Moriel Missions Southern Africa – September 2004
In labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; 26 in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches (2 Cor11 ASB)
When we look at these words of Paul we wonder at what inspired him to continue under such intense oppression. And then we read the words of Ch12:10
10 Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christs sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong ‚
Speaking personally these last months have been some of the most months in the Lords service. Here we sit 10 months after moving onto the newly purchased Ebyown property and we are still caught up in the red tape of South African government while young children are left homeless without the love and care of a family. We have done everything in our power, we have improved the main house and brought it up to standard, we have had the house passed by the health and safety department for 20 children, consent has been given for the change in the use of the property from purely agricultural to residential and STILL we meet obstacles with child welfare. I keep asking myself the question, “What have we done wrong?”
Sometimes I think somehow we’ve missed the boat and to add to this the frustration of reporting back to our generous partners with little or no news. The fact is Ebyown is set up to look after HIV orphans and through government misleading we have only seven children at the moment. The latest from child welfare is that FINALLY all the paper work is complete and it will take between 3-6 months to register. As you can imagine I am angry, frustrated and in fact my wife was in tears at church on Sunday when after all this the person delegated to work with us at Child Welfare now goes on leave.
One of the things we have decided to do, is since the orphans cannot come to us, we will go to them and help support those who can stay within the community. To help this we have begun a feeding and clothing scheme and so although these children do not live on the property Ebyown is helping to nurture over 50 orphans. Other things are going well, Pastor Bernard and his wife Mabel have started an employment training scheme, planted two farm churches, work with the youth in the area, have a children’s club at the local school with 750 children, run two home fellowships as well as take regular visits to nurse dying aids patients in the community.
It’s amazing, but when it seems we are at our weakest and things are not going the way we would like, God glorifies Himself in the situation. Yes we live with daily pressure to succeed from many on the outside looking in and not understanding the African context. But while we are frustrated God still uses us to look after the widow and orphan.
I believe the only way many of these obstacles will be moved is if we as Gods people come to our knees in prayer and fasting. Therefore I would like to ask all our supporters and everyone in Moriel to join us in a day of Prayer and fasting on Sunday October 10th , with just one thing to bring to the Lord. “Please Lord Remove all the obstacles that hinder your people in looking after these little ones, nether the less let your will be done“
Adopt a Missionary
Sorry guys, it time for me to moan again. I know I am probably breaking all the rules of writing encouraging newsletters to help encourage our supporters continue supporting us BUT; Did you know:
- Missionaries thrive on your letters and emails
- Missionaries need loving
- Missionaries need to know their prayed for
- Missionaries need watering and feeding occasionally (Sometimes as often as a cat)
- Missionaries are often the target of deep spiritual attack
- They sometimes have deep personal doubts and get depressed
- Sometimes its lonely
- Sometimes they need to see a doctor
I am often amazed that the few who are willing to leave kith and kin and live in some violent inhospitable places do so with great grace and without complaining and yet in these last three months they do so without a single letter or prayer.
So please adopt, Salvadore, Caleb and Sophie, Bernard and Mabel, Kate Kent or any other person that comes to mind. Write, email, send a bar of chocolate, make them smile and make their day.
Kwazulu Mission
Rural African is a different kettle of fish than inner city or even green belt mission. The spiritual realities of rural life take on a different dimension especially when you read some of the reports from Moriel’s “Be Alert” news service. Sorry if this makes graphic reading:
South African boy attacked for body parts dies
A South African boy has died more than a week after assailants hacked off his hand, ear and penis in a savage attack police suspect may be linked to the “muti” trade in body parts for witchcraft.
Ten-year-old Sello Chokoe was searching for stray livestock in hills near his home in the northern Limpopo province when his attackers struck, hitting him over the head with a blunt weapon, slashing off parts of his body and leaving him for dead, police said after the attack in late July.
Chokoe survived and spent more than a week in hospital in critical condition before he died, SABC national television reported yesterday.
“Muti” murders, to obtain body parts for supposedly potent traditional cures and spells, happen on a regular basis in post-apartheid South Africa and often go unreported, police say.
Often killings are carried out to order to obtain specific body parts required for particular spells…
http://www.stu ff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2999157a12,00.html
South Africa: ‘Rape 2 and call me in the morning’
The term “quack doctor” takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the situation in Southern Africa. There are more than 400 tribal groupings in South Africa. All of them come from a tradition in which ancestor worship is the norm and evil spirits cause misfortunes and disease.
According to this belief system, there are only three reasons for something bad happening to you:
- Someone has bewitched me and caused this to happen to me
- The ancestral spirits are angry with me
- Evil spirits are haunting me and making me sick
Someone who has grown up with this belief system will not embrace such notions as “human immunodeficiency virus.” Rather, they will tend to believe: “I have been poisoned. Witchcraft medicine was mixed into my food and that is why I have contracted the flat tire disease (AIDS).”
It is the norm for people who live with these beliefs to take revenge for the actions of the person whom they believe poisoned them. Sometimes it means eliminating the people whom they are convinced did harm to them.
