a n s f e r r e d t o u s a n d w e b e c a m e t h e

proud owners of Plot 50, Pumula. Thee ld er ly c ou pl e t h a t we b oug ht th eproperty from h ad done a lo t of work onit . They h ad p lan ted trees, bushes,flowers a nd succulent gardens as wella s g rass. T hey int end ed to come toP u m u l a to l ive w h e n h e r e t i r ed .U n f o r t u n a t e l y he di d no t l ive longenough fo r the i r dream to be realized,a n d s o M rs . R o b e r t s o n d e c i d e d to s e l l

th e prope r ty.

i M r c .

During th e f irst 18 months t ha t weowned th e property, we tr ied to keep th ew e ed s d o w n a nd c l ea red th e p ar t of th eproperty which had grown up to densejungle, but we di d not do any building.We di d p la n o ur house and removedthree t rees f rom th e building site. Afriend of ours drew up plans whichwere a p p ro v e d b y th e local authorities.Money was very t igh t a nd interestra tes w e re v e ry high so we d i dn t ge t al o a n a t t h a t t i m e . I n s t e a d w e u s e d t h e

m one y whic h we had been putting intos av in gs a n d s ta rt ed ou r house. In th eafternoons and on Saturdays w e u se ds t u d e n t s f r o m U m z u m b e B i b l e

Insti tute to di g a nd pour foundat ions .We hired an A fr ican b r i ck l aye r to dot h e bu il d ing up to floor level, an d thenusing students again we ra n th esubfloor slab). For the ga ra ge a nds e r v a n t s t o i l e t w e u s e d a s m a l l c e m e n t

m i x e r a n d a l o t o f h a n d l a b o u r a n d w elearned t ha t the s tudents ge t verye n th u si a st i c a b ou t th i s type of work.When we r an th e s lab fo r t he m a in p a rt

of th e h o us e w e w er e anx ious to ge t th ew o rk d o ne as quickly as possible so weordered ready m i x e d c o nc r et e .

At this stage we applied fo r a ndobta ined a loan t o c ov er th e r em a in in gcost of th e building. We wills u b c o n t r a c t t h e b r i c k w o r k a n d

plastering an d then Michael will buildt h e roof. W e will d o m o s t o f th efinishing w o r k o u rs e lv e s.

O ur new house will h av e a k i t chen ,dining room, lounge, 3 bedrooms, abath room and a double garage. We area ls o re qu ire d by law to provide aservant s toilet, whe th e r o r not we planto h a v e a s e r v a n t .

We especially look forward tom oving i n to ou r ne w home since it willha ve running water an d be on ahardsurfaced road. I t will pu t u s l es st h a n a m ile f ro m t he c hi l d re n s b u s

stop i ns te ad o f th e present 5 miles ofv er y p oo r gravel roads. We hope tomove in by th e e nd o f July. Pray withu s t h a t w e w i l l b e a b l e to u s e o u r n e w

home to G o d s g lory and in His service.

- liiklTii

C onc re t e w a s ca r r ied d ow n to th e t r en ch es in w h e e l b ar r o w s . Michael pu t a lot o f hours in to th e foundations an d floors.When th e c onc ret e a r r ive d , he h a d t o l ev el it.


8/8

S o u t h A f r i c a n T O R C HPublished quarterly for th e following

M I S S I O N A R I E S

a n d t h e i r

F OR W AR D IN G A G E N T S

M r. Mr s. A l v in N i ch o l so n a n d fa mi l yP. O . B o x 21 9

Por t Shepstone4240 Rep. o f S O UT H A F RI C A

F o r w a rd i n g A g e ntM r s . R i c h a r d H a n s o n

16642 Ga n n o n Ave. , W.Rosemount , Minneso ta 55068

Mr. Mrs . Ly n n S t an l ey a n d fami lyP. O . B o x 2 1 9

Por t Shepstone4240 Rep. of SOUTH AFRICA

F o r w ar d i ng A g e ntMrs. Sybil E v a n s

B o x 18 1

St . Joseph , Illinois 61873

M r. M r s. M i c h ae l S t a n le y a n d fa mi l yP. O . B o x 1 3

U m z u m b e

4225 Rep. of SOUTH A F RI CA

F o r w ar d in g A gen tM r . a n d M r s . R i c h a r d E c k m a n

R o u t e 2

Kimball, Minneso ta 55353

T h e S o u t h A f r i ca n TO R C H (501-820) i s apublication of t he S o ut h African Churcho f Christ Mission, an d is published fourt imes eachyear in Februar y, May, August ,an d November by M is si on S er vi ce sAssociation, 7525 Hodges Ferry Road ,Knoxville, TN 37920. Second-classp os ta ge p ai d a t Knoxville, TN 37901.P O S T M A S T E R : S e nd a dd re ss c h a ng e sto So uth African TO RCH , c /o MissionSer vic es A sso ciatio n, P O Bo x 2427,Knoxvi l l e , T N 37901.

