Some of our Club View young people

The words ‘Out of Africa’ not only refer to the title the popular 1985 film, but also now to us. But we are not the only ones to be out of Africa. Others include Bill Graham, Donald MacIver, David Miller, Douglas Campbell, Ronnie Christie and Norman Reid. Although these names of former missionaries associated with Dumisani Theological Institute mean little to our non-Free Church of Scotland friends, it is salutatory to note that there is now only one Free Church Missionary in South Africa, Dr Alistair Wilson.

The question then is this: who is going into Africa, specifically to Dumisani? One answer, for which we thank God, is that two South Africans, Wayne Gratz and Greg Phillips, will join the Dumisani team this coming New Year.  But, without in any way detracting from their contribution, neither Wayne nor Greg are joining the team under the auspices of the Free Church of Scotland. Does that matter?

In one sense it doesn’t matter at all, for both are very fine Christian men who will hugely contribute to Dumisani’s future ministry. But in another sense I think it does matter. It matters, first, to the Free Church in Scotland. What does it say about our missionary commitment if we are now satisfied to have only one Free Church minister serving in our oldest mission area?

It also matters enormously to the Free Church in Southern Africa. The FCSA is painfully conscious of what seems to them be a weakening of Scottish commitment towards their work and witness. As our own period of service was running to its close, time after time African colleagues asked me why Free Church interest in them and their church had reached such an all-time low. I could not answer the question because I was as baffled as they were.

Personally, we have now made the transition from Africa to Scotland, from King William’s Town to Croy, and have settled in remarkably well. The flights home were totally uneventful. We were met by our friends Peter and Marion Morrison, as well as Calum Ferguson, secretary of the International Missions Board. Next day, Murdo Murchison from Doune gave us the loan of a car from his stock and we drove up to Glen Urquhart to spend an enjoyable weekend with Stuart and Gemma, Daisy and Murphy. The following Tuesday we moved into our home, ten miles east of Inverness. The move was stress-free, apart that is from dealing with a complicated heating system and the bureaucracy of banks and telephone and electricity companies. In some ways it is good to be back, but not only are we missing the African heat, we are also missing our many South African friends, including the singing of the members of Club View FCSA.

Thanks to your prayers and God’s answers, Elizabeth is in very good form and is sleeping well. Except for a daily aspirin, she is now off all medication, including sleeping tablets. Predictably, she has already started on our garden. We are both, for the time being anyway, enjoying relative leisure, to such an extent that one morning we slept until 8 o’clock, after going to bed at 9 o’clock the previous night!

So far as the future is concerned there seem to be two main possibilities before us. Either I can respond to a call from a vacant congregation, if I get one, or I can accept a Scottish-based post that I have been offered, working as the representative of a missionary organisation. Already my diary is filling up. I’m down to preach in nearby congregations every Sunday from Christmas Day to the end of March. This, along with some writing, a couple of church committees and exploring the possibility of setting up a Friends of Dumisani Scottish charity should keep me occupied for the time being. In addition, I have been asked to become the Programme Coordinator for our denominational annual in-service training week, starting 2013, and to teach a module on missionaries for next year’s Free Church college Saturday course, starting in October 2012.

We cannot adequately express our gratitude to you for all your past support and interest in us, but would you please continue to pray for us, especially for wisdom in making the right choices for the future when the time comes.

As we will be sending very few, if any, Christmas cards this year, we wish you a very happy Christmas and God’s blessing in the coming New Year.

With our warmest greetings,

John and Elizabeth.

Our new address is:

1 Ardgowan, Croy, Inverness, IV2 5PA, UK.

Tel: 01667 493210,  Mobile: 07775 082331

It was with farewells in mind that we were taken today by our good friend, Mrs Copiso, a fellow member of Club View, Free Church, to a local shop to be fitted for the traditional Xhosa outfits that we are to be presented with at our farewell at Club View on 13 November. Elizabeth is to have the full outfit and I am to have a shirt. When we came to try these on it was evident that the sizes were too small. For some reason unclear to us, the shopkeepers, both Chinese, became annoyed and an altercation began. Elizabeth and I promptly stepped sideways and left Mrs Copiso to hold the floor. The problem was, thankfully, soon resolved and we came away satisfied. Getting into the car, Mrs Copiso amused us by commenting that such impoliteness and excitability was far from the Xhosa way of dealing with a difference of opinion.