Not surprisingly, there are 200,000 traditional healers who carry out more than 80 percent of the country’s medical consultations. “Traditional healer” is one of those marvellous politically correct descriptions that Americans are worn away like a collective pumice stone to accept, despite the fact that the collective consciousness knows what a nonsense it is. These days, instead of emerging from a mud hut to toss the bones, the sangoma or traditional healer is likely to have a suite next to your nice Dr. Stott.
Western medical practitioners in South Africa are finding it increasingly difficult to bridge the chasm between Western science and indigenous voodoo.
Although mainstream traditional healers (nyangas and sangomas) say they don’t recommend rape, it is not an uncommon prescription in Africa for everything from boosting a business to exorcising the evil spirit in your mother-in-law. Yet these “traditional healers” are rarely prosecuted. Why, the victim or victim’s family wouldn’t dare go to the authorities, lest the traditional healers casts a spell on them!…
http:/ /www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39845
These things are sadly all too common. On top of this we are also battling the local farm community who do not want to renew the lease on the property we currently use. If they are successful (And please pray their not) it will mean the church, clinic, bible studies etc will cease. On top of this we currently supply the local Salvation Army hospital with its drinking water after the Nongoma municipality cut off their supply through non-payment of bills, leaving about 90 TB patients stranded. (I will never complain about the British NHS again). So please pray that this will be resolved somehow when we meet with the farmers in October as the lease is due for renewal on the 31 st of December.
It’s also good to have Caleb, Sophie and Malachi back from their tour of the UK and USA. They have a busy time ahead that could include cooperation with Wycliffe translators, translating bible commentaries into Zulu.
Finally its Salvador’s turn to have some annual leave (We treat our missionaries well) and he will be heading away for the whole of November.
Dr Calvin Smith
We are pleased to announce the visit of DR Calvin Smith from the United Kingdom. Calvin has been a regular visitor to South Africa over the last two years and his ministry has been welcomed and enjoyed by many people.
For those not familiar with his teachings, Calvin is Principal of Midlands Bible College and Divinity School and a senior Cambridge examiner. He is a member of the Moriel International Council and has travelled the world extensively, recently returning from Nicaragua.
Calvin will be taking several meetings during his stay and you are warmly invited to come along and Listen to his excellent teaching. The dates, times and venues are as follows:
Sunday 5 th September Aletheia Community Church and Moriel Community fellowship. Endicott Primary School. Telephone 011 730 1719 and 011 362 1856. Cells: Ps Bernard 083 375 1628 Ps Dave 073 568 0065 Time 10am
How to get there:
Travelling from Springs along Ermelo Road (R29) toward Endicot (11km approx) about 1km into Endicot turn left onto 4 th road. Next turn right onto 2 nd street. The school hall is on the left. Secure parking and excellent facilities
Tuesday 7th September Aletheia Community Church, 6 Van Der Stel Street, Strubenvale, Springs Telephone 011 362 1856. Cell 073 568 0065 Time 7.30pm, refreshments available, secure parking.
How to get there:
Travelling from Springs along Ermelo Road (R29) toward the edge of Town. On the right look for Harry Muller Motors and the SPCA. Turn right into Townsend Road which is in between the two. Travel down Townsend for 1km and Van Der Stel is on the left. You will see the Moriel sign on the fence of No.6
Sunday 12 th September Elijah Ministries, Scout Hall Cnr Scott and Stirling Road, Waverley. Tel 011 783 5082 for details
Ps Bernard and Mabel
Bernard and Mabel would like to thank all concerned for their prayers during the last few months. Mabel has had difficulty bringing a baby to full term and over the last few years has lost several babies. However when the good news came of her latest pregnancy the joy turned to anxiety when she began to loose yet again. But praise God the local hospital was able to save the baby and Mabel has had to have a stitch to help her come to full term, hopefully in January. So please keep praying and also pray for Bernard who is having to increase his load around the house due to Mabel having to rest.
Kid’s News
We would like to welcome the latest edition to the Royle Household. He name is prudence and she is 8 years old. Prudence is HIV+, has TB, an Hernia and is very poorly, she weighs just 12kg. At the moment she is very lethargic and shy. Her condition is not only due to the HIV but also the fact that she was taken to a witch doctor who took her off her TB medication and placed her on Muti. Please pray for her that she may have her strength renewed.
Also in a few days we are expecting another child. A young boy of 7 years who is currently living in a shabeen. A shabeen is an illegal drinking house notorious for drugs and prostitution. Lord knows what this young one has been through. We will keep you posted as to his situation.
