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Vo(,

Donna Krcegar with Waiiisai.

"Sister, we have just admitted a

very sick child.Would you please come

down to se e her?" came Mai Si thole*s

voice over the telephone. I hurriedly

slipped on my uniform, grabbed my

torch (flashlight), and started down themoonlit path to Chri st ian Hospit al .

When I entered Ward Twelve, 1 found

Wanisai, a little girl of about eleven

years, who was unconscious, and obvi

ously crit ically ill. I called for Dr. Durr,who came to the hospital and began

examiningWanisai to discover the cause

of her unc on s c i o u s n e s s .

The symptoms sounded very much

l ike cerebra l mal ar ia , b ut t he only way

iPHcDiBSi A

CO Mg ^

STORYJuly 1966

WANISA Iwe could be certain was to do laboratoryt e s t s . I sen t one o f the s tuden t s fo r

Crispen Matukwa, ourfaithful laboratorytechnician, about whom you have read

in a previous issue. Meanwhile, Dr.

Durr did a spinal tap and a completephysical examination. While we worked

over Wanisai, he r mother sa t on th e

floor and watched us, not knowing or

understanding what we were doing or

saying, but having fai th that we wouldhelp Wanisai ge t well.

As we waited for the laboratory

tests to be completed, I learned this

story from MaiSithole. Wanisai'smotherhad started out from her village the

previous night, carrying Wanisai on herback to bring her to Christian Hospitalwhere sh e was sure sh e could get help.

She had walked fo r a lmost 24 hours

before reaching Mashoko. Can you

imagine walking for a night and a day,

over rough paths and road s, with an

11-year-oId child on your back? Onlythe l ove put by God in the heart of amother would have made her do it .

When the la bo rato ry tests were

completed, our suspicions were con

f i rmed. Wanisa i d id have ce rebra l

mala r i a . Dr. Durrs t a r t edan l .V . i n fus ion

with medications that very night. For

several days Wanisai hung between l ife

and death. At last she began to rouse

Number 7

by Donna Kreegar

and thrash about in the bed, and call

ou t fo r he r mei/ (mother). The students

p ut the mattress of her bed on the floorso tha t she couldn ' t fa ll out o f bed.

Her mother stayed by her side con

stantly.

Days went by, and soon Wanisai

was sitting up eating sac/za and drinking

tea. One day as Sister Burget was

walking the ward, Wanis ai ran out

to her, and smi li ng shy ly, asked,

"Sweetsie, Sister?"("Candy, Sister?").

It was then that I thought with a

l i t t le shudder , "What if Christian

Hospi ta l weren 't here? What if it had

been too great a sacrifice for Dr. Pruett

ando t he r s

t o l ea ve Ame ri ca t ocome

to

fa r away Africa to build and staff a

hospital for Christ? What if Christians

at home did not se e the need of sending

funds so tha t th e work o f Chris t ian

Hospital could go on? What wouldhappen to the little Wanisai's?

Weof Christian Hospital are grateful

for the privilege of serving Chr ist i n

Rhode s i a . We a re thank fu l for the

C h ri st ia ns i n th e S ta t e s whos e sac r i f i

cial giv ing makes possible our being

here. We enjoy working w ith these

humble people who have so little medical

knowledge and so great a medical need.

We feel that we are part of a team-effort

(Continued on page 8)

SECURE, READ, KEEP -

A DECADE IN RHODESIAThe Next issue of "The Story 99



Caniiie Cooper makes a new friend.

Marictla Smith and a baby duiker.

''-4L •- ' 'v* su - —*

- • r . i

Larry Van Dyke wiili friend, JosephMalambo.

page 2

CHURCH AND STATE(Article Number Seven )

by Dr. A. C. Waiters

Returning to the story of the expan

sion of the church in Western Europe

we h a v e to r e c o r d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e

rea l organizer of the church in Englandw as Theodore o f T a r s u s . The r i v a l r i e s

between th e Ir ish a nd Roman c la ims

for the adherence of the English kings

was complicated by the f ac t th at there

were then seven kingdoms. In some of

them th e Irish monks were favored , and

in o th er s t he Roman monks. Theodore,

sent by Rome to be Archbishop ofCanterbury, was already 66 years ofage. A man of the East, he was well-educated in Greek an d Latin, in the

Bible, ast ronomy and mathemat ics .