The removal men from Steers-Afrovan

The chain of last things started two weeks ago when the team of removers (right) came to pack up our belongings to ship them back to Scotland. The church farewells begin this Saturday when we travel up to Tabase in the Transkei. It has been a special joy, over the last three years, to have been a member of the Transkei Presbytery of the Free Church of Southern Africa. A service has been organised to mark our time together and our forthcoming departure from the country. After returning from the Transkei on Saturday, I am to preach, also for the last time, at Keyser’s Beach chapel, a largely white congregation on the coast some miles from here.

Another ‘last’ took place yesterday, when Elizabeth had her final appointment with her ophthalmologist, who stated how pleased he was with the outcome of her operation and subsequent treatment.  Next week there are other final events, such as last opportunities for meals and fellowship with certain friends. The inevitable consequence of such last things is the bitterness of separation. It is a salutatory thought that we might not meet again in this world with friends who have played such a significant part in  our lives over the last three years, like Mama Sylvia (left), a Free Church Bible Woman who has helped us at home during our time here. How short life is.

Sylvia and Elizabeth

It was therefore comforting to have read recently Matthew Henry’s comment on the remark in Revelation 21.1 that in the new heaven and the new earth there will be no sea. This is what he says, “There will be no sea; this aptly represents freedom [from] whatever can divide or interrupt the communion of saints.’

This Gospel hope is echoed in Henry Alford’s splendid hymn, ‘Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand’, where he reminds us we can look forward to reunion in the communion of saints in heaven,

O then what raptured greetings on Canaan’s happy shore;
What knitting severed friendships up, where partings are no more!

Now that is something to look forward to!

But meanwhile our plan is to fly back to Scotland on 17 November, and then, on Tuesday 22^nd, after a weekend with our son and his family near Drumnadrochit, move into our home at Croy, a few miles east of Inverness. But what then?  Retirement?  Well, I hope not, but we really don’t know. Exploratory contact has been made by some currently vacant Free Church of Scotland congregations, and in addition two missionary organisations have enquired about the possibility of us working with them. We would value your prayers for guidance and clarity.

Elizabeth would also be grateful for your prayers for the flight home. We thank God that she has made a truly remarkable recovery from last year’s dog attack, but it has left her vulnerable to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and so she must travel under medication. We are very grateful indeed to the Free Church of Scotland International Missions Board for its willingness to incur extra expense in order to further minimise the risk by allowing us to fly in the roomier business-class cabin. But nevertheless, despite all these precautions, she does feel vulnerable and will be glad finally to touchdown in Glasgow.

Although this newsletter is about finalities and farewells, we do not expect it to be our very last from South Africa, so until then we thank you once again for all your prayers, interest and support.

Ministry of Home Affairs

In a few days time the new academic semester commences and Elizabeth and I will start on our last lap at Dumisani Theological Institute. The last three years have flown by with almost indecent speed. Our original plan was to stay on until June 2012, but a number of circumstances, including Elizabeth’s injuries, led us to consider adjusting our plans. Then, a few weeks ago, all decisions were taken out of our hands when the Department of Home Affairs instead of renewing my exceptional skills permit gave me an ordinary work permit, valid only for six months. So that’s that! We now have to be back in Scotland by the end of November.

For the first time since entering Christian ministry in 1972 we cannot see the next step ahead. In this, our example, naturally, is Abraham who also ‘went out, not knowing where he was going.’  And Hebrews 11:8-9 tells us he did so ‘by faith’, the essence of which is not a blind leap into the dark, but quiet confidence acquired by past experience of God. As we venture into what is for us, though not at all for God, the unknown, we are assured that he will direct our steps, work all things to our good, and be our guiding, providing and protecting Shepherd. Even though we can be sure of our heavenly Father’s leading, we would value your prayers for us that we might recognise and obey his will.

As every explorer and pioneer has recognized, there is something extremely exciting, if very slightly daunting, about stepping out into unfamiliar territory. Naturally, we speculate what it might mean for us: perhaps a call to a congregation; maybe a teaching post; conceivably work with a missionary society. Or maybe something completely different and utterly unexpected. Certainly the Christian life is never boring.

When the new term commences, Dumisani will, of course, be one tutor down, as Norman Reid retired in June and returned home to Ireland. Both he and Angela will be greatly missed. The three of us who are left will all be carrying an extra teaching load. At B.Th. level, I will pick up Norman’s Systematic Theology lectures, as well as teaching my usual second semester subjects of Church History, a very enjoyable reading course on Calvin’s Institutes, and Liturgics (the study of worship).  I am told I must also take a Basic Ministries Study group for elementary computer studies. Help!  It must be very nice teaching one subject, in a comfortable, well-staffed and well-funded college, but I bet it’s not half so exciting.

