Divhani Tent Meeting

At the end of March, Joel Williams asked if he and Larry Vinson could come visit. Brother Vinson had just finished a gospel meeting in Eshowe where Mzwandile Gazu, Paul Williams, and Joel Williams work. I asked the church at Divhani if they would like to have an all-day tent meeting on 6 April 2013. We had five sermons--three in the morning and two in the evening. The topics were:

· The One Church

· The Plan of Salvation

· Repentance

· Baptism

· Is the laying on of hands a valid practice today?

Brother Vinson preached twice in the morning and Joel once. Prince Ramaira preached in the afternoon, and I closed it out with the lesson on the laying on of hands.

At the end of my lesson, we took questions for over an hour. One of the young men who asked questions is Fhatuwani Mutshegwe. He said he believed that most of the preachers teaching error went to a Bible college to learn to preach. He then said that he had asked the Dutch Reformed Church to baptize him but that they would not until he went through their course. We studied further with him and he was baptized that afternoon. He has been attending my Tuesday and Friday Bible classes plus the classes on Saturday. Also, he has been faithful attending the assemblies. He attended the tent meeting and funeral with me as well. He is very encouraging to all of us.

Here is the list of questions asked at the end of the meeting plus a summary of answers provided:

Q: How do we identify the true church and what is it called?

A: The New Testament uses different descriptions for local churches. One is "churches of Christ" (Rom. 16:16). Another is "church of God" (1 Cor. 1:1). Most churches in the New Testament used simply "the church" at their location. How can we know we have found the true church? What a church calls itself is just one way. What are they telling people in answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?"? How does the church worship? How are local churches governed?



Q: What is the true baptism--one time in water or three times in water? (Note:the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) baptizes three times, hence the question).

A: We do not have many examples of people being baptized. The Ethiopian was baptized one time in Acts 8. In Romans 6, Paul compares baptism to a burial. How many times do you bury a dead person?



Q: Do we have a verse that says laying on hands is a sin? (Note: one of the churches has fallen into error over this).

A: The short answer is no. But then, why would someone do this? If they are doing this promising miraculous healing, they are lying and that's a sin (Rev. 21:8). If the church is doing this, by what authority are they doing this?



Q: If you sin after being baptized, do you have to be baptized again?

A: No. 1 John 1:9 and Acts 8:20-23 cover what Christians who sin must do.



Q: Were the Israelites baptized?

A: Paul uses this figure in 1 Cor. 10 to describe how the Israelites became part of Moses, just like baptism makes us part of Christ. They were not literally immersed in water like we are.



Q: Comment: Preaching schools turn out people who teach false doctrine

A: 1 Tim. 2:2 gives us a model for teaching future teachers and preachers.



Q: If I am baptized, the Reformed church will be unhappy with me. What should I do?

A: If you are baptized for the forgiveness of sins, you should leave the Dutch Reformed Church. It is not the church you read about in the New Testament because they teach a different plan of salvation (among other things). You must assemble with other Christians.

Masia Tent Meeting

One of our plans to grow the church at Masia was to have a week-long tent meeting. We scheduled that meeting to go from 15 April to 19 April 2013. I did most of the preaching. We had two sermons each night. Loeto Boitshwarelo preached the first Wednesday lesson of the meeting. Madzhie Bandela did all of the translating.

At first, the attendance was only the brethren from the church at Masia and Magliasi plus several children. Between Monday and Tuesday, the Masia brethren invited several of their neighbours, so we had a capacity crowd and had to put out more chairs. We actually ran out of chairs (and we had around 50 or so). Our attendance was good all the way until Friday. This is because of a tragedy that I will write about further down.

Here are the topics we preached in the meeting:

The Effects of Sin

The Price of Forgiveness of Sin

The Grace and Mercy of God

What God Requires of Us to be Saved

God's Chosen People: The Church

The Uniqueness of the Lord's Church

How to Find the Lord's Church

How the Church Should Worship

What God Requires of Individual Christians

What God Requires His Church To Do

Masia Funeral

After the Wednesday night meeting during our tent meeting (17 April), a thirteen-year-old boy named Nkhumeleni Mukhadi who had been coming to church regularly was murdered. He was on his way home from the meeting when someone lured him with a bicycle, crushed his skull, and removed some of his body parts. The authorities believe this was a ritual murder in which parts are removed and sold for traditional medicines and superstitions.

