Types of Rapture (~9.1 MB) - Moriel Ministries

South Africa News – Continued
pots around that had been given to the family
by her husband. We brought the popcorn
in with warm greetings and proceeded
to share a Bible study. They phoned a girl
called Mphume, who brought her child, and
we sat and talked through John chapter 1.
An interesting discussion started concerning
a Zulu false prophet called Isaiah
Shembe. As a reaction against some Europeans’
derogatory attitude toward black
people, even going as far as saying they
have no soul, Isaiah Shebe declared that
Jesus was the Messiah for the white people
but he, Shembe, was the black messiah.
Thus his sect that continues long after his
death states that Shembe is the way. I asked
them if it was possible that Shembe was
the way. Nomusa, an active member of the
local Salvation Army, said that she thought
so. Upon looking at John 14:6, she said
that Isaiah Shembe couldn’t be the way.
I told them that our friend Caleb, with
whom I used to work, was thinking of a short
mission trip next year and they may get to
see him. They were very happy to hear this.
It was late when we left and we didn’t
want Phumulani’s mum to worry about
where we were.
Though these people had heard the
Gospel before, there is still a lack of Bible
teaching and really dealing with the religious
beliefs that have captivated their
hearts and minds. Because a bridal price is
unaffordable, many couples, even within
churches like the Salvation Army, have
children out of wedlock. It is not just Bible
teaching the people need, but also good
Christian examples of marriage and child
raising. This is the way biblical discipleship
is supposed to work -- through doctrine
and life. How many teachers have we
listened to in our Christian walk And how
many of those teachers have opened up their
lives with us and let us observe their walk
Fri 2 nd May, Day 3
This morning I made a huge amount of
porridge mixed with tin fruit. Phumulani
mum was being given a lift somewhere so
I rushed out with a bowl for her to take on
her way. It is such a peaceful and simple
life in this place. The local people get up
early while it is still very dark. Celani’s
husband goes to work for a local farmer
but the job is not stable. One week there
might be work, and the other week, none.
Phumulani is responsible for milking Celani’s
cows, and after that returns to milk
his own. It is cold and dark when he goes,
but then the sun rises and the only work
to do is to keep home. The girls job will
be to draw and bring water from the river.
Though there is cooking and cleaning, set
the fire’s, etc. This is done at a slow pace.
So we started the day with a visit to
the family who had given us a mat for our
baby boy, whenever he comes. We had
promised in our last visit to bring them
some kiwi fruit. This time I boldly asked
if I could share the Bible with her. She
agreed, and I strongly tackled the subject
of ancestral spirits while expounding
the Gospel. Just as the day before, when
speaking about Isaiah Shembe and dealing
with ancestral spirits, though she said
she believed in them, she didn’t show any
signs of reacting against what was said.
The children in her home even wear bands
for these spirits. But she was interested,
and tried her best to answer the questions
I gave, till we got the conclusion that God
disapproved of this practice. We will try
to catch up with her next time we visit.
Our next visit was with a lady that
Phumulani knew of. In fact we had visited
her once upon a time when Caleb, Sophie,
and I lived at the auction yard. She attended
a Lutheran Church that was in the area.
She said she was saved, and she welcomed
us into her large home. In fact there had
been quite a development in the area. More
western type houses had been built out of
breeze block. There were still mud huts
around, but I reckon this will become more
of an anomally as time passes. Phumalani
explained some information concerning
this lady and asked me to share. I said that
there is only one true Gospel but there
are different false gospels around. I said I
would share with her, but she must test my
words by Scripture itself. She got her Bible
and was trying to follow what was said, but
her eyes couldn’t read the small print; you
could see her heart for the Scriptures because
she persevered to read and follow.
While I was speaking she stopped
us as there were noises coming from the
back. She explained it was her children
who were afraid to come in to listen to the
Gospel, so they were trying to hide. So off
she went, and about five minutes later the
matriarch of this clan had all four children
marched into the room and sitting down,
nervously laughing at each other. Even
with their discomfort, twitching and shaking
there was obedience to their mother,
and that was a lovely thing to see. By the
end of sharing and asking numerous questions
they seemed to have settled down and
they understood the contents of the Gospel.
We headed back to Phumulani’s for
a late lunch before going to visit Celani.
I had to confess to her that I had misplaced
a letter that she had asked me to
send to the UK, I felt dreadful, about
it. She was gracious and forgiving and
still entrusted me with a letter for Sophie
(which we sent off as soon as we got back).
Celani and Di seemed to have a longer
conversation, with Di trying to use the
Zulu words she had learned and Celani
asking her questions. We spoke about a
guy who wanted to put up a tent in Eastmine.
It seems that as soon as Caleb and
Sophie had left the area, this guy and another
guy had expressed desires for Phumulani’s
church to sit under their authority.
Two different people seeking power.
There is only one problem: it isn’t Phumulani’s
church, but the Lord’s church.
And the Lord said that the greatest among
you shall be the servants of all. The tent
guy wanted them to sit under him so that
he would minister and they would watch,
but the elders of a church should be there
to provoke the believers into doing works
of service and not to do it all themselves.
Sat 3 rd May, Day 4
The last day of this short trip made me really
think. For unlike other trips, we just felt
it to be comfortable. Though we were only
there for a few days, I felt I hadn’t really
left the area and that I wasn’t really leaving
it. It had a homely feel to the place. When
I first had returned in 2006/7 and when Di
and I visited in 2007/8 it had a sadness when
it came to leaving. No sadness was there
on this departure. It was just a matter of
packing and breakfast. Because the shops
were closed on the thursdays we wanted
to get to Vryheid before they closed so we
were determined to leave at 11. Phumulani
was taking the kids club because Celani
had shopping to do for the family. I played
football with Celani’s son and Di played
netball with the girls until the kids arrived.
Phumualani started the class with songs
, a few were song which I had not heard
before. There was reading of scripture and
grilling the children through the memory
verse.There were only about 7 or 8 children
this week. It was just like old times when
sometimes we would have over 20 kids and
other times we would have less than 10.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to sit
through the whole class due to time. When
we got to Vryheid we waited in a long
queue to withdraw money, while being entertained
by a drunk guy in front wanting
to cause trouble.
We managed to purchase 38 commentries
in Zulu for the church in Springs
which could be used for bible studies and
aids for Zak’s bible teaching. As we drove
closer to Springs the weather changed, we
returned home to a cold evening so deceided
to leave the car packed until the morn.
Proverbs 4:7 (NIV) “Wisdom is supreme;
therefore get wisdom though it cost all you
have, get understanding”.
Y’varechecha Adonai
38 June 2008 • Moriel Quarterly