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[Pictures were included
with the report but were not able to be translated over to the internet.]
NYLSTROOM NEWS
– November 2004
Les Maydell
P.O.
Box 2744 Nylstroom 0510
Rep. of S. Africa 011
27 14 717 4100
SOUTH
AFRICA
Two
years ago I met Gale Towles in Namibia
and we had a good work together. I invited him to come again and this finally
materialized. We scheduled a gospel meeting over a long weekend at Vaalbank
with mainly Gale, but also with various local men and myself doing the
speaking. The brethren at Vaalbank worked extremely hard to invite visitors to
the meeting, and many Christians from distant congregations supported the
meeting by their attendance. The brethren were very encouraged by the lessons,
but especially by the example of Stephen Buys and his wife – the
sacrifice they make to enable Stephen to preach the gospel.
ZIMBABWE
Two
days later we started off for Zimbabwe.
Our first stop was at West Nicholson. We had
excellent attendance for the 2-hour evening service. This is a new congregation
and the brethren are working very hard to convert others. One lady responded to
the gospel, but was so frightened of the water that she fainted as she came up
out of the water! They were grateful that we stopped by and asked us to come
again.
The
next morning we picked up our translators, Bigboy Dube, Reason Nyati, and his
wife Fortune, in Gwanda and went to Guyu for a two-day meeting. Gale and I
taught the men on leadership, marriage and authority; and Linda taught the
women on marriage and parenting. We were encouraged to see some brethren bring
grain and a chicken to Bigboy and Reason in appreciation for their work. On
Friday we went to Beit
Bridge and bought a
trailer-load of mielie meal to take to the congregations in that area. We met
Blackie, a man Alfred recently baptized. About ten women have also been
baptized recently, including the principal of
Tongwe Primary School.
We taught at four congregations in the area, arriving home in time for Sunday
evening services at Willie and Tina’s house. Gale and I had a study with
Willie on Tuesday. His cancer has gone into remission, and we continue to pray
that he will soon obey the gospel.
NAMIBIA
The
next day (Wednesday), we started for Namibia, the focal point of our
work together. Gale and I were very concerned about the work in
Windhoek because the community where the congregation
started (Okahandja
Park) was a squatter area
where the people are generally uneducated, unstable and highly immoral.
Numerous brethren had gone back to the world, leaving a small, discouraged
group. However, we had heard of other Christians in
Windhoek from Darlington Ndlovu, and we
wanted to make contact with them. Darlington had been employed by
World Bible
School (a human institution supported by many
“institutional” churches of Christ) to follow up contacts and help
begin new congregations all over southern Africa, including Namibia, Malawi,
Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Unscriptural practices that he observed caused him to ask questions. When these
questions were not addressed, his conscience forced him to resign from his job
with no prospects of any other employment, although he continued to maintain
contact with and try to help the people he had converted. Several months later
he came in contact with Rob Buchanan, who was able to answer his questions and
teach him further. After working awhile with Darlington, Rob observed his good
character and encouraged the congregation where he is to help support Darlington so he could again preach full-time. On
Rob’s recommendation, the church here in Nylstroom also began supporting
him. Because of Darlington’s contacts in Namibia, we invited him to come
with us.
Darlington made contact with these Christians meeting in a middle-class suburb
called Dorado
Park, only to discover that they, along
with 10-15 others, had already seen corruption and unscriptural practices in
WBS and had left the WBS-controlled congregation. They were so thrilled to see
us and to hear about the other Christians in the area. The second and third
Sundays we were there they made arrangements to meet together with them at Okahandja
Park. Each morning we studied with the
men at Okahandja
Park and various non-Christian visitors.
I was able to teach the visitors in Afrikaans so that Gale and Darlington could teach the Christians. Many good studies
were held in the afternoons with several men who make wood carvings and sell
them, but they did not want to commit themselves to obeying the gospel. Several
of the evenings we had studies with Naftali’s three sisters and mother
and other relatives while Linda taught the children. This is the first time
Naftali’s family has been anything but antagonistic to the gospel.
Because of work commitments and the death of two family members, we were unable
to study much with Ingo (the mainstay of the
Dorado Park
group), except at normal worship times. However, Linda was able to have many
good studies with the ladies. We feel that, although babes in Christ, there is
a lot of potential with the Dorado
Park brethren because
they have good hearts, and some already have good Bible knowledge. We generally
feel a lot better about the work in Windhoek
as we think the two groups will be a source of encouragement to each other.
I want to say a special word of thanks to Gale and Darlington
for the good work that they did and their encouragement, and I thank God for
the wonderful way we were able to work together. I also want to thank all the
brethren who enabled Gale to be with us, and especially thank Gale’s wife
Debbie for her sacrifice.
FINANCES:
Since our return from the US
last February, I have averaged over $1000 per month on expenses involved in
going to Zimbabwe/Namibia, Bibles, grape juice, songbooks, food, etc.
This money was given to me the last time we were in the USA, and a detailed list of
expenses went to those who contributed. There was just enough money to cover
November’s costs – but this past little while we have unexpectedly
received several checks: $1000, $686.50, $863, $120 & 2x$100. Due to the
strong rand/weak dollar, my salary has been greatly reduced, and without this
money I would not have been able to do this work. We do not plan to go to Zimbabwe in December (they are busy plowing) or
January (Gloria’s wedding) – so this money will enable us to return
to Namibia,
Lord willing, in February next year. Thank you so much.