As you can imagine, this tragedy has roiled the Masia community as well as surrounding communities. It has also given us opportunities to teach the gospel.

During the week prior to the actual funeral, church and community members gather in a tent outside the family's home. One of the churches is selected to organize prayer, preaching, and singing for that week. Since the boy was attending church with us, I was asked to organize this. The family had also attended a local denominational church in the past. So, we split the activities. I organized preaching for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the burial at the graveyard. That church organized preaching for Tuesday, Thursday, and the funeral itself.

The funeral activities began early on Saturday, 27 April. Normally, the family would feed the entire group who came. However, since this family is particularly poor, the school principal and a small committee of volunteers organized food and cooking. Just my opinion, but I hope this spreads to become a common practice.


The funeral was on Saturday, and it was long. The denominational church held it at its place of worship. Considering that around 200 people were present, this was a good decision--there was not enough room in the tent. Many different people spoke, and it was wrapped up by the preacher for that church. Unfortunately, sometimes politicians use funerals as an opportunity to promote their agenda, and this funeral was true to form. The entire funeral took over two hours. This did not include the burial.

We went from the church building to the graveyard. I spoke briefly at the graveside. The tradition is for the preacher to give the instruction to the grave diggers to lower the casket. So, I gave the instruction as we sang "A Huna" (No, Not One). There was one small problem--the casket was bigger than the hole!

Now, that may not seem like such a big problem. However, after the casket is lowered and the dirt put into the hole, the tombstone is unveiled and there is more preaching and singing. They aborted the rest of the burial and we all left.

I know this section was long, but I wanted to share all of these details so you would understand how important funerals are among the Venda. As you can see, pretty much everything stops to honor the dead. I cannot say I would do it the way they do it, but my job is not to change local customs unless they conflict with God's word.

Prison Work

New Life Behaviour classes continue to go well. Our attendance is steady at about 25-30 each Monday in my first class and around 35-40 in my second class. These classes will end at the end of May for a few weeks before resuming in July.

I have had a couple of studies with a man I met through New Life Behaviour. He was baptized by members of a church of Christ a long time ago, but he said he never repented. Then, he was baptized by the Zion Christian Church, and they baptize in the name of their head bishops. He knows he needs to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. The last time we studied, he said sometimes we baptize too soon without knowing whether or not people have repented. I think he made a great observation. We must be careful to make sure people understand what they are doing.

The Saturday class continues to be attended by two of the new Christians plus two of the men who have been Christians for a while. Also, a man who is not a Christian tries to come regularly.

Daily Work

Monday Classes: Monday is still devoted to New Life Behaviour and any follow up needed after the usual classes. Several guards have expressed nominal interest, but some just want me to give them a Bible.

Tuesday Classes: I decided to suspend the Tuesday History and Geography class. This is the same material the young men will study in May when they do the two week class with brother Beckley. In the meanwhile, I have been studying other topics with them. On 30 April, started a serious study of personal evangelism with them. This has been good for me also. After we finish studying this, we will go out into the field together and teach some people.

Wednesday Classes: I am still teaching the kids History and Geography plus other Bible facts on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday afternoon, I have been trying to study with a few young people at Tshithutuni but have been hindered by the tent meeting and the funeral. In my absence, Prince Ramaira and Madzhie Bandela have taught. I intend to keep Madzhie involved in the study so he can be there when I cannot.

Thursday Class: Due to the tent meeting and funeral, the Thursday afternoon study has not gotten off the ground. We will start this Thursday (2 May 2013). We still have many children, so Debbie will teach them while I study with the adults. Everyone seems eager to continue learning and to get back to our regular work.

Friday Class: I have been starting Fridays with short character development lessons. I taught about self-discipline one Friday. On another Friday, I taught about gossip and idle talking. I will probably follow-up on Tuesday's homework this Friday.

We are still studying the Minor Prophets on Friday morning and are in Hosea.

I have missed two weeks of our Acts study at Tshirenzheni due to the tent meeting and funeral but will be back on track this week.

Saturday Class: The History and Geography class at Tshirenzheni still continues to be well-attended. The students are paying good attention. We have about twenty in this class. Several are asking excellent questions.

Divhani Class: I spent one week talking about how the Bible describes different religious works. We talked about pastors, priests, elders, preachers, evangelists, apostles, and prophets. There is much confusion in both English and Venda about these words, even among Christians.

We spent another week talking about the shadows and types of the Bible. This was a studying to show how the Old Testament helps us to better understand the New Testament.