His outstanding ability won the respect

of bodi parties, and the ir obedience .

Spared for over 20 years he was able

to c o n s o l i d a t e th e church a f t e r th eRoman pattern and, at the same time,to incorporate much of the Irish educa

tional s et -up. L indisfar ne and other

schools produced an English-bornministry, and a liaison with the Irishschool in Bangor and the Scottish

school in Bangor.

Within 100 years of the arrival atCanterbury of Augus tine , the English

church was sending it s own monks to

the Continent, after preparation in

th eir n ati ve land and in Ireland. The

missionary record of the Irish andEnglish missionaries in the next centuries was not to be repeated until the

19th century, when England and Scot

land le d the modern missionary move

ment.

It will be noted that mos t of the

missionaries of those times were monks.

The average Protestant may be apt tobe critical of this, bu t we have to con

sider the circumstances. Even today

the average missionary has some concern about hi s suppo rt while far away

from h i s home l a n d . I t i s a f e a t u r e of

this present century that we have

m a r v e l o u s l i n e s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n

b e t w e e n t h e h o m e l a n d s a n d t h e m is

s io n l ands . (I have myself had a pe r

sonal talk by radio from the U.S.A.

with an American missionary in th e

Congo.)

When Will ibrord a r r i v e d on t h e Con

t i n e n t w i t h h i s m o n k s h e h a d n o l i n e

of communication firmly established

and in good order. He could no t depend

on getting support for hi s work from

h i s h o m e b a s e . What w a s n e e d e d w a s a

form of self-support in the m ission

land, an d a team of missionaries with

varying skills and able to grow their

own food on a s ui ta bl e p lo t was more

likely to be successful than just one

o r tw o men. T h e m o na st ic method h a d

m u c h in i t s f a v o r .

To secure the necessary site and

a measure of protection requi red the

goodwill of the barbarian king, and thi s

pattern had already been established

in England. So Willibrord took 11 com

panions with him and departed for

Frisia (part of modern Holland), wherehe received the aid of Pepin, the

Frankish ruler. He a ls o v is it ed Rome,

to seek the Pope 's b less ing. He was

con se cr at ed an Archbishop. Actually

the connect ion he had with Pepin made

him suspect to the Frisian people, but

h e c o n t i n u e d with h i s d i f f i c u l t t a s k

till the age of 81. By that time he sawChristianity well established in that

part of the Netherlands.

The next great , English missionary

was Winfrith, named Boniface by the

Pope, who gave him episcopal rank.He is ranked as the greatest missionary

of that age. He received hi s training inmonasteries in southwest England,

excelling in scholarship, Christian

cha racter , t each ing abi li ty , judgmenta n d a d m in i st r a ti v e s k i l l . In h i s G e r m a n

mission field he pur if ied the existing

C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t i e s a n d a l s o w o n

pagans to the faith. He destroyed

pagan temples and buil t Chr is ti an

churches. Some of hi s high-handed

actions he owed in part to his backing

from Charlemagne. By the end of the

eighth century most of the German

tribes had accepted bap tism. The re

s t i l l r em a i ne d t he S c a n d in a v ia n s a n d

t h e S a x o n s to b e w o n .

We must no t ove rl ook the part of

Charlemagne, who copied the Islamic

method of using armed force for th e

spread of the faith. Grandson of the

v i c t o r o v e r t h e M o s l e m s a t th e B a t t l e

o f T o u r s h e w a s r e w a r d e d fo r h is m i s

sionary activities by th e Pope crowninghim Head of the Holy Roman Empire.

From that time on the missionary method

was a mixture o ff er ee and quiet instruc

tion by missionaries. This, of course,

meant a fresh decline in the general

s tandard of Chris tiani ty.

Central Africa Story



WHEN is a Missionary? with Rod and GabbyWell Gabby, how does it feel to be

a missionary?

Gabby: You've got it kinda mixedup, Rod. You're the missionary,

I'm the dummy —or did you think

it was the other way around?

No, no, of course not! But Gabby,

even though you're a dummy,

you're still a missionary.Gabby: Yes, and even thoughyou're a missionary, you 're still

a dummy.

Oh, you wouldn't know a mission

ary if you s aw one.

Gabby: Maybe not, but I know adummy when I se e one.

