South Africa Alive

Prayer changes things in Rietvallei

I know, I've only been in South Africa for one week but I really want to tell you about these first few days.  I arrived on September 30, joining Leona Matson in the mission field here.  She arrived a week earlier.  We both have rooms in the comfortable home of Sikeme and Mary Malefane who are pillars in the church here. Their home is located in a township near Randfontein, a distant suburb of Johannesburg.

 

This first week the plan was for me to spend each day in another township called Rietvallei, a few miles east of Randfontein. This is a rather new housing development area made up of small block government-built houses situated very close to one another with high fences or brick walls around them.  The main streets are paved but many others are gravel or dirt. About 5,000 people live there.

 

When we arrived the first morning we met an enthusiastic group of young teenagers at a rundown swing set in an open lot.  They had offered to escort us on a prayer walk around the township, handing out flyers inviting people to come to a Thursday night church service and a meeting of young people on Friday.  With us was Bishop Mphahlele and Pastor A. Koyana.The most wonderful part about the young people's group was that all of their Tswana names mean something very special in English. I will not include most of the Tswana names in this account but each of these English names, which I have capitalized, does represent a very real person.

So off we went with Thabang (HAPPINESS) in the lead.  LOVE was right beside him, with SUCCESS following closely on our heels.  These three boys are good friends.  We were also fortunate to have the boy GIFT with us, for which we were thankful. Two girls, STAR and HOPE, who are very close friends, were happily chatting out in the lead.  As they enthusiastically passed out flyers I thought of the star of Bethlehem and the hope it gave us all!  Maybe the most important young man of all with us was REVIVAL.  Oh, how we have been praying for a revival in Rietvallei so we were glad that he was such an enthusiastic member of our company.

One of the first young men who met our group along the way was TEST.  Oh, yes, couldn't we have expected that?  Just when we get started with God's missions in life we often have to face some kind of a trial or test. Our TEST was kindly, however. He just smiled a big South African smile, joined our party, and we continued.  Our aim was to visit as many homes as possible during the week and to pray for the people who lived there.  

Our young prayer team and some neighbour kids gathered outside one of the homes. Note the flyers in their hands.

In one home where we stopped to pray there were only two teenage boys and one young man home.  I didn't catch the name of the first two but the third one was TRUST.  TRUST insisted that he was true to his name, but he disappeared as soon as we came to spiritual matters.  His brothers, however, were so deeply involved in the message of the Gospel that they both asked if they could hear that all of their sins were forgiven, which I movingly proclaimed in the name and blood of Jesus. We encountered TRUST once more outside as we left the home and he proclaimed with his hand on his heart that he would be at our service Thursday evening.  He wasn't. Not that trustworthy I concluded!

I should mention at this juncture that my translator DAVID never left my side this whole week, reminding me how I have so often been comforted and inspired by the legacy of that chosen man of God and Psalm writer.

One of the most serious cases we encountered was LAZARUS, lying there on the floor covered with blankets (the days have been rather cool here so far, since it is only early spring). This poor man appeared to be on his deathbed so you can just imagine how the Spirit led me in a powerful prayer for him. "I could almost hear the Master's voice calling, "Lazarus come forth!"

Other personalities we encountered on our prayer walk were ABRAHAM and ISAAC.  I was looking for JACOB, only to remember that Jacob Seppanen will soon be arriving with the group from America who will join us here on October 19, so those three patriarchs will then be in place.

But JOSEPH was a special case.  He was in pain. His newly amputated leg was causing problems. When he heard the Gospel message, however, he cried out for mercy and forgiveness, knowing that though he may never walk again properly on this earth he will be able to walk and dance the streets of heaven.  The name and blood of Jesus is so powerful on these prayer rounds.  Of course the home of JOSHUA was also an important and memorable stop after that since it was in fact, Joshua, who led the descendents of Joseph into the Promised Land.


Mid-week we were directed to a church organization called the Holiness United Home Care Givers. REUBEN (Joseph's compassionate oldest brother) was in charge. REVELATION, THANKS and PRAYER were three of the ladies assisting him. They bring compassion and hope to about 92 outpatients in the township. How appropriately then that it was the young man, GOOD, who took us out to go on more prayer rounds to TB, HIV positive and other patients with serious illnesses.


It has indeed been a blessed experience to walk through the township of Rietvallei this week praying for many, many people. This included prayer in the homes of each of our young team members. One early morning we were also invited to the clinic where there were at least 50 people in the waiting room plus the staff. We sang and prayed with them and God led me to speak about Jesus at the Bethesda Pool.

At the Thursday evening service we had a good turnout as well as for the youth gathering on Friday.  At the youth gathering, though, we once more faced that frustrating concept of  "African time".   We wondered if anyone was coming.  Then would you believe?!  Our qualms vanished when in walked HAPPINESS with LOVE and VICTORY right behind him.  We were all set!!

Leona's Gardens

Leona has already been very active in many aspects of the mission here.  To relax she has started a garden here outside Malefani's home.  Yes, it is gardening time in the Southern Hemisphere and she has been happily digging in the dirt and cultivating seeds for planting - beans, beets, swiss chard and carrots.  The South African way of doing things is a bit different but she has acclimated to it.

Leona's real love and inspiration, however, is the garden of children's hearts - preparing the soil, choosing the right seed and planting in a caring way that the children understand, of course laced with fun and games.

On Friday Leona came with us to Rietvallei, specially to meet this group of kids and share with them a wonderful parable-like story of how Jesus gave His life for them.  Yes, she is quite a "gardener". 

My first week here in South Africa is drawing to its close.  What a blessed and inspiring week it has been.  Difficult of course to see all of the suffering and sometimes "hopeless" situations, but so comforting to know that prayer does change things!  We are also very confident that the hands-on presence of Jesus in Rietvallei this week will strengthen and encourage the members of the congregation there.  Tomorrow our week of prayer will conclude in that township as we celebrate Holy Communion at the Sunday service in their cozy little shack church.

Next week I will be working in the township we are living in called Pellesville, serving together with members of the Bethlehem congregation. After that the group from America is coming - Dan and Joyce Karnes, Calvin and Debbie Matson, Thomas Questad, Jacob Seppanen and Pastor Bob Maki. They will join Leona and me here for three weeks.

Reitvallei and South Africa may sound too far away but why not take your friends and/or neighbours on a prayer walk this week and bring the love and promises of Jesus closer to those who live in your neighbourhood!

In God's love and peace,

Dennis