Now, we are back in Revelation. We finished chapters 4 and 5 and should start 6 on Saturday.

Sunday: Our work has continued at Masia. We still struggle to get everyone for Bible study. Lately, this has been due to the events in the community. We found another Christian in the Masia community. His name is Joas Ndzeru. He had been attending somewhere further away, but now will probably worship with us.

We ran out of chairs and tent space on Sunday. I have to get a couple of more pop-up gazebo-type tents. We do not need to worry about permanent facilities quite yet since we really only have around nine members including Debbie and I.

I have continued our Bible drills during our study period. During the worship period one Sunday, I preached about Jesus as the bread of life (John 6) and how that some follow Jesus to see what they can get out of Him instead of out of love and desire to serve Him. Last Sunday, I preached from Luke 15 about repentance.

We still have a lot of work to do. I anticipate being with the Masia church through 2013 at the very least.

I committed to preaching at Madombidzha the first Sunday of each month. Brother William Masala contacted me a few months ago asking me to help them. This is one way I can help. Madzhie Bandela has committed to preaching at Masia in my absence during these Sundays.

Upcoming Work

During the first two full weeks of May, brother Beckley, Prince Ramaira, and I will teach around fourteen men the first quarter of History and Geography. This will be based on the Waldrons' book "The History and Geography of the Bible Story". Brother Beckley will teach most mornings and Prince and I will divide up the afternoons.

I intend to spend more time teaching people one-on-one at Masia and at Madombidzha. This will be part of my Tuesday teaching. I hope to teach the young men how to teach in this manner so they can help their local churches grow.

I have been invited to preach in a lectureship at Eshowe at the end of June. My family and I will travel down for a few days then will travel up to Johannesburg to take my mother to the airport.

Personal News

My mother is coming to visit 8 May and will be with us until 4 July. Pray for her safe arrival.

Prayer and Help Requests

Brother David Beckley and the Maydells continue to bear much responsibility in helping with Zimbabwe relief. You can contact David at dbeckley@telkomsa.net for further details. Les and Linda Maydell can be contacted at lmaydell@gmail.com.

Conclusion

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to participate in the work here. We thank you for your prayers and interest. Please continue to pray for us and for the Lord's work here.

March 2013 Work Report
03 Apr

Prison Work

The Saturday Bible study has continued in the Green prison. We finished the series we had been studying and have begun studying the gospel of John. I am pleased with the commitment the brothers continue to show to coming to Bible study and to worship. One man has started coming who is not a Christian.

In the Yellow prison, one of the brothers has been transferred because he will be released this year. This makes him all alone and makes it impossible for us to assemble with him. Pray that he remains strong until his situation is more settled.

I am still studying with a man in the Blue prison and I hope that we will study one-on-one in the near future. I believe he is about ready to obey the gospel. He is pressing hard about being baptized, which is positive because this shows me he is thinking. When he decides, he will have decided for himself. Pray for him to make the right decision.

In New Life Behaviour, we are studying attitudes and virtues in the Green prison and are studying about the godly woman, wife, and mother in the Blue prison. Why do a group of men need to learn about godly women? We must remember that attitudes toward women are strongly affected by culture and society. That is not unique to Africa, but is a problem.

Daily Work

Monday Classes: Monday is still devoted to New Life Behaviour and any follow up needed after the usual classes. I have also been visiting the local jail to study with the guards. The day of our study changes according to their work schedule, but after 3:00PM, they have time to study.

Tuesday Classes: Our History and Geography class continues. However, I decided to teach to spend one week teaching about identifying the New Testament church and how to know whether or not a church is the Lord’s church. Many churches calling themselves “Church of Christ” are in fact nothing more than a manmade institution. We need to know the difference.

Wednesday Classes: I am still teaching the kids History and Geography plus other Bible facts on Wednesday morning.

Thursday Class: At Masia, we have started an afternoon Bible study. This will start at 4:00PM so that the children can attend after school. My family and I will go together to do this.

Friday Class: I am still studying the Minor Prophets on Friday morning with the young men. We are currently in Hosea. We have also tried to continue our Romans study, but something has come up every week, so perhaps we will resume in the near future.

We are continuing to study Acts at Tshirenzheni in the late afternoon.

Saturday Class: The History and Geography class at Tshirenzheni continues to be well-attended. The students are paying good attention. We have about twenty in this class.

