 South Africa, August, 2006
Greetings! It has been a while since my last contact with you. We moved houses and that threw us out of our normal routine for a while. We are settled in again and are continuing to move forward in God’s plan. We have much to share with you so let us get started!
Baptist Bible Institute
It has been our privilege since arriving in Port Elizabeth to meet some other zealous missionaries. They have just recently banded together to start the Bible Baptist Institute of Port Elizabeth. It will be servicing two local Churches – Grace Independent Baptist Church and Gospel Baptist Church. They are expecting 10-15 students this semester two of which will be Sipho and Paul (two of the young men I have been working with)!!! I am extremely excited about this step forward for these young men. Lubabalo would be taking classes this semester but he is trying to matriculate (graduate for all of you Americans). They have asked me to teach Bible Survey this semester. It is just an overview of the entire Bible. It is an effective way of helping people to see and retain a general picture of how the whole Bible fits together. I will tell you straight that going through the entire institute is just a portion of the training that these young men are going to receive. The flip side of the training is going to continue to be one on one discipleship. Unfortunately this aspect is lacking at the present because of language obligations but nonetheless these guys are growing. We praise the Lord for making all of this possible!
Back in P.E.
We also want to mention that “Joe Joe” is back. I have mentioned to you that he went to Johannesburg while I was gone. Well, he has come back and has started coming back to church. Thank you for praying for him and we want to publicly thank the Lord for answering this prayer. He continues to need your prayers as he has an addiction to alcohol.
Baptism
Other exciting news is that I was able to baptize Paul last month! It is not often that while in language school a person gets to see multiple people saved and follow in baptism. The baptistery is a little short which made it difficult to get Paul’s head under the water. As I took him down his head hit the side of the baptistery and stopped so being in front of almost one hundred people I had to think quickly so I just added a little force and pushed him on down. It made for a good laugh for those sitting near by and I don’t think Paul will ever forget it. Overall it was an exciting night for both of us! One other event we would like to remind you of is the Our Generation Summit in Gatlinburg, TN in December 28th-30th of this year. You do not want to pass up this opportunity for your church! They will come back infected with a disease called “passion for world evangelism.” The workshops are designed to help anyone of any age. Thanks for your continued support and confidence in this ministry. You are making a difference in South Africa. We hope that all of you continue to have God’s hand on your life and invest your lives for Heaven! |