I
saw my oncologist yesterday and he is thrilled with my latest blood results,
especially after his concerns in June. We are very thankful for this and pray
that we can have a good number of years still working for the Lord. We want to
thank all of you for your prayers and support. We hope to see some of you in
January/February!
Yours in Chirst, Les Maydell
NYLSTROOM SCRAPBOOK
Dear friends
The Lord has amazing ways of blessing us when we least expect it. That is how I
feel about our trip to Namibia.
I went there expecting to spend my days sitting in our motor home at a
campsite, working on my “raising children workbook” and cooking for
the men. There was only one sister in Windhoek
that I knew of, and she speaks neither Afrikaans nor English. I knew that Darlington had been in contact with some other brethren,
but I expected the same kind of obstacles. Imagine my delighted surprise when
we discovered a whole group of sisters who had hearts hungering and thirsting
for the Word of God! They were so educated (especially in English!) and had
enough Bible knowledge, that I could teach them like I would teach any of you.
The only problem is that I left all such kind of lessons at home! Of course I
have many things to teach that are in my heart and mind, but I know I would
have done better with visual aids and something organized to study from! It was
also wonderful to get instantaneous feedback as I taught. Monica and her husband
Ingo have jobs and a car -- and a wonderful giving spirit. The only furniture
they have in their living room is a tv/stereo and plastic stack chairs (so they
can have services there). Ingo runs all over Windhoek to fetch people for services --
those who can’t afford taxis. There are four high school students who are
Christians – 3 are orphans and the fourth’s parents are not
Christians. They seem to spend most weekends and the long holidays with Monica
and Ingo. Monica gets practical and emotional support from her good friend
Liberty and other
sisters. All these things impressed me, but what impressed me most is that many
of these brethren have the rare ability to read the Bible, understand it, and
apply to their own lives – because they were blessed with a decent
education – something so many of us take for granted. They also have the
willingness of mind to obey what they understand. It was incredibly encouraging
for me to see in practice what we all know to be true in theory: that anyone
with a good and honest heart who is able to understand God’s Word will be
able to stand against error and remain faithful on his own. However, the
brethren still need help on many daily-life issues: marriage, parenting,
modesty, worldliness, etc. They do want to do right and I know they would
appreciate your prayers.
I never took a picture of any of my classes, but here is the
Dorado Park
group in front of Ingo and Monica’s house. The tragic thing about this
picture is that the girl to the right of the girl in the white hat died
unexpectedly the very next week. She was Monica’s babysitter and died in
their house as the children looked on. She was not yet a Christian. This was
very traumatic for all the brethren, but especially for Ingo and Monica’s
family.
I
was also blessed to teach a group of Damara-speaking children Bible classes
while the men studied with their mothers and other relatives – and I hope
I have motivated their uncle Naftali (a Christian) and them to continue these
classes after we are gone. Here you see a picture of the grandmother in her
traditional dress – left-over from the ideas of the 19th
century missionaries.
Damara is an interesting language. If you could imagine yourself
speaking in an ordinary way, but at the same time the sounds of a pop-corn
machine coming from your mouth – well that is kind of how it sounds, only
the “pops” are several different kinds of clicking and popping
noises. Now imagine hearing these children sing “Jesus Loves the Little
Children” in Damara. It was quite a treat! They sang it in English too
– only they sang, “Red and jello,
black and white” because Damara has no “y” sound. Naftali has
three sisters with 13 children among them -- all living in a small house. Those
13 children have a variety of fathers – whom they seldom, if ever, see.
My heart just aches for them – what chance do they have in life? –
unless their uncle “leavens” their household. I pray that will
happen. They were all so very sweet, trying their hardest to please me.
The
Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to get to know many sisters in South Africa, Zimbabwe,
and Namibia.
Seeing them remaining in the faith despite many struggles gives me the
motivation to keep trying to help them when and where I can. I hope these
examples of good-hearted women will encourage you too.
The
women at Vaalbank worked very hard to invite their friends to a gospel meeting
and to be hospitable to brethren who came from far away to support the meeting.
Notice the babies on their backs as they work. The lady on the left in the blue
apron is Margaret. Many of you have asked about her – the widow whose
husband gave her AIDS. The lady on the right is Peter’s wife. (Peter is
the preacher.)
Gladys is a typical Proverbs 31 woman who has brought her gift for the support
of men doing the Lord’s work: wheat, which she grew herself, and one of
her chickens. Four months ago she lost her daughter and her daughter-in-law in
one day. It sounds like one died of heart disease and the other of cancer. They
left 4 young children. In this picture she is standing next to Bigboy and
Reason.
Thank you to those of you who sent clothes. Clothes are appreciated so much
because they are so expensive. It’s hard to believe that we have run out
of reading glasses, but we have! So if anyone has any old reading glasses,
please contact us. Maybe we can make arrangements for Melody to bring them in
her suitcase when she visits us over the Christmas holidays – we are very excited about her visit. We are also
excited about Gloria and Sam’s wedding in January!
Thank you above all for your prayers -- for us and for the other brethren here.
The Lord has been gracious to answer them and we continue to have health,
strength, and opportunities to work for Him. May the Lord richly bless each of
you.
With
love, Linda Maydell