Divhani Class: Our class on Revelation has taken us into chapters 4 and 5. I decided to stop and teach on the shadows and types of the Bible to provide some more background on some of the scenery in these chapters. As I was teaching, one of the brothers became sick of his stomach. It turns out that he got a bacteria from drinking bad water. He is better now after taking some strong medicine.

The Ramasindis plus a few others have left the church at Mavhunga (village next to Divhani) to start a church at Divhani. There were some issues with some unscriptural practices that did not allow them to be in fellowship any longer. The church is meeting in the Ramasindis’ garage for now. They want to build the church up before trying to build a building.

Joel Williams, Larry Vinson, and Zipho Shobede are coming up on 3 April after brother Vinson finishes a gospel meeting in Eshowe, in Kwa-Zulu Natal. On 6 April, we will have an all-day tent meeting with the Divhani church. Brother Vinson, Joel, Prince Ramaira, and I will do the preaching.

Sunday: We concluded our work at Tshirenzheni on 3 March. I preaching about growing the church.

The work did begin at Masia. I will say more on that below.

The Church at Masia

We began assembling with Eric Tshikovhi on 10 March. In our first Bible study and assembly, we had Eric, my family, Eric’s sister, and Eric’s mother. Madzhie Bandela translated for me.

Immediately, Eric started inviting his neighbours and friends to come to the Bible study and assembly. They have been coming every week. We have gone through the Big Picture of the Bible and have spent a great deal of time on dying with Christ and the change of life that comes with that. In the worship period, I have taught about the church and how it is unique from any denomination. I have also taught on how to find the church, the worship found in the New Testament church, and the plan of salvation.

Debbie has been teaching the children. Along with our children, about 15-20 other children continue to come every week to learn. We are thankful that they attend the class and that we can start so early in teaching them God’s word.

On 31 March, five people told me they wanted to obey the gospel. We are thankful for their decision to follow our Lord Jesus. Pray for these precious souls as they start their walk with the Lord.

We are having a tent meeting 15 April to 19 April. I hope this will allow us the opportunity to study with others in the community. We plan on having preaching every evening from 5:00PM to 7:00PM. Eric has done an excellent job finding a place to pitch the tent and taking the initiative to talk to the chief about our plans.

Lectures at Nigel

On 29 March, the Beckleys and I rode to Johannesburg to attend a lectureship hosted by the church at Nigel, southeast of Johannesburg. I preached on “Signs of the Judgment (the Last Days)” and brother Beckley preached about the “Funerals: How should they be conducted?”. Both lessons were well-received.

Prayer and Help Requests

Brother David Beckley and the Maydells continue to bear much responsibility in helping with Zimbabwe relief. You can contact David at dbeckley@telkomsa.net for further details. Les and Linda Maydell can be contacted at lmaydell@gmail.com.

Arao Uchaio, who preaches in Chokwe, Mozambique, has informed brother Beckley that the Christians need $450.00 per month for food relief. The price of food has skyrocketed since the floods and now there is insufficient rain. Brother Beckley can provide further details and can be contacted at dbeckley@telkomsa.net.

Conclusion

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to participate in the work here. We thank you for your prayers and interest. Please continue to pray for us and for the Lord’s work here.

Prison Work

In the past, it has been my custom to give you the names of those with whom we are studying. However, I have been informed that this is a violation of the prison's policy and can cause issues for the prisoners. So, this month the information will be very general.

We continue to keep the momentum going at the prison. In addition to the New Life Behaviour classes, Sunday worship, and Saturday class, Prince has started teaching a group of men in the Yellow prison each Friday morning. We have several good, solid contacts now. I studied with one of the men early in February about salvation by faith and how it cannot be by faith alone without repentance, confession, the grace of God, the blood of Christ, and of course, baptism in water for the forgiveness of sins.

One of the men with whom Prince and I had been studying in Yellow was baptized on 9 February. For that we rejoice!

The Saturday Bible study has continued to go well in the Green prison. One of the men obeyed the gospel on 9 February along with the man in Yellow. This man had been in the Saturday study ever since I started teaching it. Everyone in the Saturday study is now a Christian! Pray for me as I help them grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

New Life Behaviour continues to go well. We have 25 in our class in Green and 35 in our class in Blue. The first test usually runs a few of the less serious students out of the class. However, we have several very good students. One man in Green seems to be especially diligent in wanting to change his life. This man told me what he had done and that he is there on a life sentence. Pray for this man as he turns his life around.