Could I please thank everyone for upholding S’phewi up in prayer on Wednesday. His small op went well and in fact after having 12 teeth removed he was eating spaghetti two hours later. The trip to the government hospital was a revelation. Obviously Peewee was admitted to the childrens ward and it was a far cry from the childrens wards we are used to in the west. Lyn spent the best part of two days there and was appalled at the conditions the children are in. In the bed next to Peewee was a young boy who had burns from his feet to his waste and up one arm. The unsanitary conditions make him a target for opportune infections. When his bandages are changed he screams because the staff don’t administer medicines, he is a pitiful sight, his father on visiting actually stole his food he was that hungry, leaving the boy with an old ice cream tub filled with a mush of water and biscuits. He is typical of what we found but there were two things that really impacted upon us. One was the lack of interaction from the staff with the sick children. No love, no cuddles, babys left to cry on their own. In fact Lyn was like nurse nightingale going from one bed to another comforting the children. But this secondly impacted on one little girl. She is 11 and dying from an aids related illness. She is covered with bedsores, which is no surprise with the lack of nursing interaction. The most pitiful thing is her loneliness; she is dying without the love of a family. While picking up our boy I could hear her singing to herself – she has a beautiful voice. Why am I telling you this? I don’t really know. There’s nothing any of us can do, the problems are so great. All I can say is ‘Jesus come soon”.
Peewee’s anti-retroviral’s are having a very good effect. Physically he is well with his viral load undetectable and his CD4 count at 19% (normal 25%) However he still exhibits increasing neurological problems and increasing lack of inhibition due to his HIV/Aids dementia complex.
Paulina as I type is taking part in a singing contest. We put her on the bus at 5.45am and will find out how she did later. Can we also say a big thank you to the brothers and sisters at Fred Blomkamps home Church who dug deep to provide Paulina with new Callipers and the smallest walking frame you will ever see.
Johannes remains as strong as an Ox (Still cannot believe he is positive) His reading and writing are all pretty normal. His latest project was helping the other kids dig a frog pond for their school project.
Thombi, has become the noisiest little chatterbox this side of the equator. I never like telling children, “For goodness sake shut up” but believe you me, we have come very very close. Thombi’s anti-retroviral’s are also working with very little side effects. Her viral load is also undetectable and her CD4 count has risen from 6% – 14% in just three months.
One of the things that people are not aware of with Anti-retroviral’s is that when they begin to suppress the HIV virus they can become quite poorly. What happens is that the immune system which increases begins to fight infections that have laid in the body for a while undetected due to their low CD4 counts. Praise God this has been kept to a minimal with our kids.
Can we take the opportunity to thank those who lovingly sponsor our children’s medical needs. Without your help for the medicines and the blood tests our children would most certainly be on deaths door.
Also over the last few months we have received letters from children wanting to be pen friends with our children. Problem is non of them can write at the moment (Apart from names) and it will be some time before they can answer themselves and so it is left to a very busy Lyn to answer on behalf of the kids. Please be patient we will get around to it but please keep on sending the children pictures they have them pinned to their school room wall.
Dave’s Preaching Itinerary
Dave has a busy schedule from now till Christmas and will be visiting the UK and USA in September October. Contact details are as follows:
Tuesday 14th 7.30pm
Cornerstone Calvary Chapel,
1 Old Wellington Road
(off Chadwick Street behind St. Andrews Church)
Eccles, Manchester
CONTACT Pastor Stan Smith 0161 7361761
Wednesday 15th 8.00pm
Ainsdale Evangelical, Merefield School,
Westminster Drive, Ainsdale
CONTACT Steve or Linda Fazakerley 01704 876427
Thursday 16th ‚ 7.45pm
Pendlebury Evangelical
Sunday 19th 10.30am
Reddish Christian Fellowship 74 Broadstone Road
Reddish, Stockport
CONTACT 0161 4327155
Sunday 19th 5.00pm
Rhos Family Church,
Hermon Chapel, Colwyn Bay
North Wales
CONTACT Martin Lloyd 01492 878130
October
Sunday 3rd ‚ 10.00a.m
Greenpastures
10 Hazelwood Drive
Grantham
CONTACT Peter or Julia Fall 01476 561763
Sunday 3rd 6.00pm
Jerusalem Christian Fellowship, Little Lane
South Elmsall, Pontefract
CONTACT Paul Etherington 01977 643865
USA
Sept 20th – 27th Pittsburgh USA. Contact David Lister [email protected] Tel 412 321 6154
Singapore – Australia
Dave will also be in Singapore from the 29th October 2nd November
Then in Australia from the 3rd till the 15th of November
Dates are not complete yet so if you have an inquiry contact Marg Godwin
Singapore 29th Oct – 1st Nov
Contact Marg Godwin 03 5633 2300 or 0416 138 008
Perth – WA – Wed 3rd & Thurs 4th November
Contact Pastor John Phillips
Tel 08 9452 0379
Adelaide – SA – Fri 5th, Sat 6th & Sun 7th Nov
Contact Kevin Bickle 08 8336 2684
Melbourne – Vic
Tuesday 8th – Sunday 14th November – Various Venues
Contact Margaret at Moriel 03 5633 2300 or 0416 138 008
Prayer Requests
- For all our missionaries
- For our children
- For our temporal needs to be met
- For Dave as he travels
- Kwazulu lease to be extended
- Remember our day of prayer and fasting
- For the continent of Africa for Gods mercy
- For Kwazulu, Gauteng and Limpopo missions
- For Missions College
Our South Africa details
Pastor David Royle
Po Box 10807
Strubenvale 1570
Springs
Gauteng
South Africa
Tel/Fax: 011 362 1026
Email: [email protected]
