Upload
the-missions-network
View
224
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 1/16
Nic Qwemesha in academic gown),
Barnabas
Songo L.)
and
Simon Mtshayisa R.) were
ordained
in a
combined
service at
Umzumbe . W e
pray that
God will
guideand
bless these men as they continue
to serve Him in their respective congregations.
Jhl midU L lamp u lonufjli andd
li^td onto
nuf
path. -- TidmA Itf:l05
m m g m Jlu mid u o i
^ ^
mj
WmiJ
li jk
ut o nu u k
a FR i c aN
Republic of
Sou t h Afr i ca
TORCH
Port
Shepstone
Transkei tUmzumbe8/P e,/nsf//i;fe
•
Cape
Town
Eas t London*
Numb e r 1
Fi r s t Quar ter 1983 Vo l um e 3 4
IN THE BEGINNING
by Lynn Stanley
people who were opposed to Mr.
Solani
for one
reason or
another. It
might be
added
that part
of
this
may have been
due to his continued effor t to spread
Christianity. During this time he came
into con tact w it h t he Baptist Church,
bu t details
of
this are very
vague.
Some
o f the
family
thought it
was
not unti l
after
he had
made a
trip
to
America,
while others thought i t was locally. It
is known
that
he was a good
Bible
s tudent and very much interested in
knowing
more and in
winning
others
t o Chri st . Mil ton said that th e
thing
he
remembered
o f h is
father
was
tha t he
was an
outstanding
man ofthe
Gospel.
In
th e
early 1920 s he decided he
wanted to
visit Amer ica and
ge t more
learning.
It
appears he was not helped
by
whites . African friends
sold
some
o f t he ir c at tl e
and
gav e h im money,
and with
this
he made his way to
Durban, secured passage
and
travelled
t o Amer ic a. His desire
was
both fo r
secular and Christian training.
Milton
thought h is fath er
was
in America
twice, and
came
back
as a minister
with the Church of Christ
after
th e
second
t ime.
Among h is e arly s tud en ts in
this
area
were John
Zobolo and BenSongo ,
both early ministers known by present
missionaries. He taught them
to
read,
and also taught
them about Jesus
Christ. John Zobolo evidently was a
minister working with him in the early
1920 8. He
left
w it h s om e d is si de nt s
in to th e
African
Native
Church,
but
became d is s at is fi ed
w ith th em and
r e turned to
work with Mr.
Solani.
John
Zobolo
ministered
all his
life in th e
Gcilima
area,
and his son, Enock ,
was
trained in th e work and
already
continued
on
page
3
The ear ly history of the Church of
Christ work in
South Africa has been
a
bit
vague,
because
records were
no t
a lways kept
and much
o f th e
earliest
work
was don e by Africans who had
little
education
by
western
standards.
Thi s was
especially
t rue o f th e
work in
th e eastern
part
of th e
country.
We
knew
that there
was
a strictly
indigenous work at
Kentani.
Work in
the Flags ta f fa rea was started
by
men
working in
th e m in es
in Kimberley
when they returned
home.
The
work
in
th e
Port
Shepstone area
just seemed
to
have
happened
and no one could sa y
how. A month ago
we were
invited to
attend a MarkerUnveiling fo r a very
early leader, FuniseloSolani.
We
knew
of
the
Solani family
as
t he re wa s an
elder by that name in one
of
the
churches, and another
had
been
a
minis ter during
th e
e ar ly y ea rs o f t he
present missi onar ie s. On New Year s
Day
about
400 people
gathered
for
th e
service a t
the
home of Mr. Mil ton
Solani, elder
of the
Gcilima
Church.
W e
have since gathered th e following
i n f o rma t i on :
Funise lo
Solan i
w as born
ne a r
I du tywa, o n
th e
25th
of
December,
1836. All
that
is
known ofh is ea rly
life
is
t h a t
he
h ad a t
leas t
one
bro the r
and
on e sister, and
they
received some
schooling a t
a
mission school. He grew
up
as a hea then , l at er
becoming
a
t e a che r
an d a membe r
o f th e
Presbyter ian Church, where
he served
a s
a
l eader . Abou t
1880
he ma r r ie d h is
first
wife, Sar ah , a nd
they
had
4 sons
and
2
daughters
al l of
whom
grew
up .
Mil to n w as the
la s t o f t he se
children
and th e only one
living
today.
According
to th e family
Bible
he was
born
in 1906, and h is mothe r
died
in
1913 .
Funiselo
married
a
second time,
and
they had
one
more child, bu t both
mother
and child had died by 1918,
possibly from th e
flu
which was
epidemic during the war. The family
moved from the Idutywa area
to
Lusikisiki, t hen F lagst a ff and
finally
to
Bizana.
All
th is
was d on e o n foot.
Mr.
Solani taught
for
a
while in
th e
Bizana
area.
Again according
to
th e
family Bible, hi s
mother passed away
late in
1918,
which musthave
made
her
almost 100 years of
age.
She
ha d
evidently been
a part
ofthe group who
had walked th e 300
or more
miles
covered during
th e
last decade o f he r
life.
Funise lo married a
third
wife
and
had tw o
more
chi ldren, one of whom i s
still
living
and a tt ended t he f east
on
New Yea r s Day .
Mr.
Solan i left t he B iz an a a re a
and
sett led n e ar t he Gci l ima
church
where
h is s on
still lives.
There
he opened
a
school
which
w as really
only
an
attempt
to
teach th e children
to read
and write. I t w as s ai d t h a t
abou t
10 0
children,
mostly boys, started studying
but
soon the number dropped
and
only
a
sma ll g roup
kept it up. It was
no t
long before i t w as noted that th e
boys
could read th e prices on art ic les in th e
local
trading
stores,
and this brought
th e
disapproval of the store owners.
There
were
quite a number of
th e local
This gravestone was unvei le d
a t th e memo r ia l s e rv i c e
which
was held on New Year s Day BWPiiPIPy
Funiselo Solani preached first
B|lhiip|||y
at
different
places in
theTrans-
ke i
a ro u nd t h e t ur n o f t he c en
tury. Duringa tripto the States
Hll i lBiW
he cam e
In
co n t a c t with th e
New Testament
position an d
on r et urning to South Africa
became
an active evangelist in
th e Gci l ima a r ea .
Whereve r
he
wen t
he
es tab l i s hed
a s choo l
to
t each read ing an d writing.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 2/16
UPINGTON
YOUTH CAMP
The number of campers dropped from about 40 in 1981 to 30 this year. That was
disappointing but the interest inciasses was good and considerabiy more effort was put
into memorizing
Scripture this year.
We
were
also encouraged to iearn
that
two of the
campers
came from a
congregation
on an
outlying
farm.
These are
the first campers
that
we
have had
who
were
not from the
urban
congregations of Upington.
Ever since
th e
f irs t youth
camp
was
planned
for
Upington,
December
has
been
a
busy
month
fo r
me.
Umzumbe
Bible Ins t i tute closes
a t th e
end o f
November
and so
there are alw ays
some loose ends
to
be wrapped up . This
year there was the usual end-of-year
banquet, th e
graduation
ceremony as
well
a s
a n o rd i n a t i o n se rv ice
for 3
minis ters s
soon
a s
these
act ivi t ies
were
over I
had
to pack up for the long
journey
to
Upington. Upington
is
about 1000
miles
from
Umzumbe.)
I
left on
Thursday,
2nd
December,
with
George
Jaxa as a passenger. I
like
to have
George accompany me as he
stays awake
and
converses. Many
Africans will
fall asleep as soon as
th e
vehicle starts moving.
George, who
is
from
Upington,
is a former student
of
Um z u m b e
Bible
I ns ti tu te H e is
presently completing
high
school,
and
he has given
valuable
help a t
theyouth
camp
each
year.
On
Friday
morning
we
stopped in
Kimberley
to v is it Abraham Louw, a
minis ter to
Coloureds people
of
mixed
race) an d
a rr ived in Upington Friday
George
an d on e of th e o ld er c amper s t ak e th e
buckets
to th e river
to get water .
Carrying
water
wa s
necessary
fo r th e kitchen
a nd t he
flush-toilets,
but
It
wa s
never popular. We hope
that
nextyear
th e
water
system Is operational.
night. The
l ong jou rney had been
made
easier by th e fact that part of th e
time
it
was cloudy and cool. Usually
Upington
is
very
hot
an d dr y
in
December .