Finally, as we see November approaching, can I ask you, as a matter of some urgency, to pray for Dumisani’s Principal, Alistair Wilson, and the board of governors. As I write there is no sign of any full-time replacement for Norman Reid, and no hint of anyone coming to take my place. Threatening though this prospect is, after thirty years strategic ministry, we refuse to believe that Dumisani is approaching the end of the road. So we ask, where are those who will step out with God to fill these vacancies and maintain this strategic ministry for another generation of African students?

Visiting friends in the bush

After last week’s excellent and refreshing holiday break camping in the bush, in Kwa-Zulu Natal, this too has been a good week. On Monday, Elizabeth had an appointment with her ophthalmologist who announced himself very pleased indeed with the outcome of the surgery on her retina. He said she could commence driving again and will not need to see him for another six months. 

On Wednesday afternoon there was a visit to the radiologist who carried out a Doppler scan to see if the deep vein thrombosis in her right calf had responded to treatment. It had. It was no longer to be seen.

Then today, Friday, it was back to Dr. John Penhall, our General Practitioner here in King William’s Town, for a further analysis of the scan. Whilst he agreed with the radiologist that the DVT had cleared up satisfactorily, he also noted that the vein had become kinked or twisted, creating a weakness susceptible to the formation of a future DVT. He, therefore, prescribed medication to be taken long term to reduce this risk.

Following the consultation with the GP, it was time to cross the road to the optometrist to discuss new lenses for her spectacles. Rather like our doctor, she too pointed out that whilst the surgery might have been very successful, there were ongoing consequences that needed to be dealt with. So, all in all, a very good week indeed, even if it had a somewhat cautionary ending.

What I have just reported is a very wonderful answer to our prayers and those of our colleagues and faithful supporters too. We cannot exaggerate how encouraging it has been to know that you have been standing with us during the last months. Above all we see clear evidence of the gracious intervention of God in securing a satisfactory outcome to the treatment provided. To be sure, medical science can seemingly work marvels, but we fool ourselves if we imagine it is entirely predictable and mechanical. The Christian is deeply conscious that without God’s blessing things may turn out very differently to what is hoped for, or, indeed, expected. So, now we ask you to rejoice with us and give thanks for God’s goodness and care.

When he saw my car pull in to the forecourt, he made a beeline towards me with a huge ear-to-ear grin. His first words after greeting me were, “I thought you had left town,” adding, “but I’m glad to see you haven’t. I really enjoyed the book that mama gave me [John Blanchard’s Ultimate Questions] and now I have another to read each night before I sleep. It speaks about covenants.”

“Did you know,” he went on to say, “God made covenants with Adam, and then with Abraham, Moses and David and finally a New Covenant with Jesus? It’s all because we are sinful and this is how God has chosen to bless us with his salvation.”

Well, I was intrigued, but also a little concerned. There are some funny ideas doing the rounds tied up with covenants. I think he detected the unease in my face, so, to reassure me, he said, “Would you like to see the book?”

I said I would. So, asking a colleague to watch that the nozzle of the petrol hose didn’t overflow, he rushed into the staff room, rummaged in his bag, pulled out a book and hastened back. Before he reached the car I could see, much to my relief, it was a rather tatty Banner of Truth paperback of Sinclair Ferguson’s excellent, A Heart for God.  Although it had lost a good number of pages, for Johannes it was a treasure, though he wished, he said, it had been complete.

“What time do you finish,” I asked. He said 8:30. “OK, I’ll be back before you go with a complete copy and something else to read afterwards.”

I paid for the fuel and got ready to drive off but Johannes wouldn’t let me go until he had told of me how he had shared the gospel with two of his workmates. Both had become Christians. Now, he wanted them to come to our church, Club View, Free Church of Southern Africa, adding with all the solemnity and wisdom of an experienced pastor, “They are just young Christians and need to be cared for by a good church.”

An hour later I drove back with a complete copy of A Heart for God and John Chapman’s excellent Know and Tell the Gospel, (Matthias Media: 2005).

Johannes illustrates why the African church grows so rapidly. If we were to give his kind of evangelism a label we might want to call it overflow evangelism. He doesn’t share his faith in a hesitant, shyly self-conscious and carefully contrived way, nor is his message stereotyped in churchy language, least of all is he driven by duty. Johannes witnesses spontaneously, instinctively, uninhibitedly, in ordinary, everyday language, because what warms his heart, loosens his tongue. He loves the Lord, he loves the gospel, and he loves people, he therefore wants to share with them what is most important to him; ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks’ (Matt 12.34).