Sometimes, people ask me questions about the prison work. For example, they ask if I feel safe. I do feel safe because there are guards and cameras. I also think it is important to remember that these men are people, some of whom did something dumb one time and ended up in prison. I do not take unnecessary risks like going into the actually cells by myself. Also, I am sometimes asked if I know what the people did. I do not ask what they did. I am not there to counsel them through whatever they did or did not do. I teach the word of God, and if they need to repent, they must do so.

One more thing about the prison about which I solicit your prayers. There is a man with whom I have been studying via correspondence. He is at the point where he needs to make a decision about whether or not to obey the gospel. Pray for him to make the right decision and for me to have the opportunity to teach him further.
Daily Work

Monday Classes: Monday is still devoted mostly to New Life Behaviour and any follow up needed after the usual classes.

Tuesday Classes: We rearranged the schedule a bit. I am now teaching History and Geography on Tuesday to Mbavhalelo Ramasindi. Madzhie Bandela usually comes to that class also. We are now at the promises to Abraham. Do you know the promises to Abraham? You cannot understand many things without understanding these promises.

Wednesday Classes: I have moved the Wednesday classes to Friday. We had been studying the Minor Prophets and Romans. We will still study these subjects but will do so on Fridays instead.

Friday Class: Even though my time with the Tshirenzheni Church of Christ is coming to a close, the brethren have agreed that I should continue teaching on Fridays. So, I am teaching the book of Acts and will continue teaching after that. I teach this class in the late afternoon after the other classes I teach.

Saturday Class: I mentioned in my last report that several who could not attend a History and Geography class held during the week were attending this class. This class has continued to increase. When I was talking to the men at Tshirenzheni about the future of my work there, several of them expressed interested in attending the class. One brother told me that he has wanted to learn this for years. I am thankful for their interest!

Divhani Class: Our study of the seven churches of Asia is almost to a close. Next we will see the throne scene in Revelation 4. The entire Ramasindi family pays very good attention through the study. We still have Mr. Mafune as well. Two young men from Tshirenzheni come after History and Geography

Sunday: We are in Ezra 7 learning about continuing the work that was started with the completion of the Temple. Their work had just begun! We must never lay down our tools--we have much more work to do.

This Sunday (3 March) is my last Sunday at Tshirenzheni. My family and I were warmly welcomed into this new place by these kind, generous people. We will always have a special relationship with them because of that.

On 10 March, I think we will assemble in Masia with our brother who will soon be released from prison. On 4 March, I will take him to his home at Masia and will work with him on the logistics. Please pray for our brother as he begins life anew on the outside. The men really struggle when they leave the safety and security of the prison and try to find employment.

We still assemble every Sunday with the Christians at the prison. In the Green prison, one wayward brother repented and returned to assembling with us. I imagine he is fairly weak right now, so pray for him.

Other Bible Studies

I met a young man named Gift who came to my gate. I hope to have follow up study with him soon. He is in Grade 9 in school and boards at the school. We are going to try to get him and some of his comrades together for Bible study in the near future.

Personal Notes

Debbie and I recently decided to remove the children from the private school they had been attending. We liked the school but the quality of education was not good enough. Debbie has started homeschooling them and that is going well. We already had most of what we needed to do this, so it was more of a matter of organizing the material. I do not do much of the teaching except for the Bible teaching.

We finally made it over to Kruger National Park! One of the benefits of homeschooling is a flexible schedule. For further details, visit Debbie's blog at http://americanafricanmom.blogspot.com.

We have a lady coming every Friday to teach us the Venda language. Our first few lessons have been very enlightening. She is a professor at the University of Venda and teaches Venda in Zimbabwe and in Pretoria.

The kids are learning Afrikaans from a nice lady we met during some house repairs. She and her husband are quickly becoming good friends.

Prayer and Help Requests

Brother David Beckley and the Maydells continue to bear much responsibility in helping with Zimbabwe relief. You can contact David at dbeckley@telkomsa.net for further details. Les and Linda Maydell can be contacted at lmaydell@gmail.com.

I have repeatedly mentioned Tazvitya Kamba, the young Christian from Zimbabwe who needed assistance. He is doing much better, but does need some help with his hospital expenses. He told me he needs $200.00.

For the New American Standard Bibles, I have received the full amount I needed for the first 200 Bibles to be sent. I appreciate all who have participated in this effort and will keep you updated as to when I receive them and when they are distributed.