What I mean, is that a missionary

looks just like anybody else.

Gabby: You couldn't prove it byme — or by you either, for that

matter.

Why? What do you think a mis

sionary looks l ike?Gabby: Well, he's a little over

six feet, five in ch es tall and

weighs about 200 pounds, he's

bald-headed and has a bea rd , and

he's as ugly as . . .Alright, alright, that's enoughou t of you!Gabby: Say Rod, how does afellow know he's supposed to bea missionary?

How doe s a fe l l ow know he ' s

supposed to be a Christian?

Gabby: Whyeverybody is supposedto be a Chri s t i an!

And every Christian is supposed

to be a missionary. The Great

Commission was given to the

church, and every Christian is

supposed to help car ry out these

"Marching Orders."

Gabby: You make it sound prettyimportant.

It's the most impor tant business

in the world. It's a job for every

one.

Gabby: I was just wondering.Whatdoes a missionary do?

A missionary has many jobs and

does many things, but first of all,a missionary is someone who has

been given a jo b to do for someone

The Central Africa Story is publishedmonthly for the Central Africa Mission,

Churches of Christ byMission Services

Association at 509 West Jefferson,

Joliet, Illinois. Second Class Postagep ai d a t Joliet, Illinois 60434.

July 1966

July T966

* <e> . ' Sv

Gabby and Hod

else. He goes out to represent

someone other than himself, to

speak in their behalf .

Gabby: You mean hedoesn't speakfo r himse l f?

That's right; another speaksthrough him.

Gabby: Sounds like a dummy to me!That's not a very nicethingto say.Gabby: Wh) not! That's how Iwork. You speak through me; Idon't speak for myself.

Well, yes, in that way, a mission

ary is like a dummy — speaking

th e w ord s of someone e l s e . In th e

case of a Chris tian missionary,

which i s what we' re c on ce rn ed

with, he speaks for Chri st . Paul

said he was a fool fo r Chr i s t ' s

s ak e .

Gabby: What is the message amissionary carries?

It's the Gospel, the "good news"

that Jesus, th e Son of God, died

fo r our sins, was bur ied , and rose

from the dead on the third day;

the new s tha t God s o lo ve d t he

world that he gave hi s only begotten Son that whosoever be-

lieveth on Him migh t not perish,

but have everlasting life. Isn't

t h a t wonder fu l ?

Gobby: Yes, but I think we oughtto l eave o ther people a lone . After

all, the y've got their religions.

They're happy as they are.

Do you t hink the woman is happy

when sh e sacrifices a goat to

appease the angry demons? Doyouthink the father is happy when hepermits th e witchdoctor to murder

one o f his new tw in s b eca us e h e

be l i eves t ha t one of them is a

demon th at h as t aken th e form o f

th e othe r twin?

Gabby: At least he's sincere.

What about t he poor chi ld ?

Gabby: I guess he's sincerelydead .

Rod: Yeah. Sincerity is not enough.Gabby: But they've got a right totheir religion.

Rod: Gabby, before you became adummy, you were a tree out in theforest. Right?Gabby: Yeah, it was nice outthere — cool breezes, b irds , and

r ab b it s a nd s tu ff .

Rod: Youwere happy as you were, yetsome people came along and

chopped you down.Gabby: Yeah, they cut me to thequick.

Rod: According to what you say, theyhad no right to do that.

Gabby: Well, I'm sure glad they

did, though. A few days later, aforest fire came along and destroyed every tree that was left.

Rod: That' s the job of a missionary —to seek the lost, to warn them of

t he f ir e, and to tell them what to do .

Gabby: Just one last question:WHEN is a missionary?

Rod: Do you mean when is a missionarya missionary?

Gabby: Don't get so excited.Rod: I'm n ot excited.

Gabby: Then wTiy are you stut-te ring?

Rod: I'm not. Anyhow, if youmean whendoes one become a missionary,i t 's whenhe becomes a Christian.

You can't be anything more than a

Chr is t ian .

Gabby: I wish I could be a mis

sionary , but I don't know enough.I'm just a dummy.