Since we
were
no t able
to
use th e
campsite that we
had
used in
1981
we
spent
S at ur da y try in g to make
arrangements
fo r
a
new camps it e.
Several people said that a
campsite
was available; th e problem was t o find
out
who was
in charge
of i t a nd
where
i t
was located. Eventually we go t hold of
the r igh t person.
The
campsite was on
an i sl an d i n t he O ra ng e River an d
we
were
given permiss ion to use it . There
was, however,
one d rawback
the
w at er sy stem was not
working
so the
campers would have to carry water
from
the river. They
had undergone
hardships
the
p re vi ou s y ea r, s o this
new problem d id not
deter
us.
Bill
Weber,
a missionary
from
Johannesburg,
ar rived w ith h is son,
Donovan, and Reub en M ich ae ls o n
Saturday
about
noon. Thatmeant that
all o f th e te ac hi ng
s ta ff h ad
arrived.
The local churches are
responsible
fo r
providing cooks and
equipment
fo r the
c a m p
Sunday found
Bill,
Reuben
an d
me
preaching fo r both th e African and
Coloured
congregations. All
of the
people were invited
to
come
to the camp
on Wednesday evening for a
special
service T i me
w as
also
t a k e n to
r en ew
acquaintances
from
th e previous year.
Monday
was
taken
up with
final
preparations fo r th e camp. The site
on
the island called Hongerhoogte
hungry
heights)
had
more than
adequate buildings
for
th e
camp,
bu t
all o f th e
to i le ts were flush
types
so
the
lack
of water
promised
to
be a
significant problem. Thick layers o
dust and san d
h ad
accumula ted i
every
building,
so we decided to mak
th e first c amp a ct iv ity a cleanin
operation.
On Tuesday morn ing th e bus picke
up campers an d equipment first
in
Pabal le lo a nd th en i n Louisvale.
T h e r
ii,.
Michael taught
hi s
classes in
Afrikaans
which
mo
of
th e
campers understood, bu t George translate
in to Xhosa for those
wh o
were
no t
fluent
Afrikaans. Since
the campsite
had no chairs,
th
campers
s at o n th e floor during th e
classes
as we
as
f ree t ime ,
b ut t ha t
di d
not
seem to
bothe r them
w as
lo t s o f
noise
a n d
ex c i t emen t
a s th
bu s covered th e 30 miles to th
campsite.
The bus
s lowed down
as
i
crossed
th e
r iv e r o n to
th e
f i r s t
i s l an d
T h e
r oa d w a s n ar ro w
a n d
i t
w o u n d i t
way through
vineyards,
along besid
irrigation
ditches, over ridges, pas
fields of alfalfa,
cotton,
wheat
an
lentils.
Five
slow,
bumpy
miles later
w ith th ree islan ds behind, the bu
crossed
a
s m al l b rid ge
on to
Hongerhoogte an d
t he camps it e c am
in to
v iew
After unloading the
bus,
everyon
se t
t o work c lean ing. By th e time
lunc
sandwiches) was ready, the camps it
was c le an
an d
the campers
had
mad
several
trips down to
th e river
to ge
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 3/16
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 4/16
So u t h
Afr i can T O R C H
Published quarterly for the following;
MISSIONARIES
a n d
the i r
FORWARDING
AGENTS
HOME AGAIN by Alvin
Nicholson
Mr.
Mrs. AivinNicholson
and
family
P.O. Rn x
2]y
Port Shcpstone
4240 Rep, of SOUTH AFRICA
Forwarding
Afierit
Mrs.
Richard
H a n s o n
16642 Gannon Ave.,
W.
Rosemount.
Minnesota
55066
Mr.
Mrs.
Lynn Stanley
and
family
P.O. Hox
21 9
Port
Shopstone
4240 Rep. of
SOUTH AFRICA
Forwardinn
Afjenl
Mrs.
Sybil
Kvans
Box
18 )
St. Joseph. I ll inois 6187J
Mr.
Mrs.
Michael
Stanley
and family
P O Bo x
i: i
Um z um he
422.5
Rep
of SOUTH AFRICA
Foru
ardmu
Anent
Mr
a nd M rs H irh ar d Fckman
Route 2
Kimball,
Minnesota
5 5:} > t
TheSouth
African TORCH
01-820) is a
publication
ofthe
South AfricanChurch of
Christ Mission, an d is published four times
each
year in
February,
May, August and
November by Mission Services Associa
t ion, PO
Box 2427,
Knoxville,
TN
37901.
Second-class
postage paid
at
Knoxville,
T N
37901. POSTMASTER:
Send
address
changes to South
Afr ic an TORCH,
c/ o
Miss ion Services Assoc ia tion , PO Box
2427, Knoxville. TN 37901.
Fi r s t
Quar ter 1983
V o lu m e 3 4
N u m b e r 1
Home
again Where is the home fo r
th e missionary, but t he
place
where he
works. What a
great blessing i t was
to
be able to visit
with
our f am ily
an d
f r iends
in Amer ica We
returned
refreshed
W h a t
a
warm
welcome we received
on
o ur re tu rn
to
Sou th
Africa.
T he
brethren an d
fr ie nd s a ll t ol d
us
how
happy they
were
to see us
again.
We
go t a windy
welcome
at Durban as the
wind was almost
blowing hard
enough
to t a ke
us off
o ur feet .
I k n e w w h e n w e
lef t
t h a t th e V W
bu s
was not running the
best,
but
thought
i t j us t
needed
th e
carburetors reset.
It
turn ed o ut
that
th e
problem
was a
burned valve. How grateful we were
that we had
b ee n p romi se d a
new
engine from a 1982 bus. That motor
was waiti ng
fo r
us and
it was
soon
f i t ted
T ow ard th e
e nd
of N ove mbe r we
enjoyed the programs associated with
t he e nd o f
th e school year
at Umzumhe
Bib le Ins t i tu t e T h e f ir st w e ek e nd
in
December
Lynn and
Lucille Stanley,
Nic
and Gertie
Qwemesha,
Vernita
and I went to
Johannesburg
to
visit the
church
at
Natalspruit and
with
Robert
Mills
and
family.
On Sunday morning
J a m e s M a ba so w a s
o r d a i n e d H e an d
hi s
family have now moved
from
Natalspruit to
Nelspruit,
near
th e
Kruger Natio na l P ark . He has
purchased
a
home ther e
and
Simon
Mtshayisa of Barberton has arranged
fo r
h im to mini s t e r to t h e c h u rc h there
Pray for
th e
work in Johannesburg,
t ha t
a n o t h e r
m a n
c a n
b e found
to
minis te r there
December
13-17,
we were
in
Umta ta
with Alice Fishback in
th e
special time
ofstudy and fellowship that
she
has
in
December J o h n
K e r n a n
o f E a s t
London, Hubert Leve of Middelburg,
Cape
and
Columbus
Ncanazo of
Flagstaff, Transkei
were
also present
t o hel p w it h th e
program.
Vernita had
a
class fo r the women each day.
Christmas
a lways brings
to
us
that
t ime
w h e n we s h a r e w i th o t he rs in th e
jo y
of
giving.
Each year th e
missionaries join together to provide
candy fo r th e Sunday Schools of this
area.
Most
o f t he p ro gr am that they
have
c on si st s o f s in gi ng ,
but it is
w on derfu l to s ee the little
ones t ake
part .
I n J an ua ry
I will take cement to a
church
in th e Transkei
so
tha t they can
s tar t building. They have had th e site
fo r
a
long
time, and have
some money
on hand; now
we
want to
start
the
work so
they
will keep
on.
At
th e
end
of
January and
beginning of
February I
have planned a
l onge r t ri p
that will
take me
to Knysna,
Graaff
Reinet
and
T a r ka s t a d I h a v e
n e ve r v is it ed
th e
Knysna work before. They are
planning to have Conference in 1983.
The
Tarkas tad
bre thren have asked
me severa l
t ime s
t o c ome
a n d
see
t he m
They a re a very act ive group of people
and
I
look forward to being wi th them
again.
In
March
i t
is likely that we shall be
in
Postmasburg
fo r Ministers Week
a n d
for th e ded ica t ion
o f th e
c h u r c h
there.
In
April the b reth ren from
this
area
a re hoping to
take
buses
and go to
M t u b a t u b a a n d to s h a r e th e E a s t e r
W e e k en d s e r v i c e s w it h t h e m
M t u b a t u b a i s
150
miles n o r th o f
D ur ba n
M t u b a t u b a
shou ld
h a v e t h ei r
church house
f in ished by
that time.
