the Cottages at Injesuthi

We are 4 ½ acres on the Injesuthi river near the “Gourton” intersection in the township of Loskop. If you look at a map of South Africa-- find the land-locked country of Lesotho, put the tip of a pin at about 2:30 of that country, then move it directly east so its about ¾ of the way to the N3 freeway… that’s where we are. Loskop is a community of about 50,000. Most of the husbands of Loskop are in the cities because jobs are hard to find in townships. Our 4 ½ acres are bordered by two roads and the river. On it we have a few rows of block buildings, painted white, with detached communal plumbing (I haven’t measured it, but it’s got to be nearly 200 yards to the john from my room!). These buildings were built by an industrious man who was murdered in the days of Apartheid. Some men reasoned that since he owned a block business he must have some money. When he denied it, they shot him. Now, years later, I think his hard-work is being redeemed-- there are four Americans, a family of five Canadians, six Zulu South Africans, and twenty-six kids living in the block buildings now.
My particular portion of it sits on the end nearest the hiway. That’s where I live as a dad to 3 boys ages 13,13, and 17. The schools here require uniforms and swat you on the knuckles if you’re late. So our mornings begin early as they dress in the clothes they’ve ironed and laid out the night before. When they finish that, and just before breakfast we re-visit the previous nights devotions. Each night before bed, the boys and I get together for devotions and prayer. While the children are all gone to school, we adults clean up the dining room and kitchen then assemble for devotions led by the site manager. The routine of the day is hardly routine- we may be in the middle of interviewing potential newcomers, driving to town to do the shopping, taking someone to the doctor, or meeting together to develop the latest necessary administrative improvement. As a whole however, concerning what goes on at the village, there is not a lot to say… we are a low-key operation raising children.
That’s not to say that our lives are uneventful. Easter is a widely celebrated holiday here, and, I’m happy to say the day came and went and I didn’t see a single easter egg. Instead here and there churches were planning trips to the city where they would get to enjoy three days of resurrection celebration. I took a group from our village to the town of Estcort where Pastor Moses has sent a member of his church to “pioneer” a new following. This young man had a tent filling his front yard and inside was an electric piano, chairs and lots of people. Other pastors typically aid a pastor in this work, so we heard from a visiting pastor that evening after about two hours of singing and dancing in praise of Jesus. The next days services started at ten a.m. and concluded at ten p.m. That day we sang together, danced, and ate together… however, at one point I did break away with my kids and took them to town because two months ago I promised the girls I’d buy them ice cream. With that accomplished we returned to a wonderful lunch of beef and vegetables and then resumed the services. It was a long day, but a refreshing one. Many friendships were formed for me and I look forward to being a part of pastor Moses’ work in the days to come.
He is a man who has shared with me his vision which God has given him-- a river which goes out from his own church. Somehow he believes I can aid him in this and has asked me to his house for an extended visit. I’m planning at this point to go the first week of May. A couple weeks before Easter I had given Pastor Moses all the bibles he said he needed for his congregation. Then, at the Easter service, I brought as many as the pioneering pastor needed. To this they were very grateful and I extend the “thank-you’s” to those of you who contributed to the purchase of those bibles. I have a collection of bible reference books to bring to Pastor Moses which he is eagerly anticipating. It is amazing for me to know the importance of interpretation of the bible and sound doctrine, but to see the lack of availability of resources to these who are pastoring the flock of Jesus. Outside of caring for the children at the cottages, I would say that aiding the pastors is my great passion. Your prayers in both areas will be greatly appreciated.

Americans Pay a Visit...

In August of ’05 after visiting South Africa I offered to the Agathos Foundation to come back for three months and develop the “hosting” of the short-term visitors on the African side. They asked if I could stay for 8 months, and here I am. Just recently I drove our first group to Johannesburg to fly back to North Carolina after a great 2 weeks together. They are a great group of people and I’d be glad if they all came back to live here.

It's my intention to give each visiting group a rounded experience of culture, ministry, recreation, spiritual growth, as well as work projects to help us here at the village. I believe I met these aspects with the group from Hope Chapel in North Carolina. As the “mortar” holding my stated values together I aim to be “well-organized”… well, organized may not have been met.