Rod: Gabby, even though you're adummy, you can be a missionarydummy.Gabby: Well, I'd a lo t rather be amissionary dummy than a dumb

missionary.



i i i

RICHARD HOSTETTER WRITES ABOUT

• UMTALI MISS ION

.J worship seating over 250 people hasbeen erected with funds from American "• f

A —churches . The Africansare now install- .. "VS

k * ing and paying for furnishings for this .. -• building. The congregation also voted te',V i

to share in the cos t of a sma l l four-

1967, a program of gradual withdrawal ] ^

Jof mission funds to the Sakubva church |. j/ 'will begin with the intention of this con- "

I .• - gregation eventually being completely *r:"«i*3tW"- '

. r .. ... self-supporting. , .1The Richard Hosteller family with

Umlali in the background.

In 1963, John Pemberton sent

African preacher Joshua Mafa into the

Umtali area to begin working for the

establ i shment of w hat is now SakubvaChurch of Christ. By the end of June

1965, when the Richard Hostetter family

arrived to work in th e area, Brother

Mafa had gat he red about 20 people

which regularly assembled under threetrees. Since this tim e, the Sakubva

Township congregation has multiplied

with more than 50 baptisms. A house of

A beer hall in Umlali .

Plans for the future inc lude using

any opportunity to disciple the area,

an d to w ork w ith t he se C h ri st ia n a s

semblies until we believe they are

ab le to cont inue w it ho ut o ur r e sou rces

and help.

The sam e s i tua t ion a s de sc r i b ed

by Livingstone is much the same today.

We have no miss ionar ies o r N ew Te s t ament congregations in Mozambique. But

now, since the middle of January 1966,

we have been working through our

Bible colporteur in a reserve near

Umtali, and have thus started the secondcongregation in this area c lose to theMozambique border. Fifteen peoplehave been baptized thus far. We have

our eyes upon a forestry developmentas the possible location for a third congregation, also near the Portugueseterritory. Perhaps, we dream, therewill be some eventual contact by

Afr icans who become Chr i s t i a n s in

Rhodesia with the Africans of neigh

boring Mozambique. We may never hearo f th is , but a t l ea st wc ar e grateful to

be winning people who are so strategi

cally located as to be possible Christianbridges to the people of Mozambique.

Only three miles separate Umtali,

the eas te rnmost c it y of Rhodesia,

from the Portuguese-governed-territory

called Mozambique {formerly called

Portuguese East Africa). This nation

an d Angola, colonized by the Portuguese

in the 1500*s, are ye t ruled by the

Through the work of our Bible

colporteur, Rogers Mugoyani , a secondcongregation ha s now been established

in a reserve approximately 20 miles from

Umtali. Nearly 20 believers have been

baptized in this second work. Thepeople desire a school in their community and we will do what we are

able regarding their request.

In May of this year, a family was

baptized in a third a re a eig ht miles

from Umtali. We hope that this new

preaching point will develop into athird congregation.

. . . ^MOZAMBIQUE .—.

same European power. Roughly twice

t he geogr aphi ca l size of Rhodesia,

with approximately a seven millionpopulation, Mozambique is a very

underdeveloped count ry . Her African

people are, in general, more backwardthan those of Rhodes i a .

Religiously, the people of Mozam

bique are e ithe r anamis tic or Roman

Catholic. Since Portugual is a Roman

Catho li c nat ion, it is only natural that

Romanism is the only encouraged faith

Baptizing in a reserve near Umlaliwhere second congregation ol area hasbeen begun. The cow came uninvited!

o f her Afr i can co lon i e s . Mi s s i ona r i e s

o f n on -C ath ol ic c on vi ct i on s a re no t

permitted entry to work in these coun

tries religiously controlled from the

Vatican. In fact, it would be very

hazardous for any of the Rhodesian

African Christians to go across th e

border and preach that which was not

Roman Catho l i c doct r ine .

Between 1851—1853, missionary

David Livingstonevisited the territories

of Angola and Mozambique, after which

he wrote the following comments to his

brother, Charles:

I hoi'e a strong desire to scattersome Bibles among them, and perhaps

to do more. Hut ivilt the Portuguese

allow me?....I t is ten to one if they

toill allow me to land a box of Bibles. .

. .I t will be better not to publish any

thing about the state of the Awgo/ese

or also the p eopl e o f S\ozambique pe r

haps, for Rome t he Vat ican is vigilant,and w ou ld n ot hes i t a t e to ac t immedi

ately. if it were only to shut the door.I earnestly pray I may be permitted to do

something for the spread of the knoiv-

ledge of Christ here. — Letters of

Livingstone, Vol. 2.