Pray fo r us as we lo ok for another
tent. T he on e we have leaks bad ly
if it
ra in s a nd
it
tears
so easily
any
more
that
it
must be repaired after eachtime
t h a t i t is used
F o r m 3 5 7 9 r e qu e st ed
PO Box
2427 ,
Knoxvil le ,
TN
37901.
iLr
Alvin
Nicho lson
o f f ic i a t ed a t t h e o r d in a ti o n
serv ice
for Brothers Qwemesha, Songo
and
Mtshayisa at
Umzumbe
andthen
In Natalspruit he led againwhen
James Mabaso was or da ined Here J a m e s l istens as
th e charge to t he candidate is
read.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 5/16
How are things going at
home?
When th e
mis si on ar ie s a re away, t he y keep in touch by
phone. N ot
al l phones
in
South Africa ar e
dial
phones.
Numbe r 2
Republic of
Sou t h
Afr ica
m m M m ua lamf
unto
mf jed m
a
mj
M m/J
lujk t o mijpaik.
Tialm
119:105
a FM c a N
TORCH
Port
Shepstone
Transkei
Umzumbe
BibleJnstiiuie
•Cape
Town
E a st L o nd o n
Second
Quarter,
1983
Volume 34
SEMINAR AT MIDDELBURG ,
CAPE
by
Lynn S ta nl ey
For a l ong t ime we have
considered
th e
possibilities of holding
seminars in
churches
outside
of
Umzumbe. We, at
Umzumbe, are aw ay from t he maj or
cen t e r s
a n d i t
i s d if fi cu lt
fo r men
actively engaged in th e
ministry
and in
making
a
living
to leave
their
homes,
churches and
places
of
employment.
We held
one
encouraging
seminar
at
th e school, but
were unable to ge t
another organized, so we considered
th e possibility
of t aking the
seminar to
th e churches O f the two
churches
considered for
this first
effort ,
Kimberley
and Middelburg in th e
Cape,
we chose
Middelburg. That
congregation has
some
of
th e
bes t l ay
leadership
of
any
of
our churches.
A trip down to
Middelburg
550
miles)
to organize
the
school
was
impractical, and we
could
g et l itt le
i n fo rma t i on f rom th e m in is te r a bo ut
th e a rra ng emen ts ,
but
we were
promised that
there
would be
enough
men
present
for a good class.
Bob M il ls owns
a
pop-up camper
in
whi ch h e
displays t racts an d books he has
printed.
Many
Africans were able
to
purchase some
of
them at
Middelburg during
th e seminar .
A
good
group of men a tt ended th e s em in ar a t
Middelburg,
Cape. They came from
Middelburg
and
o t he r c h u rc h e s i n
th e
area
Bro. Qwemesha and
I
spent one
night
on th e way down with f ri ends at
Queenstown. The ne xt morning we
stopped
to talk with
th e
minister
at
Cradock,
then on to
Middelburg where
we were
most
pleasantly surprised to
find about
45
people gathered at
th e
church.
Each
of us taught a class
Saturday
afternoon
and anot he r i n t he
evening, and
our
seminar
was
underway.
On
Monday
Robert
Mills
from
Johannesburg
joined
us .
We continued
classes through th e
week
with the
church
at Middelburg, and two
evenings
visited the outs ta t ion
congrega t ion a t N ouport and
Rossmead.
We were p leased wi th the
response from
these groups, who
showed a real
i n te res t in the
program.
When
th e week
was over,
th e
teachers were agreed that i t was th e
most
effective t eaching program
held
in recent years and wondered if we
might be able to duplicate it in other
places. Mr .
Mills
returned to his home,
and
Mr.
Qwemesha and
I
went to
Hofmyer
for
Sunday services.
We
had
160 people present in a large room
made
of
co rruga te d iron w ith
little
ventilation, and th e d ay was hot We
were given a very warm welcome. We
l ef t for
home mos t p leased
that
we had
been
able
to meet
with
so many
o f
the
chu r ch leade r s in
t h a t
area One
elder who
spoke to u s
afterward
said
i
was
as
much teaching
as
they
normally
receive
in
a
year.
Three
churches
requested
that
we hold
semina r s in t h e i r a r ea s in th e
ne a r
future, and
we ar e
looking
forward to
going back
to them
next
year.
More
immediate
p lans a re
fo r a
semina r i n
th e
Barbe rt on chu rch, which i s
in the
no rt he rn T r a n sv a a l
Province. Tha
w ill be abou t 550
miles
n or th o f us
This also
is a
good strong
church.
The
planned dates fo r that meeting
are
over
Ascens ion week-end .
When
th e side curta ins a re rolled up, th e
men
can
browse
an d
choose
what
they
want
from
th e
attractive display.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 6/16
M in i s t e r s Week w as he ld a t
Postmasburg
from
t he 9 th
through
th e
11th o f March .
T h e n
the Dedicat ion o f
the Postmasburg c hu rc h was held
on
th e
12th .
T h e m i n is te r
is B en
Moroe .
There were 23 A f r ic an mi n i s te r s
a n d
s ix m issiona ries g at he re d
fo r this
meeting. W ednesday afternoon, a
general discussion was
le d
by Alvin
Nicholson
fo r
those
n o t i n a commit tee
mee t i ng . Thu r sd ay
m or n i ng ,
Wiseman
Pepeta
led in a
s tu dy o f t he
Holy
Spirit
and Alv in N ic ho lso n on
Qualifications fo r Leaders.
Friday
morning , Michael Stanley
le d
a study
on
the Lord s Supper
and Alvin
Nicholson
r ev iewed wi th th e min i s t e r s
Brian
Giese s
A
Report
Card for the
Preache r f rom th e
S t a n d a r d .
Wednesday
night, al l
t he v is ito rs
were welcomed to
Pos tmasbu rg . T he
speaker fo r the first evening was
Bill
Weber of Johannesburg. Alvin
Nichol son spoke on Thursday
night
and for
the Dedication
on
Saturday.
Michael
Stanley
spoke on
Friday night
and
Lynn S tanl ey
on
Sunday.
T h e C o nf er en ce C o m m it te e
m e t on
Wednesday afternoon
an d
Thursday
morning.
The Annual
Conference
fo r
th e
churches has been set fo r early in
September at
Knysna
where
Elijah
Gont sana
is the
minister .
T he
Afr ican
ministers
had
their m eetings on
Thur sday and Friday afternoons.
The Postmasburg church
has erected
a f ine bui ld ing .
Their
attendance
at
th e
evening mee ti ng s was
very
good
and the building would hardly hold th e
people that
a tt ended the
s ervi ce on
Sa tu rd ay and on Sunday
morn ing the
bui ld in g was wel l f il led. I suppose
t he re w a s
neve r
a t im e w h en
s om e o n e
was
preaching
that
there
was
not
some
shift in th e congregation: either
places being
made
for people to si t
or
children being
moved
about so the
older
people could have th e chai rs and
benches .
T he Dedicat ion
serv ices
began
at
1 on Saturday morning with
the ma rch ing a round the building an d
then the
opening
of the door. The
Postmasburg
congregation
has
tw o
outstanding
singing groups who
sang
M I N I S T E R S
W E E K
Ministers
Ciime to Postmasburg f rom al l parts of
South
Africa to
participate in Ministers Week.
With the help of two interpreters, Bill Weber
brought
a
message
a
Postmasburg.
Th e missionaries
an d
some of
th e
ministers gathered by Bitb Mil ls
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 7/16
POSTMASBURG,
CAPE
Fostmasburg
recently
completed
their
new
church build ing which
wa s de d ic a te d
a f t e r
Minis te rs Week i n Ma rc h
At the
opening
ses sion of Ministers Week on Wednesday evening, a
local dignitary welcomed the people who were
visiting
Fostmasburg.
Michael Stanley an d four
former
Umzumbe Bible Institute students
presented
a play to
teach
a
lesson
about
t he Lord s
Supper.
by Alvin
Nicholson
s ev era l tim es I t w as well in to
afternoon when al l th e speeches were
completed and
they began to collect the
money in
their
usual way.
They
received
R368.27
or 342.50.