F i r s t Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 4

V o lu m e 3 5 N u m b e r 2

E a c h Tue sda y a nurse cumes a n d ho l ds a clinica t Um z um be Bible In st it ute . D ep en di ng o nweather an d proximity to p a y da y, s h e treats from3 to 30 p a t i en t s .

M i n i s t e r s W e e k

by Ly n n S ta n le y

S e v e r a l y e a r s a go t h i s t e rmdeveloped w he n t he m in is te rs startedmeeting together a t t he s am e t ime th eExecut ive met. T h e y h a ve a norganizat ion of their ow n in which th emissionaries ha ve no part. T h ismeeting has a l so p ro vid ed t ime for ateaching program fo r the minis te rs . I tis n ow s c he d ul ed y e ar ly. The missionpays for th e Executive members;others must pay t hei r own way. It canbe costly fo r those wh o mu s t t ravel far,bu t most of them tr y to at tend .

Usually th e host c h ur ch i ss ue s th einvitation, but we tr y to go to a churchw h i c h i s d i s t a n t f r om w h e r e t h econference will be held. I t is possiblefo r s m a l l e r c h u r c h e s to h an d l e t hi sgroup, and it affords them th eopportuni ty to meet more of ourministers, and ministers to know otherc h u r c h s i t u a t i o n s .

T his y ea r we went to Krugersdorpne a r Johannesburg . T he church i tselfis an ol d one, bu t on e t ha t h as beensadly neglected. One of th e men whocompleted his work a t Umzumbe BibleInst i tute l as t y e ar i s t he m i ni st er. Thec h ur ch w a s s tar ted a b o u t 80 years ago,b ut i n t he 1950 s it broke a wa y a nd h asonly recen t ly been a n active part of th em i ss io n a g ai n . A t p re se nt t he re i s aqu estio n of r ight to occupy th ebuilding. We ar e praying it can s oo n b esett led a s t he congregation is preparedan d wait ing to pu t up a home fo r th e

m i n is t er a s soon a s they ha ve a r ight tod o so .This year Mr. Nicholson and

M i c h a e l d ro ve f ro m t h i s a r e a . I t i sdifficult to ge t th ings organized andk no w h o w many will be coming, but int he e nd we h a d 5 minis te rs (one f l aggedus down af ter we were on th e way),t h re e s tu de nt s w h o w e n t to t h e i rv a ri ou s h o me s fo r th e week, a n d fivemissionaries. We ate a p ic ni c l u nc h

b es id e t h e r o a d a n d a r r i v e d a t t h eMil ls h o m e in A l be rt on a b ou t 6 p.m.P ar t of th e w ay is four-lane h ighway,but a large section is two-lane only a ndit h as d et er io ra te d r a pi d ly b ec au se o fth e he a vy traffic. Tr a n s po r t by huget rucks has increased rapid ly i n t he las tfe w years, a nd th e roads aren ts tand ing up to it .

During th e week m em bers of th eExecutive met, a nd classes w e re h e ld .Al l of th e missionaries present taughta t var ious ti me s: M r. K e r n a n , Mr .Nicholson, Mr . Mills, Mr . St a m m ,Michael, and myself. The ministersm e t t h ro u gh o ut th e day and evening.M i n i s t e r s m e e t w i t h s o m e o f t h e i rproblems and mutual ly work fo rso lu tions of them. They plan a n dr e v i e w t h e i r w o r k .

J o h n K e r n a n a n d B o b M i l l s

displayed and sold p r in te d m a te r ia la n d i ns tr uc te d t h e m e n in t h e u se o f t h ematerial . We ar e pleased to know th a tthey are buying an d us ing material fo rtheir o wn s tu d y a nd i n t he t ea ch in g oftheir congregations.

T h e E x e c u t i v e d e a lt w i th t h ei r i s s u e s

a nd a t t imes tempers rose a bit, bu t agood spirit prevailed. They m ad e th ene ce s sa ry p la ns fo r t h i s y e a r sco n fe ren ce w h i c h wi l l b e h el d a b o u t 90m i l e s s ou th o f u s a c r o s s t he T ra n sk e i

bo rde r in a ru ral se t t ing . T h i s willcreate p ro bl em s f or th e missionariesa t t ending t he re i s no ca rav an park

nearer t h a n 3 0 m i le s , b u t t he r oa ds a retarred. The subject fo r th e conferencewill b e T h e B e a t i t u d e s . I w as n o t o nExecutive this year so di d n ot h av e tobe a part of t he s ee mi ng ly e nd le ssdiscussion of past an d p resen t ch u rchproblems. We ha v e a l on g w ay to go ,b ut t he Africans are finding more an dmore of the i r ow n solutions. They stillneed encouragement, direction an dhelp from th e missionaries.

F o r m 3579 r e q u e s t e d , P O B o x 2 4 27 , K n o xv i ll e , T N 37901 .

Documents

Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1984 SAfrica