Conclusion

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to participate in the work here. We thank you for your prayers and interest. Please continue to pray for us and for the Lord's work here.

Prison Work

I think the most important news this month centers around the work at the prison. Both Prince Ramaira and I conduct regular Bible studies at the prison. He has a Bible study every Wednesday at 10:30AM in the Yellow prison, and I have one in the Green prison every Saturday at 08:30AM.

Both studies have yielded the produce that comes when the seed is planted (Lk. 8:11). On 6 January, Lawrence Nyangula was baptized into Christ. He has been at the weekly Bible study since I started doing it. As a matter of fact, he was coming when no Christians were coming. Furthermore, he has been teaching his cellmates, but more on that. Lawrence had been baptized in water, but not for the forgiveness of sins, so just like the disciples in Acts 19, he was baptized for the right reason.

My New Life Behaviour classes began 14 January. I have 25 in my class at 8:30AM in the Green prison, and 40 in my class at 9:30AM in the Blue prison. I'm glad so many have shown interest. Already, some are also interested in other study opportunities. New Life Behaviour serves as a good feeder into our other Bible studies, so it's good so many are interested.

I still teach every Saturday morning in the Green prison at 8:30AM. I have been going through many first principles subjects--the purpose of the church, the work of the church, the work of the individual Christian, and other subjects like that. This past Saturday, I decided to change direction and go back to the fundamentals of the gospel--Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We had a man named Innocent come to the study, and when I asked him what he knew about Jesus, he told me he knew nothing about Jesus. So, we went right back to the beginning, just like John told the disciples to do over and over again in 1 John.

Even before he was baptized, Lawrence was bringing people to the Bible study. One of these is a man named Samuel Nkuna. Samuel had missed many classes but decided to return to the study. We eventually studied about his own situation and determined that he needed to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. He was baptized on Wednesday, 27 January. Lawrence also brought Innocent to the study. I am thankful for Lawrence's zeal to share the gospel with others.

Both Prince and I had been studying with Aserie Ndlovu, a man from the Yellow prison. He decided to be baptized on Wednesday, 27 January.

We are thankful that the work at the prison continues to be fruitful. We have a good relationship with the staff and with the chaplains. Please pray that this work continues to go in the right direction.

Regular Work

Monday Classes: As noted, Monday is typically devoted to New Life Behaviour, and this began 14 January. I have also started using Monday as a day to schedule one-on-one Bible studies with prisoners who need this, like those who are considering obeying the gospel. This gives us more time and privacy to talk.

Tuesday Classes: This day is devoted to teaching my family History and Geography of the Old Testament after they get home from school. The kids have enjoyed learning this and can now draw a rudimentary map of Palestine.

Wednesday Classes: We are still studying the Minor Prophets in the morning and Romans in the afternoon. Madzhie Bandela, Mbavhalelo Ramasindi, Khuthadzo Ramovha, and Prince Ramaira come to my house for these classes. Charles Mutwanamba had been coming but since he found a job, he cannot come during the day for these classes.

Thursday Class: I am still teaching History and Geography all day on Thursdays. Vhulungani had to start school again (he's 15 years old). Because of that, I moved his teaching to Saturday. Mbavhalelo Ramasindi still comes to this study.

Debbie has started teaching a weekly class on Proverbs at Tshithutuni. This is a class that sister Beckley had been teaching before their trip to America and one she will likely resume teaching when she returns to South Africa.

Saturday Class: Since Vhulungani cannot attend the Thursday History and Geography class, I started teaching on Saturday at Tshirenzheni. Charles Mutwanamba is also attending this class since he is missing our Wednesday studies. Sedzani Mukwevho is also joining our class. He works during the week, so Saturday works better for him. I just found out today that Ishmael, one of our young men at Tshirenzheni, is going to start coming into the class. I'm really glad because this basic material is vital to understanding different things we read about in the Bible--places, names, etc. All of it is based on the Waldron material. If you haven't studied this material, you have missed out!

Divhani Class: We still do this class on Saturday at 4:00PM at the Ramasindis' home. We are through three of the seven churches of Asia in our study of Revelation. This study continues to challenge us to serve Jesus better in our local churches.

We have had a regular visitor--Mr. Mafune--who attends a church of Christ that does not do things according to the New Testament. He has requested a study on some of these issues. I look forward to the study.

Friday Class: We are still studying Acts. We have started chapter 3. Chapter 2 took us a while since there is so much to discuss. Our attendance in this class continues to be low--it may be that the time is not good. However, we will press on.