They
have
built a baptistry in the church and used
it on Sa tu rday n ight
fo r
a baptism
Even
though
they
had an
al l
nigh
service, many
of the
people were
marching around the church
on
Sunday p reaching
and
s ing ing a ft e
t he morn ing service. The
church
only
had
room to serve a dozen to f if teen
people
a t
a t ime, so we
got to
eat f i rs t in
order that
we
might go on
to
Kimberley. The local people had to
ea
l a ter
Many
felt that this had been a very
good week. A ll th e
time had been
wel
filled and
there was good
participation
in
a ll class
sess ions
T he church
catered for
th e
g roup i n a
very
good
way and still kept
th e
expenses
down.
Many
of
th e
problems
that have
plagued the churches for
th e
past few
years were no t present.
/ I i i \ \
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 8/16
S o u t h A f r i c a n T O R C H
Published
quarterly
for
the
following:
M I S S I O N A R I E S
a n d t h e i r
FORWARDING A G E N T S
ORDINATION -
XOPOZO, TRANSKEI
t
•
Wiseman
Pepeta
a lso in terpre ted
when
Michael
Stanley led
the communion
service.
Mr .
Mrs. Alvin Nicholson
and
family
P.O . B ox 2 19
Port Shepstone
4240
Rep.
of SOUTH AFRICA
Forwarding
Af> mt
Mrs.
R i c h a r d
H a n s o n
16642 Gannon Ave.,
W.
Rosemount . Minnesota 55068
Dur ing t he
service
at Xopozo, Transkei, Nic
Qwemesha
led singing before
Lynn
Stanley
preached with
Wiseman Pepeta
interpreting.
Mr .
Mrs. Lynn
Stanley
and family
P.O.
B ox 2 19
Port Shepstone
4240 Rep . of SOUTH AFRICA
Forwarding
Agent
Mrs. Sybi l Evans
Box 181
St ,
Joseph, Illinois
61873
Mr.
Mrs.
Michael Stanley
and
family
P.O. Box
13
U m z u m b e
4225 Rep .
of SOUTH AFRICA
Forwarding
Agent
Mr . a n d
Mrs.
R i c h a r d
E c k m a n
Route 2
Kimba l l, Minnesota
55353
The
South Afr ican TORCH 501-820
is a
publication
ofthe
South Afr ican Church
of
ChristMission, an d is published fourtimes
each year in
February,
May, August, an d
November by
Mission
Services Associa
tion,
7525 Hodges Ferry Road,
Knoxville,
TN 37920.
Second-class postage paid
at
Knoxville,
TN 37901.
POSTMASTER:
Send
address changes
to
South
African
TORCH,
c/o Mission
ServicesAssociation,
PO
Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901.
Second
Quar ter , 1983
N u m b e r 2
Ready for
th e
first
da y of
. school - 1983.
D i n a
is
no w
i n 5 t h
grade , Diane is in 3rd
g r ade and
Dawn has
started
1s t grade .
T he e l d e rs o f t h e
c h u r c h e s
w hi ch B ro th er
C o l um b u s N c a n az o
s e r v e s l a i d t h e i r
h a n d s o n
hi m
a t t h e O r d i na t io n Serv ice .
Brother Qwemesha
l o ok s on a s Broth
e r N c a n a z o s
ordi
n a t i o n
c e r t i f i c a t e
is signed by one
o f
th e e l d e r s .
i Brotherand Sister
a
N ca n az o p o s e
^
near
the
church
after t he o rd in a-
t
tion serv ice .
F o rm 3 5 79 r eq u es te d PO
Box 2427 , Knoxv il l e, TN 37901.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 9/16
Ik •
O n e n f t he children
a t
t h e P o n d ol a n d c a m p in th e
Transke i w an a lmos t
as much
a t h om e o n
his
h a n d s as h e w a s on hi s feet. He r e
hedemonstrates
hi s
skill
fo r an
older
m an l and
th e
camera .
N u m b e r
3
O N T H E R O A D
WITH A L V I N
b y
A l vi n N i ch o ls o n
South
A f ri c a i s
no t
a bi g countr y like
Ame ri c a
b ut
still
d is ta n ce s a re
g r e a t
enough to
really count
up if on e
travels
often. I h a v e t r a ve l e d mo r e t han
16,000
miles since the
beginning of December
last y ea r. M y t ra ve ls have
taken
m e a s
far
as C apetown
visiting
m a n y a r e a s
in be tween
T h e
trip
t h a t
would take
me a s
fa r
a s
Capetown
was
begun a t
th e
en d
of
May. I t s t a r te d o ut w i th a few troubles
t h a t were easily fixed. Wh e n
I started
up
from
a
s t o p s i g n
aboutOO
mi l es fro m
home, I heard t ro ub le . W h en I went to
fi x
it ,
I found tha t a bolt h ad been b e n t
a n d needed to be c ut o f f to make
repair.
When I took off m y work
clothes
an d
put them back in the car, I
locked my
keys in . T hen as I walked
around
th e
c a r
I
found t h a t
I had a
f la t
t i r e .
A ll
w a s
n ot
b a d , however,
f or c lo se
a t
hand
wa s
a
motel, r e st a ur a nt a nd g a s
s ta ti on . W he n I a rri v e d there, I found
the owners
repairing
some
c h ai r s b u t
t h e y
soon
took me b a ck w i th wire a n d a
hacksaw.
T hey soon h ad t he ca r open,
th e tire c ha ng ed , w hi le I
made
th e
repair.
T he y t he n s en t
me to
a
tire
sh o p
to have m y tire
fixed.
I
found t h a t
I
k ne w t he
m an w el l f or
he
had worked
in P ort Shepstone. After giving
directions
fo r
th e re pair of
th e tire
wh i c h
h ad
been p u n c tu r e d b y a piece of
c ru sh e d rock, h e in vite d m e to h a v e a
c up
o f
te a
with him.
Tha t
n igh t I
had
su p p e r w ith
L awr ence
Malafu, minister
in
th e
Queens town
area,
a t
his home
in
Ezibeleni. I spent
t h a t
night in the
local t o u ri s t p a r k.
T he n e xt
mo rn i n g , I
stopped
by th e h o me
o f
R o b e rt
Geldenhuys
a t
Cradock
a n d
we talked
fo r a
bit. H e h a d
jus t re t u rn e d
from
a
visi t
to
Po r t El izabeth
I
w en t on
to
SOUTH
Jkf
wovi U
lanf ttic mf
led
and
ttic r f
fxtik -- J udtu
UldOS
aFRICAN
\
ct
Republ i c
o f
So u t h
Afr ica
T O R C H
Port
Shepstone
Transkei iUmzumbeBiblejnsiiiate
Ca p e
Town
E a s t L o n d o n *
Th ir d Qu a r te r 1 9 8 3
Gr a a f f
Reinet
wher e Ma a r t Joseph
and
I ha d a meeting a t about noon t h a t day.
T h at n ig ht I h ac i pp or tu ni ty to teach
and answ er qu . stions fo r
several
leaders in the church. Sa tur da y
mor ning, I
drove
acr os s a
very
dry
area
o f
t he K ar ro o
and
wen t
to
th e
t own o f
B e a u fo rt
West. T he y h ad a sk ed m e
to
visit
them
some time
ag o
since
they
h av e n o t h ad a min i s t e r fo r more t h an
a year.
T hey h a d
invited
Gonts a na
to
vis i t th em the mon th before
and
he
made
arrangements fo r
this trip.
Wh ile
waiting fo r so me o n e to
co me
a n d
Campers at Mqanduli an d th e western
Transkei
p o se f or
th e
camera on
th e
lee side of a huildinp.
J o h n Lahatala.
their
minister, is on t h e r ip h t h a n d
side, in
th e
back rote. A constant
feature
of ihi.s
camp
is a
bitterly
cold
wind
which
blew
2-i
hours
a
day.
s ho w m e the w ay to this meeting
place,
I stood before th e Du t c h
R ef o r med
ch urch , w here th e
fa th er of
Dr .
C hr is
B a rn ar d, t he
h e a r t
doctor, h a d
o nc e b ee n minis ter No o ne c am e fo r
me
a t
th e
a p po in t ed t im e
but
I found
someone to help
me .
Th e
p eo pl e f ro m
Victoria West
an d
N elsp oo rt a lso
joined
Beaufort
West fo r th e
weekend.
We
h a d
a long class on Sa tur da y
a ft e rn o o n
a nd p re ac hi ng tha t
night.
S u n d a y mor ning, we h ad
preaching
and t h a t
af ternoon
ano the r
class
M o n d a y m o r n i ng ,
BrotherGontsana
and I d rove sou th so I
could
t ake
h im to
George to
catch
a
bu s
home to
Knysna.
