Where the People Meet

What a trip! We’re back home in Tableview now, praying and planning for the next ministry season. Your prayers kept us healthy and safe.

On our six-week trip to Southern Africa, we preached in village churches and city churches, stayed in homes and inns, tried tasty foods, prayed in unusual places, and met many old and new friends. Here you see several of the churches where we ministered.

Healing Mass

Saturday night John spoke at a Healing Mass at Jubilee Christian Fellowship in Johannesburg. This is a service to reach out to the sick by means of traditional forms, including a dynamic choir, communion, a sermon on Jesus' power to heal, and prayer for the sick.

John preached from Mark about the man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit until he came to Jesus. Here's how the text explains what the father asked and how Jesus responded:

"...if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
"'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

A six-year-old preacher

Meet Mmabotswana, a six-year-old girl who attends the Gaborone Foursquare Church. She’s as spunky as her name and she loves the Lord. You should see her dancing during the worship service.

After she leaves church, she preaches the sermon to all her friends and hands out tracts. Once she gave a tract to a man drinking alcohol, and he poured some of it over her head! She just laughed about it, though, and came to church to tell everyone what happened.

Click here to see an album of photos we took in her home country, Botswana.

Christian School at Dynamic Namibian Church

The thriving Foursquare church at Ongwediva, Namibia, is pastored by Festus and Laina Negumbo. This photo shows their primary school, where they educate over 300 students. To read more about this church and an interview with Pastor Festus, please click here.

You can view an online album showing more photos of us with Pastor Festus and Laina, along with photos of the school here.

To see albums of the countries we have visited, please click here. In each album, you can view a slideshow by clicking on the box with the green arrow over the first photo.

A Day in Zimbabwe

Traveling the shortest route to Botswana meant crossing the entire country of Zimbabwe in one day. We filled two containers with gasoline and set off. A total of twelve police check-stops slowed us down, but our papers were in order, so on we sped.

We weren't able to visit our pastor friends in the capital city of Harare. Our presence might have threatened their safety, and we felt it best to avoid further scrutiny. When we stopped to fill our tank with the gas we carried, this boy with his donkey cart came along, and we gave him the enpty jugs.

We saw many donkey carts in use, because fuel is in short supply and expensive. With inflation rising by the hour, many people have lost their jobs. How do they survive? We saw people lining the city streets, standing hopelessly by the shops. Those who earn money from working and are able to find transportation run to the borders of the country to buy necessities.

God rescue the people of Zimbabwe!