Sunday: I continue teaching Ezra. We are at the part where Haggai told the Jews to start building the temple again. I recently started a series of lessons about the Holy Spirit. So far, we have studied His personhood and His work in the Old Testament.

Soon, my work at Tshirenzheni will end. The church had asked me to come for six months, and that six months will end at the beginning of March. It has come way too soon!

After Eric Tshikovhi is released from jail, he will need help teaching the people in his village (Masia) and establishing a church there. I intend to schedule a tent meeting in Masia and to help Eric with Bible studies so we can establish a church there. Please pray for this effort.

Recent Death

On 1 January, 2013, our brother Simon Marubini Mulafhi was murdered. It was a senseless and random act of violence that took his life when he was stabbed. He was a member of the church at Tshithutuni where Debbie teaches every Thursday. I did not know Simon well--he had been to the Beckleys and to our house a couple of times--but there is nothing sadder than seeing an old grandmother having to bury her grandchild. She had raised him. Please pray for Martha Mulafhi as she bears this grief, and for us to know the right way to serve her.

The funeral was on Sunday, 6 January. There were three nights of services leading up to the funeral. I spoke at one of those services about Jonah having no god to turn to while he was on the boat, and asked, What if we had no god to turn to? For the burial, brother Paul K. Williams spoke. He had come up from Eshowe, and unbeknownst to me, had also preached at the burial of Simon's grandfather, also named Simon.

Baptisms

Aside from the three baptisms in the prison, Rofhiwa Mushoma also made the decision to die with Christ. His family are members at Tshirenzheni, but he normally studies in Johannesburg. He obeyed the gospel on 6 January, and this gave everyone much joy!

Other Bible Studies

I have made some other contacts for Bible study. Enos Mulaudzi, a man who works at Surat (our local office supply store) had shown some interest in Bible study. I studied with him recently and expect to study with him soon. Since he is currently a Roman Catholic, we studied about the Bible, not the church, needing to be our standard of authority in religion.

I go to the local jail every Saturday to see our brother Eric Tshikovhi. The guards have been curious about me--what I am doing here and such. They told me to come ready to teach next time. They had two questions they wanted me to address. First, they wanted to know if Christians must tithe. Second, they wanted to know about the Holy Spirit. I decided to start with the first question. Rather than just jump into talking about the tithe, I studied with them about the purpose of the Law of Moses. We have also studied about the plan of God and the plan of salvation. They are available any day they are working after 3:30PM, and usually have nothing better to do. I'm happy to fill their time!

Paul Williams and I recently had a good study with Khathu Mulaudzi about institutionalism. Khathu was up visiting for the holidays and we started discussing these issues. We spent a few hours studying these things so he could find a church that wants to do things according to the pattern (Heb. 8:5).

Prayer and Help Requests

Brother Beckley was able to send some money for relief in Zimbabwe, but the need continues. For further information, contact him directly at dbeckley@telkomsa.net. Also, Les and Linda Maydell can provide details and can be contacted at lmaydell@gmail.com.

I once mentioned Tazvitya Kamba, the young Christian from Zimbabwe who needed assistance. He is doing much better, but does need some help with his hospital expenses. Please contact me directly for further details.

For the New American Standard Bibles, I have received half of what I need. Please contact me directly for further details, and thank you to those who have helped with this effort.

Conclusion

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to participate in the work here. We thank you for your prayers and interest. Please continue to pray for us and for the Lord's work here.

Since December is a holiday season around here, we have been trying to make hay while the sun shines! As Jesus said, " We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." (Jn. 9:4)

Lectureship at Dzanani: We had a weeklong lectureship with the Dzanani church for the young adults living in the area or visiting from other areas. The lectureship was well-attended. On the second day, we had 81 in attendance. People came from several different churches in the area. The individual Christians accommodated some in their homes and arranged lunch each day at the home of the Musindiwas, who live within walking distance of the church building.

We had a joint session each morning in which we had a lesson from the life of an Old Testament character. During the next session, we had classes for the young ladies and young men. Debbie taught three of the ladies classes and Violet Tshikhudo, one of the ladies from the Tshirenzheni church, taught two of the classes. The third morning session was devoted to subjects on first principles--the church, the Holy Spirit, the plan of salvation, and other topics. In the afternoon, we had Bible drills, singing, and question and answer time. Some of the young men also offered lessons during this period.