O n the w ay we
h a d
to drive slowly,
while passing a large
num ber of
ostriches
tha t
were
be in g driven
V o l u m e
3 4
down
th e
road. Their long striding w a s
fun to w atch. A fter
l e av i ng B r ot h er
G o n t s a n a
a t th e bu s
s tation, I m a d e fo r
th e A 1 Z i m m e r m a n
h o m e
t
Kraaifontein in C apetown. I carried
with me
a
fe w
pieces
o f
fu rn i t u re fo r a
widow woman,
who
h a s
retired
to
C a p e t o w n
to
live
w i t h
a
s o n .
T uesday w as a holiday so one o f th e
churches
h a d a s k e d
rother
Z imme rma n
i f I
cou ld
me e t w i th
them
t h a t afternoon. Thur s da y night, I
spoke fo r
a
class that
A1
teaches.
I e n j o y e d
th is
t i m e w i t h the
Z immermans a s we usually see
each
other
only
about
twice a
year
a n d
then i t i s
usually a t meetings
where we
do
n ot a lw a ys h av e m uc h
time
to
visit.
Fri d a y , I m a d e m y
w a y
back to
G eor ge s o
I
di d
no t have
to
hur r y.
A s
s oon
a s
I ar r iv ed a t th e e l de r s h o m e
on
S aturday,
p eo pl e w er e
c om in g to
visit and bu y books.
We h a d
a class on
S aturday afternoon an d
early
S u n d a y
morning,
preaching
Sa tur da y a n d
Sunda y
morning.
M an y o f th e
people
here were o ri gin all y m em be rs
a t
M i d de l b ur g , C a p e.
S u n d a y
a ft e rn o o n ,
I t o o k
Bro the r
Gon t s a n a
back
to
K y ns na , t h en
to
t h e h o sp it a l to
bring
his
wife a n d
their
ne w
baby bo y to their
home. I also
took
t h a t f ir st p h ot o fo r
them. I traveled
on
t h a t night because
I
had o n e
m o r e
man to
l e a v e
a t
h is
h o m e .
Monday,
I
went
by
Alice s
to
g et m o re
Xh o sa H y m n Books.
Th e y
h a d so me
tw o
hundr ed
o f t h e books ready except
fo r th e cove r s
and f ound th e cove rs
More
campers
w h o i ce re
p re se nt f or t he c am p at
Mqanduli.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 10/16
were not t he r ight size. I
stopped
at
King
Williamstown
and visited with
tw o
of t h e min i st e rs .
O ne
invited me to
come back
fo r evening
prayer
service
bu t when
I
started ou t that night, th e
light
burned out.
The
twenty-second
of June ,
we
went
to Mqanduli
near
Umtata fo r
the
first
c amp o f t he area. They
had more than
80
campers
present a nd t hi s from th e
churches under
one
minister. At night,
th e
n umbe r in a tten danc e wou ld
double;
th e biggest share of these were
other
children from
t ha t
area.
I t w a s
so
windy that week
an d
so dry it seems
t h a t
all w e cou ld see
was
roots
o f
the
grass; had real dus t s to rms on some
days.
YOUTH CAMPS
FO R
AFR I CA
by
Michael M. Stanley
Christ ian
youth cam ps
were
imported to Sou th A fri ca from th e
States, but
once accepted
they
became
an
important
part
of Christian
outreach to young people.
Gradually
the
Africans
have adapted the camps
to
their
culture and ci rcumstances .
Today we have several youth camps
held
throughout South Africa,
each
with its ow n c h ar ac te r a n d e ach o ne
distinctively
A fr ic an whi ch means
tha t it is
different
from the American
model which
gave
rise to it .
With
one
exception al l
of
th e camps
ar e
held in June and July, which
ar e
win t e r
mon th s
in S ou th Afr ica .
The
exception
is
the
Upington youth
camp
which is
held
in
Dec em be r (mid
summer).
Several t hi ng s h av e
made
winter a convenient t ime fo r camp, but
weather is probably
the
mos t
important. Winter is generally
dr y
and
sunny which means tha t we do not
have
to
cope
with muddy
roads, and
since camp
facilities are generally
limited, t he c ampe rs c an eat and play
out
of
doors.
There are very few insects
and so
ano the r
nuisance
is avoided.
The win te r v a c at i on i s shor te r t han the
Michael
distributed peanuts to
the campers
twice
during t he c amp at Pondoland.
They
not only
served
as a
t re at , b ut a ls o a dd ed p ro te in
to
th e
campers' diet tvhich consisted pr imar ily of maize
(corn) an d
bread.
One f am il y c el eb ra te d
a
wedding
anniversary Just
before camp.
An o.xhad
been slaughtered for the occasion an d so children
from this family were
able
to
bringmeat
to camp,
which they roasted
and shared
with their friends.
Campers
l ine upf or f ood
at
the Pondoland camp.
All of th e coohirifi was done outdoor s in this
remote area.
A
large
pile of
firewood fed
th e fires
under
t he b ig b la ck
pots.
Instead
of spoons, a
l ar ge s li ck was used
to stir
th e
food.
summer one (gene ra lly only 3
or
4
weeks)
and so there are not
many
potential campers who
ar e lost
because
t he y a re working.
The
temperatures
are low at night,
but
they general ly ri se to the 60 s or
70's during
th e
day.
The
camps
ar e general ly far
less
s t ruc tured t han
th e
Amer i can
counterparts. In general, the African
way
of life is
not
structured and this
becomes evident in
th e
camps, bu t lack
of p ro pe r f ac il it ie s a ls o contributes to
th e issue. Only onecamp, th e one held in
the
Port
Shepstone
area, is held in
what
could
be called
an
adequate camp
ground.
The
others are held at a school
or church. Cooking is often done
ou tdoor s o r in
a makesh i f t she l te r
and
housing is provided
in
local homes,
often under very c rowded cond it ions .
Fortunate ly the
Afr icans are
accustomed to this.)
Othe r t hi ngs
can interfere
w ith th e
camp
program.
One year a bus
in
a
ru ra l
area
of
th e
Transke i
was
24
hours
later
than expected.
Thir ty o r
forty
campers spent th e
night
at th e
bus stop
i n cold windy conditions
and
arrived
at
camp
a day late. Others gave up
and
re tu rned home . Food
can
al so
be
a
problem.
Since no one
knows
how
many will
attend
a given camp, it is
hard to p lan the food. In a rural camp
th is
can be a difficul t
s i tua t ion
to
co r re c t .
The
food
does no t
provide
much
variety
especially
when compared with
a camp in the States, b ut
then
the
budget is considerably lower as well.
Each
campe r pays about
4.00 for f ive
days
at
camp.
Transport
costs
them
t
Along with th e
younger
campers there were
adults
wh o attended
thecamp
and
received instruction in
classes
prepared
fo r
them.
Although
they
were no t
present
fu r
th e picture,
there
were a f ew men in th e
c la ss . Mo st
of th e
younger men f rom Pondoland
work
in
th e
larger
cities
and so a re a ieay from
home most
of
th e
year.
from 2.00 to 5.00
although
in some
cas es
th e
mi s s io n a r ie s s u bs id i ze t h is .
Breakfast usually
consists
ofcornmeal
porridge (mush),
bread
and
tea. Dinner
is usually samp (something like
hominy) with
gravy
and tea. How
much meat ge ts se rved is determined
by th e extent to which th e
local
church
helps
th e
camp.
In rural
areas
very
little meat is served.
I t s hould
be noted
t h a t
none
of
the camps has
refrigeration available. S upp er is
usually just bread with margarine
and
tea. Lynn
Stanley
started a practice
several
years ago
which has become
a
feature of
al l
of th e camps and
tha t
is
th e provision of fruit
(usually oranges)
fo r the campers. Michael
also
distributes
peanuts
when he helps with
a c amp .
A t
Sada
Michae l u s ed a coin as an i l lus trat ion in
answering
a
question
in
class. Michael gave th e
coin
to th e ho y who asked th e question, hoping
that it would he lp
him
to remember
th e lesson.
When
the
coin wa.s
presented, the class whispered
a word
meaning
lucky .
