The most beautiful thing ever seen
We took some of the kids from the (Ubhule Bizwe) orphanage on a 4 hour drive up to Hazyview – most of them had never been out of the township before so it was amazing for them to see the different environments. We stopped off for a short walk to a waterfall and watching their reactions to the waterfall was amazing. They all stood totally in awe of it and one of them said out loud to themselves “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen”. We visited Sis. Riah’s home in a rural township with all the kids from the orphanage and I heard singing coming from one of the rooms so I went to look inside and Christy (Beyers) had her Sunday school class braiding string to make sandals whilst singing song after song after song. They were loving it, it was such a beautiful thing to see.
Naomi Midgley, UK
The most beautiful thing ever heard
On Tuesday 15th July, we held a concert in The Workshop amphitheatre in Durban to promote the Bible Education Centre. At first, the crowd appeared a bit hostile, shouting out “speak in Zulu” when I introduced our group (in English, obviously!). Tim Genders was confident that negative attention was better than none….at the time I wasn’t so sure, but I agree with him in hindsight! Besides, once we got the sound levels sorted and the music crew got into things, we realised the audience was enjoying the concert.
A few of us circulated through the crowd giving out info on the BEC and the Kingdom of God, as well as inviting people to some seminars to be held over the next few weeks of P2P. We had some great responses but the one that touched me was a man named Godfrey who was originally from Uganda. Although on that day, he was just one of the many people who watched our music and was given a leaflet and a little card about the Good News of the Kingdom of God, but God was working, and touching this man’s heart.
The next morning, the P2P group were working in the BEC and Godfrey came to the shop. He walked straight up to the counter with his Kingdom of God card. He held it up and said “I’ve been looking for the church that preaches truth for a long time. So many churches preach “salvation through Jesus”, or “Jesus saves you”, but none focus on the Kingdom of God like you did yesterday. When you read the Bible, you see that it is all Jesus talked about and this is the first time I’ve seen a church actually preaching about this good news. I want to know everything about you guys!”
With that startling introduction, Godfrey went on to spend all afternoon at the BEC – first at the seminar and then chatting to Dan, Tom and James. They soon discovered that he held beliefs very similar to the Christadelphians in many major areas! Godfrey asked for a summary of our basic beliefs and left the BEC with an armful of literature, contact details for the people he had met and the promise of visiting again soon.
Godfrey is now meeting regularly with Brother David White at the BEC once or twice a week to discuss first principle topics. He pops into the BEC regularly to greet us and has gone from stranger to such a promising contact in the space of several weeks!
What an awesome story…and all from playing some music in a public place. Whoever says “I cannot preach” and can play a musical instrument no longer has any excuse!! As part of the group busy struggling to make the concert work in the middle of a busy city, it was easy to forget that there was another power at play. Although I understand the theory in my head, it never ceases to amaze me when I see God working like this; using something so simple to call others to be part of His wonderful plan for the future.
Leah Egginton, Australia
EXCITING NEWS - We are pleased that the GNOTKOG website is now up (www.gnotkog.org). But even more exciting is that we have set up a system where you can donate to contribute to the many exciting projects spreading the Good News in South Africa. The monthly running costs of supporting a growing number of creches, youth centres, orphanages etc means we really do rely on your help. Even a small monthly donation of $5 can provide food for a child for nearly a month! It's simple, you can donate through Paypal or using your Credit Card.
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