Upon their arrival I met them at the Johannesburg international airport, from there we drove to the Apartheid museum and then it was time to make the four hour trip to the Agathos village in Loskop. Now, if you look at a road map of Johannesburg you’ll see that the city is circumferenced by freeways and, cutting through the city, are freeways as well. With the airport being on the east side of the city I took one of the freeways diametrically (east/west) to the museum. To depart I thought i’d go south on the connecting north/south freeway and then simply go east on the circumferencing freeway. This would get me to the N3, which connects Joburg to Durban, and “drops” me off at Loskop. Only in Africa will you find the intersection of two major freeways which offer no eastbound alternative! Therefore, I had to go west, the opposite direction of home. So at this point it makes sense that I would simply take the next off ramp, cross over the freeway and go eastward. This I tried. You know what? As I approached the north/south freeway which I had just left, I was given no choice to continue straight forward! I had to go either north or south. I am convinced this intersection was designed by the tourism enhancement committee of Cape Town, who thought visitors would give up and simply head west to their “wine-country” tourist destination.
Through all the confusion however God was on my side and I was vindicated. As we stopped for gas and food, (so I’d have enough provisions for another bout with the South African freeway system) the visiting group met an African boy asking for food. One guy from the group went right inside and bought him dinner, while another starting talking to him about Jesus. After about forty-five minutes the boy was toating a full-stomach, a bible and soccer gear that would make an American drool. Believing this to be a divine encounter they easily forgave me for my lack of victory in the freeway battle. Ultimately the war was won as I asked some Afrikaaners (from Cape Town) how to catch the east-bound leg. They agreed it was confusing but gave me a “locals only” tip and soon we were southbound on the N3.
Its amazing to me how much more gas a van will use when loaded down with 7 people, luggage and a trailer full of donated stuff. I think, however, that I was the only one fascinated by this as we sat on the side of the freeway with no gas. To me it was a mathematical wonder that had my brain challenged with equations and theoroms and complicated math stuff… the others seemed only frustrated. While facing 6 disgruntled faces I thought it a real shame they couldn’t appreciate the bigger picture as I was. By this time it was about 8pm and we soon learned that South Africa has a road-side service which partners with the American company Triple A. While waiting for our rescue, a tow truck pulled up and offered to take me to the nearest town for gas. I went along and, while looking at his dashboard I couldn’t help but wonder if his odometer was broken, as it was buried in the red. He told me he wanted to hurry on my account. The speedometer topped out around 180 km/hr so I asked him how fast he thought we were going. He said around 200. Let’s see… (if 120 equals 70 miles per hour, and we were going 80 km/hr over 120 which is two thirds… two thirds of 70 is about 46… add 46 to 70...) we were cruising at about 116 miles per hour. After that he and I didn’t talk much because I was busy trying to find my seat belt. I never did find it, but we got the gas and made it back to the scene alive. Soon the gas was in the van and we were going down the road. After the gas incident, I learned again that God was on my side as I was later vindicated- about 20 kilometers from our destination, at about 11pm, we passed what first looked like a dog lying in the road that had been hit by a car. Upon approaching and passing I saw that it was actually a man. I turned the rig around and came slowly up to him. Some of the group jumped out and saw that he was breathing and there was no blood. I called the police and they advised me to stay in my vehicle as it could be a trap where his friends would be in the bushes and waiting to overtake us in our sympathy… so the others got back in and we waited for the South African rapid response team. After about 30 minutes and four phone calls the correct headlights came down the road; with clubs and guns they addressed the man. It turns out he was drunk and decided to sleep it off on the highway. The police had no patience for this and when he tried to push them away they slapped him pretty good. Had we not stopped and kept our headlights on him, another moving vehicle might not have seen him and people could have been killed. Another divine appointment, another vindication.

The next couple of days were spent adjusting to the time change, meeting the kids at the village, and getting oriented. I arranged for a visit to some local high schools where we would play music and preach. South Africa is a stark contrast to our American schools which forbid the mention of Jesus name (unless its used as a curse word). Over here, each morning children line up outside of school for an address from the principal or a teacher. They start by singing praise songs and the teacher prays in Jesus name. Don’t imagine however, that the country is filled with Christians who fear God, their fear is primarily reserved for their “ancestors”-- but that’s a different story, and for the sake of this story I’ll reserve it for later; the previous fact however shows how open the doors are for church groups from America to address a student body with the gospel. This we did and were very well received. In fact, every day at school the children are still singing a particular song which the Hope Chapel group taught them.
On Sunday we had a Braai, in honor of our visitors. Though the word is Afrikaans, it was done Zulu style. I was able to purchase an “imvu” (a sheep) from a farmer and bring it home in the back of the van. Some of the ladies cooked up some authentic Zulu bread and I found a local man to sell me some meilies (corn on the cob). There was nothing Zulu about the smores the children ate that night… but the kids didn’t mind! With this combination we had a wonderful feast that evening after church.
It would be a shame to visit Africa and not see some animals, not see the beautiful countryside, or learn about the AIDS pandemic and the days of Apartheid. So these things we did… Concerning AIDS we were able to have a lady from the neighboring clinic visit us at the cottages and learn about the local condition. This hit us pretty hard and I learned that although the problem isn’t immediately visible the statistics we hear in America are true. Maybe worse. The Apartheid museum in Johannessburg is a 1st class multi-media tour which brings the visitor closer to understanding life during the tragic government experiment which ended just 12 years ago. South Africa will be a long time recovering.
A game park is scored by how many of the “Big 5” animals are represented within its boundaries. The Big 5 got its name by the 5 most desirable animals for hunting expeditions… today they are used to rate a good photo-op. Although Giraffes aren’t included in this collection I think they are equally desirable to see. These we saw by horseback, along with Zebras and many other animals which I can’t remember the names of.
For a more extensive recollection of the 2 weeks spent with the group from Hope Chapel North Carolina check out their blog at www.hopesouthafrica.blogspot.com .
For now, I should bring this post to an end, and let you know I recognize I’ve fallen behind on my blog posts… so much has happened- church services I’ve attended, a quick trip to the country of Lesotho, and everyday type stuff which comprises my new life… so I have a lot to write about… the next few weeks I plan to post one a week.
The bibles I was able to purchase have gone a long way, I wish I could convey how grateful people are for them. Particularly the pastors this last weekend I delivered a box to them and they explained they had recently held a month of evangelistic meetings where men and women committed their lives to Christ, and have now been one and two months without bibles! Bibles go a long way here and the need will be a long time until exhausted.

Thanks for all the prayers, the comments and emails.