The most important aspect of camp
as fa r a s th e m iss io na rie s a re
concerned
is the t ea ch ing and it is in
t hi s a re a
that
th e missionar ies play a
vital role. They s til l do most of the
organ iz ing of
classes an d they teach
Typical
classes taught at
cam p are
Parables of
Jesus ,
Bas ic Chr i st i an
Doctrine ,
Great
Bible
Characters
e.g. Noah, Abraham,
Samson, Ruth)
Trave l s
of Pau l , and
Bible
Geography . T oday there are
more
Afr ican
t eache r s t h a n there were ten
years
ago, but
many
more are
needed
especially
if
new
camps
ar e to be held
At on e y ou th camp,
when
i t bec ame
Freely Buku la
L. and presently u student
at
Umzumbc Bible
Institute)
an d Chris t ina
Ndlanya
R. a
former student) try
to
impress
a Pondoland
e ld er w it h
their
B ib le k nowl ed ge . B ot h girls
helped with th e
camp which
was he ld
Mlimde. a
remote area of Pondoland.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 11/16
apparent
that there would be no
missionary to help with
the
camp,
th ere w as
ta lk of closing
th e
camp
early. In
th e
end a missionary
was
able
to help,
but he arrived
a
day late. Li tt le
teaching had been done on
th e first day
of
th e
camp. This
remains
a
matter
of
concern
to
us , but
when
we
see how th e
situation has improved over
th e l as t
t en yea rs we
have
confidence for the
future.
We
are
especially
encouraged
by th e
fact
that
several
people
who
s ta rt ed a tt end ing cam p ten or more
years ago ar e
today helping with
teaching. {Two of
them
have become
school
t e a c h e r s .
We
a r e
also
encouraged by the fact that in
1982 a youth camp was started
in
eastern Cap e witho ut the help
of
m iss ionaries. M iss ionar ies were
however asked
to do t he t ea ch in g.
This year
there
were 5 teachers at
that
camp
and
only
two
of them were
m i s s i o n a r i e s .
Two fea tu re s o f th e A fric an y ou th
camps
ar e
that
they
ar e
open
to all
ages
an d
t hey usual ly
change
th e venue
each year.
Al l ages attend each camp
an d
in the Transke i especially,
there
ar e
usually
twenty-five or thirty adults
who attend. Campers are usually
divided
fo r c lasses acco rding
to
th e
number o f y ea rs
they
have
attended.
Most o f th e t ime
this
works
well,
but it
is not
ideal
when h igh school students,
attending
for
th e
first time,
end
up in a
class
of
young campers .
Children
begin to
attend
camp at II or 12. bu t
there ar e always a few who are younger
t h a n that .)
Mos t o f
the
camps
a re t he
combined
ef fo r ts o f
several congregations.
In
th e
Transkei
where
transport
is difficult to
arrange and where roads ar e poor
and
distances between congrega tions a re
compara tive ly great ,
it has
proved
helpful to move th e camp each
year.
This
allows th e
poorer people in
th e
m o r e r e m o t e
a r e a s
t o
a t t e n d
occasionally.
When
the camp is held in
an area
where there
is
a
high
concentration of congregat ions, there
will be
up to
400 campers. When it
is
h e l d
in
a
m o r e
r e m o t e a re a t he
n u m b e r
may drop
to about 200.
African youth camps had their
beginning in 1961
when
Lynn Stanley
encouraged
Nic
Jwemesha
to
tr y
holding
a you th c amp
with
th e local
young people.
Ni c
did no t have
any
idea wha t
it
was
al l a l )out .
but
he
got
six
young
people
together
and
they
bec ame the
first
youth
camp. It
was
held on
th e
campus of Umzumbe llible
Institute. In th e 22 years since then the
number
of camps
held each
year
has
i n c r e a s e d to
5 a n d
t he t ot al n u m in r
o f
young people who
attend
annually is
be tween 600 a n d
800. T h e r e is
increa sing in te re s t in holding you th
camps in new areas, especially
Johanne sbu rg and Zululand.
We
pray
that
th e y ou th camp mov em en t
will
grow
stronger each year
and that
God
will
bless
the preaching
and teaching
which are
done.
In a country where
American-s tyle mate ria lis m a nd
resistance
to
the
Gospel
are rapidly
increasing, we
need
to
us e
every
opportunity to reach people with the
Gospel while th ey are young. Youth
c am ps a re p ro vin g
to be
an effective
m e a n s to t h a t end.
C H U R C H
B U I L D I N G
by L y n n S t a n l e y
Church building,
by
it s
very
nature,
has been a real problem
fo r th e
churches
of
this
country. I t
is
a
costly
operation
beyond the means of
most
of
th e
congregations.
Most o f
th e
African
Christians
ha d
little
understanding
of
wha t
good building
required
i n time s
past. In an effort to help the churches
get
buildings, a plan has been worked
out whe reby
each church
mus t make
the ini tia l
start
by
raising
some money
fo r
their building, and
they
must
obta in the build ing s it e in a prescribed
The Oritjuaslad
has
permission
to hiiild on this
site.
The dup le xe s in th e
Imehpround ar e huill hy th e inunicipalily.
Eoeh home
ha s four rooms
hedroonis.
a kitchen
an d a livin/i-rooini and an outdoor toilet.
area. T he g ov er nm en t
does
not
give
them ownership
of th e plot, but
they
are g iven
the
use of it on a
perpetual
lease, th o the government
ca n
rescind
th e
site
i f i t
is
misused.
Lo r t he mos t part th e congregation
must
get their own bricks or
blocks.
Plarly missionar ie s began the practice
of
providing doors,
windows and
th e
roof fo r th e building.
P\)r
a number of
years
that
could
be
done
for
a
few
The
church
buHdmpat Sada in the
eas tern Cape
is
ready
for
th e
roof, atthoufih there is still a lot of
finishinp
work
that
needs to he
done.
The
buildinp will he
the larpest church huildinf i that
ire have in
South Africa
about {•
feet
by 7ofee t) .
hundred
Rand-of ten
5 00
or less.
Missionaries can
no longer do this,
but
th e annual conference Building and
Evangel is tic funds do still pay for
those
items
when the build ing
is
ready
fo r
them. At pre sent B E
funds are
set
at
R2. 1.80) per member , t ho it is a
well
k nown fact
that only a
small
portion
of
the church membership
actually
gives
that.
In
recent
years they
have
been
raising about
R3,0 )0. a
year , which
is
now about
th e
cost
of a
complete
building. Good
headway
was made in
providing buildings
in the years from
1950
to 1970,
t hen bui ld ing a ct iv it y
lapsed, bu t it picked up
again las tyear.
I n
those a r e a s whe re m ud blocks
a n d
2 n d
h a n d
r o o f s
w er e u se d t h e
m i s s i o n
did not help, as they were onl y sem i
permanent buildings and less
costly.
In u rban a re as where
building codes
m u s t be
a d h e r e d to t he c os t s o a r e d .
Through
these
years some churches
have been
working at
th e
collecting of
materials
and obt ai ni ng sites. Last
year 8 churches were
given
help, and 2
churches were started. This year
one
more has been completed and 2 more
s t a r t e d .
A n o th er c h u r c h
h a s
permission
to
build a nd h as more than
enough
blocks
for t he ir b ui ld in g hut
they
have
not started work on it . At
least 3
others ar e
making preparations
fo r their buildings. One of them,
Middleburg
in th e
Cape,
has
been
trying
for
20
years
to get a
new
building, but because of relocating the
African township they could not get a
permanent site
before, and they
have
h a d to
c o n t i n u e in t h e i r s m a l l ol d
bui ld ing whi ch
is
very
inadequate.
Their prospects ar e good fo r starting
w i t h i n
th e
n e x t
6
m o n t h s .
Building and Evangelistic funds are
falling
short
of
th e
needs now,
and th e
mission has only enough cash on hand
to complet e one more bui ld ing. We
would like to present th is need to our
American churches.
We
ar e no t
asking
for
funds
to pu t up the
entire
building,
but only to
complete the task
when
our
needy bre th re n have gone as fa r as
they can.
Any
money that is sent for
church buildings wi ll be
used
for just
that purpose.
The
African brethren are
being
asked
to
increase their giving
this
year, a lso.
At
present the
chur ch a t Doup t as in
t he nor the rn
Cape is usinp a
temporary
buHdinp
made
of
corrugated
iron, bu t
they havepurchased
enoufih
blocks
to
bui ld bot h
a
church huHdinp
and a
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 12/16
The camp at Sada was held in an i lemenlary
school
lic cu u sc th is is an u r ba n a re a facilities
an d
diet
were belter than they
would
he in a rural
area.
Lynn
Stanley.
i\ic
Qwemesha an d Michael
Stanley
went from P ort S hepst one to hel p with
this camp white
Alinn
a n d V e r nit a N i c hols on.