Uncle Herbie's Daily Light

Elizabeth’s great-uncle, Herbert W. Dickson of the Qua Iboe Mission (now Mission Africa) was a pioneer missionary in Nigeria from 1922 to 1974, who each day read ‘Daily Light.’ His old dilapidated, held together with sticky-back tape, richly annotated copy lies before me as I write. His habit started us off. So in our Daily Light reading on 22 February, the day of the operation, we read these welcome words: ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,’ Matt. 6.22 (ESV).

Although Elizabeth has been very apprehensive of this operation, especially in view of her deep vein thrombosis and Warfarin medication, we set off to the St. James hospital in good spirits, with a renewed sense of confidence in God. Elizabeth went to theatre just after 1 o’clock and returned to the recovery ward just before 3. After an hour or so she picked at a meal that had been provided, abandoned it, and with a hi-tech pirate-like dressing over her right eye, left for home. The ophthalmologist, Dr Cook, said he was very pleased with the operation. She saw Dr. Cook at his rooms in East London the following day, for a post-op check and he was most reassuring. It will take a  number of days before it becomes clear how effective the procedure was, until then Elizabeth is forbidden to look up and must remember that, as the doctor put it, ‘the money is on the floor.’  I couldn’t help thinking about John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and the man with the muck-rake:

The Interpreter takes them apart again, and has them first into a room where was a man that could look no way but downwards, with a muck rake in his hand. There stood also One over his head with a celestial crown in his hand, and proffered to give him that crown for his muck rake; but the man did neither look up nor regard, but raked to himself the straws, the small sticks, and dust of the floor.

But even though she is forced to direct her eyes downwards, Elizabeth is still looking up! In part because of your prayers. It has been very reassuring to hear from so many friends, telling us that they have been and are praying for Elizabeth. Many thanks for your intercessions. God heard them and answered with a ‘Yes.’

Perhaps the last word then should go to St James, to whom the hospital is dedicated: ‘The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,’ James 5:16.

It is Saturday afternoon and it is hot and humid; I am sitting on the veranda, enjoying the cooling breeze. I have just come back from Dumisani’s Sunday School workshop, which over seventy people attended. They were a very enthusiastic group, some travelling for three hours to get here, and all keen to teach their Sunday Schools effectively. While I am writing I am also looking out for the arrival of Adam and Dita de Jong from the Free Church in Scotland, who are coming out to visit Dumisani on behalf of the International Missions Board.

John has gone off to one of the Xhosa villages to help our friend, Luaan Goosen, a South African missionary working among the Zionist churches (nothing whatever to do with Israel). Most weeks Luaan runs Zionist Evangelical Bible Schools (ZEBS) at which basic Christian teaching is given. There is a wide open door for this very needful ministry, and we often hear of people coming to faith and Christians being strengthened and built up on God’s Word. This week John has been asked to speak on ‘servant leadership,’ a very relevant subject to a church that includes among its local office bearers both bishops and archbishops!

Writing this letter is actually interrupting my preparation for tomorrow’s Sunday School at Club View, FCSA. We now have up to twenty-five children packed into a small room on an average Sunday. On a hot day it can be hard going. I’m so grateful that a teacher who is also a member of the congregation has agreed to help me. We plan to divide the class into two, and I will take the older children.

God still brings into our lives lots of needy Christians. You will remember Thomas. Earlier we helped him get his plot of cabbages planted. They have grown well and on Thursday he harvested them and John went out to his house to transport them back to King William’s Town to sell to a grocer. The new school term has started, and Thomas needed the money to buy school books for his son. Then there is Johannes, the attendant at the local BP filling station. He always wants Christian booklets to pass on others in his church, including his pastor, so I pop-in to top up his stock. In one of our local supermarkets, Margaret wants Xhosa Bibles to pass on to members of her church too. Marking the correspondence courses also helps to keep me busy. Often there are questions to answer and encouragement to give. These men, many of whom are in prison, have little spiritual input in their lives.

Dumisani has started the first semester of 2011 and there are new students to get to know and friendships with returning students to take up once more. We are still selling quite a few books and pamphlets from our little book and coffee shop that is open each morning, many of them Dumisani’s own inexpensive publications.

