THE LOST MONTH AND ONWARD AND UPWARD

We finished our sojourn in Port Lavaca, TX on 27th of March.  We got back to Indiana on the 30th of March.  What happened next will be referred to here and forever more as "The Lost Month."  It will be the subject of many posts in the future I'm sure as we flesh it out, but what happened in a nutshell is we Packed Up, Cleaned Up and Spruced Up our house in Lafayette, Indiana to prepare it to be put on the market before we left May 7th for our mission trip to South Africa and Namibia.  You can see the listing for our house by clicking on the link below:

3824 Pershing Drive, Lafayette, IN

(Those of you that have been in or seen the house previously will see all the work we put into it to prepare it for sale over the last month).

ON WITH OUR PRESENT POST:

The first time I came to South Africa was in December of 1984.  I came at the invitation of Bill Johnson.  Irene and I had been helping him in his ministry since 1980.  He was one of my teachers at White's Ferry Road School of Biblical Studies (WFRSOBS) in West Monroe, LA when I attended there from September 1975 - July 1977.  He had become a sort of "spiritual father" to me during that time.  When Irene and I got married in September 1980 one of the things we decided to do to expand the borders of the kingdom of God was support Bill in his missions work.  (He had left WFRSOBS in 1977 also to go back into evangelistic work).  He had been invited to participate in the "1984 Cape Bible Workshop" and  asked those that had asked him to speak if they minded if he had me come to teach also.  I fell in love with South Africa and its people particularly its "Colored People."  (Don't blame me for the term.  It is a LEGAL DESCRIPTION in South Africa of those that are neither "white" nor "tribal Africans.").

At the time I first came to South Africa there was still "White Rule" and Apartheid was still the law of the land.  Bill and I had been invited to take part in a bi-yearly "Bible Workshop" that occurred in Cape Town among the "colored" churches.  To make a 30 year story short - I've made over 30 trips back to South Africa over the last 30 years and Irene has come over at least 12-15 times with me.  I've been here for periods as short as 2 weeks and as long at 15 weeks (just ONE time - WAAAYYYY to long to be away from my beloved wife).  I'm sure if you took all the time I've been in South Africa and shoved it into a single block it would be a period of about 3 years total - about 10% of the 30 year period.  I was in South Africa for the 2 most historic events in recent South African history:

1.) The vote that occurred March 17th, 1992.  This was the referendum in which whites in South Africa voted to determine if they would allow the end of Apartheid and the enfranchisement of voting rights for the other races in South Africa.  Since blacks and coloreds in South Africa outnumbered whites 8 or 9 to 1, the whites understood they were voting for an end to their system of enforced-self-rule.  These were tense, politically-charged times.

2.) The vote on 27 April 1994 which was the first vote in which all races were permitted to vote.  This was the vote in which Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress were initially elected into office.  This was a time of jubilation laced with concern about the future of the country.

When I come to South Africa I do a LOT of teaching and preaching at MANY different congregations.  Single sermons or lessons; I've preached revivals; I've taught lectureships and on two different occasions taught in the "Cape School of Preaching."  I taught Jeremiah; Ezekiel; Daniel and Revelation when I taught there.  Many of my life's best friends are from South Africa: Peter Manual in particular.  He is the man that started the congregation of the church in Athlone - the "Athlone Church of Christ" (we are VERY imaginative in our naming of churches).  I've stayed in Peter and his wife, Cathleen's house for months on end.  I've watched their children grow up and marry and have their own children and I've watch those kids grow up too.  Another, family we've gotten to know more deeply over the last 10 or so years is Rohan Jones and his wife Sandra and their girls.

Well, since Irene retired last August we won't have the available funds to come to South Africa any longer.  So, this is our "Swan Song" here most likely.  We cashed in a LOT of frequent flyer miles and came Business/First class.  We are staying with the Jones for the first 2 1/2 week and with the Manuals for the final 2 1/2 weeks.  We are teaching in the Cape Bible School and in Cape Town at at least 5 different churches and then in Namibia in Keetmanshoop and in George, South Africa as well. In many places Irene will have classes for the women and I'll have classes for the men.  I'll preach in one Gospel Meeting (aka "Revival") and have numerous other classes and sermons.  It's a fitting exclamation point on what has been a 30 year mission for Irene and I.  We will miss being able to come here (but not GETTING HERE - that is AT LEAST a 27 hour ordeal that involves up to 4 different flights).

In future posts we will cover various aspects of the "MISSING MONTH" as well as keep you all updated about our teaching/preaching here.  This morning Irene taught "Love and Strength" and I taught about "Sacrificial Leadership."  They were excellent, if somewhat small, classes.  Tomorrow I'm preaching at the Athlone Church of Christ in the morning on "Giving of Our Time" and in the evening on "Saved to Serve the Lord."  These lesson titles were given to me as the topic I'm supposed to cover.  We will see! :-)