Alice Fishhack an d Floyd Stamm
helped
with th e
c am p a t
MqanduU
in
t h e w e st e rn
Transkei.
At Mtimdethe facilities werea hit moreprimitive.
Classes
i c c / t held
in s c h oo l r oo m s w h i ch
included
the
rondawel
in thi.spicture. Windoics were small
an d the manure mud floors were
dusty
an d very
uneven.
F o r d es hs t h ey
ha d benches.
IAt school
t he s tu de nt s would sit on
th e
b en ch es w hi le
listening toa les.son. Whenwriting they would sit
on the floor
an d
use the benches
as
desks.)
l i undl i np
up a p a i n s t
th e cold
i n P on do la nd .
Blankets
ar e very common especially for women
an d children.
He a vy o v e rc o ats
an d balaclavas
ar c more c o mmo n fo r men. At n i ph t t h e
campers
n ould retire tolocal homes tosleep. Wrapped upin
their
blankets,
they
sleep close topether to keep
iva rm. Often 10 or more
campers
would sleep in
Campers
in
t he P or t S he ps to ne a re a
came to
Umzumbe Bible
Institute
fo r c a mp . The facilities
ar e
pood
but t hi s y ea r w at er w as a t a premium
because of t h e d r o u gh t .
S ou th A fr i c an lO R C H
Published quarterly fo r th e following:
M I S S I O N A R I E S
a n d thei r
F O RW A R DI N G A G E N TS
Mr .
Mrs.
Ai vi n
Nic hols on a nd family
I .O . B ox 211)
I o r l S h e ps t o ne
4240 Rep. of SOUTH
AFRICA
F o r w a rd i n g A p e n t
M r s . Ri ch a r d Han so n
16642
G a n n o n
A v e . .
W.
R o s e m o u n l . Min n e.so ta ri. )068
Mr . Mrs. Lynn S t a n l e y a nd f am il y
I .O .
B ox 2 19
I urt Shepstone
4240 Rep. of
S O U TH A F RI C A
F o r w ar d in g A p e n t
Mrs.
Sybil F v a n s
B ox 18]
St .
.Joseph Illinois 61878
Mr. M r s. M i c h ae l S t a n le y a n d family
I .O. B ox i;i
U m z u m h c
4 2 25 Re p. of SOUTH
AFRICA
For w a r di np A p e n I
Mr .
an d Mr.s.
Ric h a r d
K c k m a n
R o u te 2
Kimhall.
M i nne s ot a .5r)8r)8
T h e S o u t h A f ri ca n T O RC H
(.501-820) is a
publication
of
t h e S o u t h A f ri c an
Church of
Christ
Mission an d is published
four
times
each y e a r
in February May
August an d
N o ve mb er b y M is si on S er vi ce s A s s o c ia
tion. 7 t2b
Hodges Ferry Roa d. K noxvi il e .
TN 3792(1. Second-class p o sta g e p a id at
K n o x v i i l e .
T N
3 7 9 0 1 .
P O S T M A S T E R :
Send
a d dr es s c h an g e s
to
S o ut h A f ri ca n
T O R C H
c o
M i s s io n S e r v i c e s A.s.sociation.
PO
Bo x
2427.
Knoxviile TN
37901.
Third
Qu ar t e r
1 9 8 3
V o lu m e 3 4
N u m b e r 3
For m
3 5 7 9 r e q u es t e d
P O B o x 2 4 2 7 K n o x v i i l e
T N
3 7 9 0 1
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 13/16
After tw o
years
of d ri vi nn o ld er
vehicles
Michael
Stanley
look
delivery of
a new Toyota
Hilux lung
wheel-base pickup
his f i rs t mission-
owned
veh ic le. It is
white
with a beigeinterior
ha s a 21 00
cnv
engine an d a-f-speed manual
gearbox.
Praise
the Lordforproviding a reliable
vehicle.
Numb e r 4
7^ tuoiiUa
a/Hf tutlo
tvf ^ and, a
li/jkunU nif fxiiL — Juim. ill-.ios
m
j r
g V 7^
uiovl
Ua I
^ ^ mj M l i j kt td o m f
faik
a FM c aN
Republic
of
Sou th Africa
TORCH
Port Shepstone
Transkei tUmzumbeBible Institute
>Cape Town
Eas t London
Fou rt h Qua r te r
1983
V o l u m e
3 4
CHR I S TMAS
GREET I NGS
V >
• f4
vV -
-f
• - •
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 14/16
MfssufU s f ar i li f (iiinudl coi if r rrnvf dfull with liiiliiicss. Hill WcbiT.
misnioriary from
•Johdiiitcshurfi:
Percy
Maroiifjo. i)e/isi )iie(l minister from
Kiisl
London
who is sti l lpreaching: Enoch Zobolo. minister
from
(Icilimii
ncdr
Hamspdte;
lienjdinin Moroe.
minister from Postnidsbtirf /pictured
above): Simon
Mlshayisa.
minister from Barberton: an d NicQtccmesha.
Superintendent an d
minister
from Vmzumbe . devel oped the theme.
Interpreters helped the miiltilinpudl audience by triinslatinp the messupes
into two
lanpuupes. Microphones
were
used
for loud
speahers
and
tape
recorders
Lynn S tanl ey
le<l th e
communion
service on Sunday morninp. Some
members of the cimprepatiun were .served with communion cups while
others were servi d from drinhinp pidsses. When the cups were empty, llwy
were refil led and
used over apain
until
al l
had been served.
The Africans lo ve to sinp
an d
nearly every c hu rc h h as a
choir.
At
Conference, thechoirsfrom theehurchesin Ihesurrounilinpdrea performed
a s usua l
T R IN IN G L E D E R S H IP
by Lynn Stanley
My greatest
desire
has been to see
men
c ap ab le o f
serving
Jesus
Christ .
This has
been rea l ized in
various
ways s ince coming to
South
Africa. Some have
gone
out
T
i\ icQwemesha. Superintendent
of
the Church of Christ Mission.introduced
three new mini.sti-rs to the Conference. Cladstone .\damase completed two
years at Cnwiimbe Bible
Institute and
serves in the
Johannesburg area.
Henry l.ehwate is completinp his second year now and will be .servinp at
Pampeirstdd
near
Kimberley. His wife. Sylvia, is also st ii dyinp at
I nizumbe. .Alpheus
an d
Olpa
Ndaba ar e
niinisterinp at Hammarsdule
near
Durban. They
have
both completed two
years
at L mciimbe Bible
Ins t i tute
with just ten weeks
training to do what
they
could.
Others
have stayed
for six months or a yea r. Only recently have
we
had
men
with two yea rs o f t ra in ing . Even here
I
could
wish
it were sti ll more
and that they
were
better prepared.
This year
at Conference three men, two with theirwives,
were
presented
as
recent appointments
as
ministers. Each
had
been called by a church,
and
each
had
already shown
some evidence
of
being
a
proper
leader.
Alpheus
Ndaba
and his
wife,
Olga, were the youngest. They had s tarted
their
married
life when
they
came to school
and now
are
trying to rebuild a
congregation near
Durban. I
believe
they have only s ix men p lus their
families. They will
make
an impact on
that community.
Olga t ra ined
with her
husband
and
has
t he same capabilities.
Henry
Lekwati
was there
with h is
wife.
They a re both
still in school,
though
Henry has now completed
hi s
two
years of training, which
he began almost 30
years
ago in
Kimberley. Now
a
married man with
a 19
yearold son
and
two
daughters
of M and 17, he
has
a background of
many
years
in
th e
church and much experience along with h is
training. He knows
what it means to serve and he
also
knows
his
Bible. He
ha s
been called to
the irrigation
community
of Pampiers tad
near Kimberley. Some
o f h is
elders were present
a t
Conference
and
stood
with
him
as
he
w as in t roduced
Gladstone Ndamase comes from the Transkei, as we
would
say,
a country man, buthe has been living for quite a
few
years
in Soweto,
the suburb
of
Johannesburg that
has
seen a lo t of
rough activity
during
th e
past few
years.
I had
been told
by
one missionary when
he
came that he
didn t
like
to
have
him
come
around. At
Conference
the
missionary
said,
He is a changed man .
That
is what
J es u s C h ri st c an do fo r
a m a n
Because
of what I have
seen
this past month I am
encouraged.
I
hope
to be a
part
of th e training force
for
a
number o fyea rs still,
tho at
65 I am hav ing to make some
changes in that program. I would like to
challenge
you
who
read
this to
have
a part in helping
train such men .