John is not so busy teaching this semester, as one of his courses is not now being offered. This gives him some more time to research Eastern Cape mission history and to prepare for a busy programme next semester. As Norman and Angela Reid plan to retire in July, John will be teaching Systematic Theology, as well as his other subjects. He also preaches most Sundays.

These past few months, as you can imagine, have not been easy for me. I feel as if my life has been turned upside down, but my leg is improving slowly and, after the next scan in April, I trust I will be able to come off the warfarin medication. My eye operation is now scheduled for 22nd February. Please pray that it will go well. With the DVT still present I am a little nervous about having this procedure, but the doctors assure me there is nothing to worry about.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support, over the past months especially. We do have a wonderful God and it is greatly reassuring to know that everything is in his hands.

Elizabeth

Boerboel guard dog similar to the culprit

According to a recent YouGov poll, 30% of the UK population consider that 2010 was the worst year of their lives. Money, redundancy and relationships featured among the worries of those polled. For us, whilst the year was not an annus horribilis, it has been one of the most challenging we have faced. It started well enough. In February, Elizabeth enjoyed a trip back home to visit family, especially to see our ninth grandchild, Lucy, born to Sarah and Jonny. In May we were in the UK for a very busy but most enjoyable three months home leave.

Returning in August we entered into the stresses which characterise life for so many here in South Africa. First, we heard the sad news that our neighbour opposite, a policeman, had been murdered at his home. Then we discovered how the decreasing value of Sterling, relative to the South African Rand (ZAR), had put Dumisani under considerable pressure. Whilst our employers, the Free Church of Scotland, were quick to come up with a very helpful compensatory mechanism so that, at a personal level, we have been shielded from the worst effects of the unfavourable exchange rate, that did not alleviate the pressure on Dumisani itself. As the value of donations decreased and as costs rose, the only feasible solution was to reduce the number of local staff. Much to everyone’s disappointment two members of staff were ‘retrenched.’

Without repeating all we have said before, in November Elizabeth suffered a ferocious attack  from a shopkeeper’s guard dog. If the assault made walking very difficult and necessitated the use of crutches, then worse was to follow. A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) developed and Elizabeth was admitted to hospital where, in answer to prayer, and by the effective administration of treatment, this life threatening condition was brought under control. As the doctor ruled out air travel, we had to cancel a visit to Scotland in November for Elizabeth’s planned eye surgery. Although her mobility is now much better, she still suffers considerable pain. The latest scan, taken in mid-December, has shown that although the DVT is slowly responding to treatment, it is still there and continued medication is necessary.

If the dog attack and the DVT were life-threatening events, they have also been life-changing. When we came to work at Dumisani it was with the intention of remaining until mid-2012. Now we are having to re-think our plans, and we value your prayers for God’s wisdom to make an appropriate decision.

But not all was doom and gloom. The year provided many opportunities for service and ministry, and not only at Dumisani. I regularly preached in local congregations of the Free Church of Southern Africa, where we have seen a steady growth of new members and office-bearers. Likewise, it is heartening to see FCSA students preparing at Dumisani for the ministry of the Church.

Throughout Elizabeth’s illness, we have been supported, visited and prayed for by Christian friends from the FCSA Club View congregation, our Wednesday evening home group, and other local Christians. The Club View Sunday School, somewhat disrupted by her illness, has also been a source of much joy to ‘Mama Ross,’ not only because of the opportunity it provides for service, but also because of the obvious affection in which she is held by the children.

At Dumisani, despite a challenging past year, the outlook for 2011 seems bright. The Free Church of Scotland has provided an emergency cash injection to ward off the worst of the financial challenges, nevertheless Dumisani will have to reduce costs and both broaden and strengthen its support base. In addition, new student applications look very promising.

So whilst 2010 was difficult, we cannot agree with that pessimistic 30% of UK citizens that it was the worst in our experience, for despite all the difficulties and dangers, we have known God’s presence with us. After all, the Lord’s reassurance, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” is as integral to the Great Commission as the command to “go and make disciples.”

Thank you for your faithful prayers throughout 2010.

With our warm regards for a very happy Christmas and blessed New Year.

Fighting the fire

This has been some month!  First the large palm tree beside the house was struck by lightning and burst into flames threatening our and our neighbours’ homes, necessitating calling out the fire brigade. Then, with the value of Dumisani’s overseas donation income being reduced by about 33%, as a result of the poor exchange rate between the Rand and weaker currencies, like Sterling and the US dollar, it became painfully necessary to make some of our ancillary staff redundant, or to use the South African term, to retrench them. This has been especially hard for them, but it has troubled and upset us all.