I was really pleased at how many participated in the teaching. For example, during the afternoon sessions, I was generally not directly involved except as a participant. This helped me since I was up until 2:00AM every day preparing the next day's handouts. We had several different speakers, and this provided a nice variety plus kept the workload lower for each of us.

I want to share the questions asked during the Thursday afternoon session. I was impressed with the maturity of some of the questions:

1. What if your job/work/school makes you miss church on Sunday?
2. What about the name "Church of God" as a name for the church? Is this scriptural?
3. What should the church do if no one is qualified to be an elder? What if the elder's children are unfaithful?
4. Can women lead songs?
5. There is no church near where I live. What should I do?
6. Can a lady be in authority over a man in a secular setting?
7. Can I sing a song not found in the hymnbook?

If you have any questions about the answers we gave or the background of any of the questions, contact me directly.

Nine Baptized: We had nine people baptized this month. Six of these were baptized the final day of the lectureship (14 December). Mukovhe Ramovha, a young lady from Tshiozwi, was baptized the following Sunday (16 December). Ngaravho Tshigabe, a young lady whose family attends at Tshithutuni, was baptized the following Monday (17 December). On 26 December, Lugisani Ramasindi, the second daughter in a family of six, was baptized. We study with her family every Saturday and was glad to see her make this decision.

Wednesday Classes: We are currently studying the Minor Prophets in the morning and Romans in the afternoon. I have enjoyed using my new study for teaching these classes. I can project onto the wall opposite the computer, making it easy to share maps and other information. We can seat 8 to 10 with the chairs and tables we currently have, but could accommodate up to 20.

Thursday Class: I started teaching History and Geography on Thursdays. Normally, brother Beckley teaches this as a two-week course. However, my schedule does not currently allow this. Instead, I am teaching all day every Thursday. Mbavhalelo Ramasindi, one of the young men in the area, is in this class. Vhulungani Tshikhudo is also joining us in this class. Both young men have a strong thirst for learning more about God's word. I have enjoyed refreshing my memory on the size of Canaan, the geography, climate, and other characteristics that all play into the history recorded in the Bible.

Divhani Class: We started studying Revelation at the Ramasindis' home. It has proven to be challenging so far. I tried to give a thorough introduction, and that took a great deal of time. However, it was worth the effort. The plan is to spend a great deal of time on those sections from which one can glean good, practical lessons, but to summarize sections that are not as clear. This has worked well in the past.

Friday Class: A few of the young men at Tshirenzheni asked me if I taught any other classes during the week. I do, but not close to where they stay. So, they asked me if I would teach them one day a week at the building. I have started teaching a 4:00PM class on the book of Acts. I appreciate their desire to learn more and want to feed that desire.

Saturday Prison Classes: The 8:30AM class continues to meet. We are back up to four participants. Two of participants are new inmates. All the men are still taking the Know Your Bible correspondence course along with the class. Lawrence has decided he wants "to join the Church of Christ." We are now working on making sure he understands that he needs to be baptized and why he needs to be baptized, especially since he has already been baptized but for an unscriptural reason. Please pray for him.

Though our 10:30AM class has discontinued, some are still doing the Know Your Bible correspondence course. I hope we can resume the class in the new year.

Sunday: I am teaching Ezra in the Bible class. This has required some background teaching on the Israelite festival calendar and associated sacrifices. That part has been good to review. Brother Nemaname pointed out that showing how much was involved in keeping everything under the Law of Moses should help teach those who try to bind parts of the Law but not all of the Law. I thought that was a worthy point.

We still go to the prison immediately after our work in Tshirenzheni. Both Prince and I keep tight schedules on Sunday but do the best we can. I was excited to find out that I could get a photograph taken with one of the Christians in the prison.
Prayer and Help Requests

Brother Beckley was able to send some money for relief in Zimbabwe, but the need continues. For further information, contact him directly at dbeckley@telkomsa.net. Also, Les and Linda Maydell can provide details and can be contacted at lmaydell@gmail.com.

I am getting ready to take on some work that will cost some money. First, we need a tent so we can conduct tent meetings. This will include a tent, some chairs, a generator, portable lights, and a portable sound system. I am working on the final costs and do have some estimates. Please contact me directly for details.

Second, I need to purchase some New American Standard Bibles. I have included the details of this need in a separate special request you will receive with this report.

Conclusion

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to participate in the work here. We thank you for your prayers and interest. Please continue to pray for us, and may God bless all of us with a profitable 2013 in His service.