Most of
the
men have a difficult t ime coming to school,
b ec au se t he y have cos tl y f amil y
commitments.
Four
months ago a man said to
me,
I
would l ike
to
come, but
I
have my house here and I
cannot
see
giving
it up. I have to
pay
R55 ( 50) a
month
for it.
What can
I do?
Maybe
we
ca n help such
a man
keep
his
house and self-respect an d
still train for
the
Cord s work. He
wants
to bring
his
wife
with h im . They a re y oung
and
do not
have
children who
need
care and schooling.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 15/16
K N Y S N A C A P E
l a f
i
llfi
C^ i
The
t en t w as
transported from
Uimtimbe
to Knysna
an d set
up to
provide
a
me e t i n g p l a ce . It
wa s used
fo r men s classes an d women « meetings.
•^
Michael Stanley
a n d
Floyd S ta mm
taught
clas ses for th e men
at
Conference. Th e m en w ere p r i ma r i l y
elders
from I arious congregations.
A tt en ti on w a s g o od with th e
me n a s k in g n lot o f
uuestions.
The s e l a die s
enjoyed
their
porridge
tcorn
mush/ bread
a nd
lea. Th e
large
were
served in
s h if t s w it h m e n
u.sually b e i n g
served first.
iJ
/ -
\
fv
M ea t f o r t he
eonferenee is
butchered
by
African
men. Often theentirejobis
d o n e with ja ch -hn ive s . S p e cta to rs
look on
with
relish
as they anticipate th e
f ea st w hi ch
is coming.
Tw o
oxen a n d s e ve ra l s h ee p were eaten at
conference t h i s y e ar .
1^ -
vi- :
MV a r e a c c us t o m ed to seeing tog.s
wa n d e r i n g
aroun<l th e
cooking
a r e a to
pickup scraps. oweverat Knysna. therewerealsopigs. Thecookslargely
i g no re t h es e
four-legged
scavengers.
-
tf
ft 5 .
The cooks an d .serving staff look a
break
so Alvin Nicholson could
ge l
a
picture
of them. The ha d a big jo b to
prepare an d
serve food f or t he
appo.ximately 27Ti people
wh o
a t t en d e d t h e conference.
8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1983 SAfrica
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/nicholson-alvin-vernita-1983-safrica 16/16
S o u th A f ri ca n TORCH
Published
quarterly
for the following:
M I S S I O N A R I E S
a n d
t h e i r
FORWARDING
AGENTS
Mr.
Mrs.
Alvin Nicholson an d family
I '.O . Box
2Ifl
Pctrl
Shepstonc
42-l()
Rep.
c.f
KOUTH
AFRICA
Forwardinfi
A^ent
Mrs. R i c h a r d H a n s o n
16642 Gannon Ave., W.
Rosemounl,
Minnesota
.ooOhK
Mr. Mrs. Lynn
Stan ley and
family
P .O . B ox
21 9
Port
Shepstone
•121U
Rep.
of .SOUTH
AFRICA
Fonvarditifi AfienI
Mrs.
Sybil
Kvans
Bo x
181
St .
Joseph, Illinois
6 H7;i
Mr.
Mrs. Michael
Stanley
an d family
P .O . B ox l: i
U m / u m h e
•122 0 Rep. of SOUTH
AFRICA
Forwarding Agent
Mr. an d
Mrs.
Richard
Eckmun
Route 2
Kimhall . Minnesota
The Sou th Afr ican TORCH
(r)()l-820) is a
publication
of
th e
South Afr ican
Church of
Christ
Mission,
an d
i.spubli.shed four
times
each year
in
February,
May, August,
and
November by Mission Serv ices Assoc ia
tion, Hodges Ferry Road, Knoxville,
TN 11792 1 Second-class
postage
paid at
Knoxville.
TN :179()1. POSTMASTER:
Send
address
changes to
South
African
TORCH,
c/ o Mission ServicesAssociation,
PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN ;379()l.
F o u r th Q u a r t e r lf)83
V o l u m e
3 4 N u m b e r
4
B I R T H
A N N O U N C E M E N T S
We would like to tell everyone about our
t wo n ew grandchildren:
Paul Joseph Lafayette was born to
Larry
and Marguerite
who live in Apple
Valley, Minne so ta . He
is
their t hi rd son
an d
was
horn on t he 3 rd of August.
Lauren Lynn Nee th ling was born to
Debbie an d
Lynton
on
th e
16th of
September. They
live
at Oribi
Flats
in th e
Port
Shepstone
area where
Lynton farms
s u g a r c an e a nd coffee.
An official f rom a
large
Ininh
came
to
th e
Conference
to
explain
a
pension
plan
to
th e
The
ministers l istened
attentieely and
ashe
questions. Afterward they voted to accept th
pension
plan,
tehieh will help the men to prepar
fo r thei r r e ti rements .
W O M E N S
M E E T I N G S
A T C O N F E R E N C E
1 9 8 3
by V e r n i t a N i c h o l s o n
Conference 19HB is over. Having
prayed
daily
fo r th e
one s who hos te d
it ,
th e
tines who brought the
messages , the
ones
who
t ra ve le d, w e felt rewarded in
that the
spirit
over all was good. The
hosts
fulfilled their tasks well, th e
messages wer e good
and
t ho ugh t he re
were
minor ca r difficulties,
everyone
returned
home safely.
Attendance was
not
as
great
as th e last
two
years
bu t
it
was
no t
held
in
th e
areas
where many
c h u r c h e s
are.
T h e a tt en da n ce o f
t h e
Coloured
people
was more though as they
l ive
a n d
w or k in t h i s area .
C l a s s e s were h e l d fo r
t h e
w o m e n t h i s
year which
is
th e
second
year
it
has
been
tried.
We had classes tw o
mornings of th e
week.
T h e
c l a s s e s were
centered
a r o u n d
'A
woman as a Christian' .
The response
was
good
both this time an d last year
w he n c la ss es w ere on th e s a m e t h e m e
given
a t th e Umtata church.
Vernita
Nicholson w as th e
leader.
T h e a f te r n o o n s e rv i c es fo r w o m e n were
held al l three days. Gerty (Jwemesha,
Phyll is Mills
a nd Mar ga re t W hism an
were
t he s pe ak er s. The theme
was
H o l i n e s s .
Thursday afternoon, after Gerty
Qwemesha spoke,
they
had
th e collection
ofthe Widows Fund. Four churches gave
110 and the to ta l w as well over
1000.
On
Friday, Phyllis Mills
spoke
after
wh ich they
took
up t he
penny
collection.
This is a
time
of
much
fun for
them. They
ge t change
in to pennies an d then
come
singing and dancing
to
the front an d
slap
th e pennies one by on e
on
th e table. It
seemed to me that they did more dancing
than usual this
year. They really sang in
all t h e services a n d outside
a f t e r
services
were
over
they
also
sang and danced in
their
special
style.
This
fund of
pennies
is
for
what
they
call the Mother's Bag. It i
used for buying gif ts for people and fo
giving
at
funerals. Usually
t he s um i
about R20-30. They
don't
like to
break
into th e Widows Fund fo r this. I t
h a s
a
separate t re asu re r, who th is
year
said
that sh e would not take pennies any more
b ec au se t hey were
too burdensome to
carry. Sh e
asked
thatsilver be given
nex
year.
It is a
happy time
for
them
all.
The last day, Saturday, Mrs. Margare
Whisman spoke.
After this they
had
some
witnessing
on
th e lesson sh e gave
They also discussed
changing
t he name
o f t he
l)ig
fund because Widows Fund
is
too limiting. They
pa y
a
pension
to
those
who a re m in is te rs ' widows in good
standing. But they also do other things
with the money so that it is no longer jus
a widow's fund. One year they helped
with t he m in ist er' s pensions. They
bought new dishes for th e
Conference
to
use.
This
year
they
voted to help a
student
to go to the
Bible School
a
Umzumbe.
Their
money
is well
spent.
Alvin and Vernita Nicholson. Lynn
and
Lucille
St anl ey. Boh and I 'hyl li s Mills. Margare
Whisman. Floyd Stamm. Michael Stanley, and
Bill Weher
al l
stayed at Monk's
Caravan Pa rk
in
Knysna.
For most
meals
everyone
gathered
in
Nicholsons' and Stanleys'
cottage.
F orm 357 9 r e q u e s t e d PO Box 2427. Knoxvi l le . TN 37901.