Next? Well, today, Elizabeth was attacked and knocked down by a large mastiff type guard-dog and badly bitten and mauled around her back and legs, thankfully, not her face or neck. The wounds, bruising and swelling have necessitated treatment by the doctor with the usual cocktail of injections and tablets. She is finding walking very difficult and, for the time being, is on crutches, finding it least uncomfortable in bed. On top of this, I hesitate to say ‘finally,’ in three weeks time, we will be back in Scotland for Elizabeth to have eye surgery at Gartnavel Hospital in Glasgow.

Others of the Dumisani team have had their troubles too. Sitting around at lunchtime today someone said something about the devil and his attacks. Doubtless! They are, of course, a reality not to be lightly dismissed. A wise general takes his enemy seriously. But that is only a part of the equation, for in Christ we are more than conquerors. The Puritan writer William Gurnall thought much about the reality of spiritual warfare, and once wrote these heartening, true and wise words:

Even while confined to this earth, you can be confident that your Father is watching over you. The devil took away Job’s purse and left him temporarily destitute, but Job had a God in heaven who replenished his account. As a saint, you have some collateral: your stock of faith, and your deed of inheritance as a citizen of heaven. These are great security both now and for the future. Satan knows it, and will do his best to snatch them away from you. But no matter how hard he tries…he cannot annul your faith, make void your relationship with God, or dry up the spring of your comfort though he may dam up the stream for awhile.

To that we say a confident and calm, Amen.

We would value your prayers for all these issues, except the palm tree, which though stricken and burned is still living and showing green. A parable, perhaps?  Or at least an illustration of the truth so well expressed in the Irish Presbyterian Latin motto, found under the symbol of the Burning Bush, Ardens sed Virens (Burning but Living).

Our Dumisani librarian, Nomophelo, has broken her foot and is now in plaster. This makes it difficult to hop on and off minibus taxies. So each week I take her to her library studies lectures at Fort Hare University. Last week I was filling up the car at our local BP garage, when a young Xhosa man, a forecourt attendant, with a very cheerful voice, appeared at the car window.

“Can I check the oil and water and wash the windscreen?”

“Not today, thanks.” I answered, but added, “What makes you so happy? Did you have  a good weekend?”

“I had a wonderful weekend,” he replied.

“Did you go to church?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, and in good ‘Authorised Version’ English, he quoted, “‘if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ And Jesus is in my heart and he makes me happy.”

We had a good chat about the Lord.  And despite the trials South Africa is going through at present, I came away very encouraged. For the last three weeks there has been a strike of civil servants, teachers, nurses and hospital staff, holding out for a better salary deal from the government. There has been picketing, intimidation and some sad reports of deaths in hospitals. But the government refuses to back down, and has deployed the army to support the health department.

You can easily understand both viewpoints, but the strike will cause serious damage in both the health care and educational sectors, especially as learners are about to write their matriculation exams.  The young forecourt attendant, who is likely to be paid a low wage of around £150 a month, plus tips, reminded me that in the current crisis our trust and hope must be firmly placed in the Lord.

The one thing he asked for, and I was able to get for him, was a modern English version of the Bible, as he found the language of the Authorised Version hard to understand.

John and I have been back in King William’s Town since mid-July, after a very busy but enjoyable eleven weeks in the UK. It was good to be back home, and we want to thank all who gave us opportunities to speak about the work at Dumisani, fed us and entertained us.

Whilst at home, I asked friends to pray for another teacher to help me in the Sunday School here at the church we attend. Someone has volunteered and we plan to meet soon to discuss how to rearrange the classes and what extra equipment we need.

As for John, he started teaching as soon as we were back, as classes had been in full swing for over a week. Every Sunday since, except for one, he has preached, and will again this weekend.  Next week he is to be taking a leadership seminar at a church in Port Elizabeth, and the weekend after he is to preach at our district communion. After that it looks as if he will have a break until October. We are looking forward to the mid-semester break and a camping trip to the Western Cape to see the spectacular carpets of wild flowers that cover the veld in spring.

As this is being typed, I’m enjoying a visit from my sister, her husband and two daughters. Separation from family is the one sacrifice – if we may dare to call it that – when living and working abroad.

We expect to be in the UK during October, as John is attending a special meeting of the Free Church of Scotland General Assembly, and I have to have some medical care.

Elizabeth