Central Africa Sfory



'All Things Work Together For Good'

During the rainy season Simon

Tembo, my interpreter and evangelist,

and I left Gwelo early in the morning

for a trip to the schools and churches

near Enkeldoorn. We planned to be back

in the late afternoon. Our last s top was

scheduled fo r th e Mhondoro chu rch, and

a visit with Beni Nykeyte.

Things were going well on the trip.

We had to spendsome t ime in selecting

children to attend the schools, and

s ince there w ere more c hi ld re n t ha n

places, this presented somewhat of a

problem. About 125 children wanted tobe i nc luded in the 45 places in the

first grade class. After attempting to

show the school committee t hat the y

should select the children to attend,

and upon their refusal , I tried to do my

be s t in th e se lec t ion. The f i r s t t e s t I

adm in is te red w as to se e which ones

were too young. Those who could no t

reach across the top of their heads

with the i r h an ds an d touch the i r ea r s

were e li mi na te d. T he second cu t was

made when those who had already

passed this grade (butwanted to repeat)

were to ld to move on to th e s econd

class. After over an hour of sorting, we

had the 45 limit. On my next visit I

le ar ne d t ha t th e s choo l commi t t ee had

me t again with the parents, and had

gone through the whole thing aga in .

After tha t they were satisfied.

By two in the aft ernoon we were

ready to leave for the Mhondoro church.

Noticing on a map that a road existed

through the farms which would maketh e tr ip much shorter, we decided to

try it. We had failed to calculate that

the last river might be in flood, or that

we might get lost. Both proved to betrue! Advice along the way turned our

"shor t -cu t " in to a tour of C entra l

Rhodesia! After driving about 60 extra

mi le s eve arr ived a t Mhondoro a t s un se t.

We visited and s ha red t he evening meal

and began our homeward journey.

About 9:00 p.m., and ten miles

from the Mhondoro church, the Peugeothad i t s f ir st f l a t t i re . We we re s t i l l in

th e reserve area, an d since I did not

expect to be t ra ve li ng at night, I wa s

unprepared for the emergency. "ALL

things work together for good"? With

only a box of safety mat ch es an d the

light of the headlights, the car was

jacked up an d the tire removed. The

spare wheel was then rolled up, ready

to be put in place when a shocking

and f righ tening thing was realized —the spa re would not fit! The wheel for

July 1966

by Richard Smith

Dick Smith's Peugeot.

the station wagon ha s five lugs while

the spare wheel which had come with

my new car wa s equipped for only

three. What were we to do? We had no

pump, no tire tools, no patching, nolight, and not much spirit for the task.

The night was very dark and threat

ening clouds passed overhead. The

road we were on was only two small

tracks through tall grass. Simon hadnever been in th e area , and I had been

on the road only onc e before, a nd that

during the day and during the dry season.

Having recently passed through some

gates which I thought I remembered, I

supposed that we were only about onemile from a farm house, and so we

locked the ca r and began to walk, Imust confess some of my thoughts were

no t th e m o st k in d to wa rd th e c a r d e a le r .

As we walked, however, my feelings

gave way to better thoughts, and God,

Who h ad w a tc h ed o ve r in o t he r d i ff i cu l t

situations would help us now. I soon

realized th at th e only thing to do wa s

u mi.i It

ft

The "good Samaritan" mentioned inthe story.

find tools, a pump, and a light, and we

cou ld then pu t the good tire and tube

on the wheel th at wou ld f it . If being

blind is one-half as scarey as that

walk, 1 could never afford to be blind.

After calling several times, and

knocking at the door of the f irs t hut

we found, we were able to raise th e

sleeping man. He dressed and took usup the road to t he house of the driver

ofthe farm. The Lord blessed us richly,

for he had a l ig ht and t oo ls. But the

man had to take the tractor to get the

pump, so with the l ight we returned and

removed the tire and tube and placed

the good ones on the good wheel, and

were ready for the pump when the man

returned. However, our problems were

not over, fo r the African driver who

went for the pump on the Ford tractor

sa id we cou ld n ot c ro ss the r iver fo r

it was too high and swift for the ca rto cross safely. Being the "good Samar

itan," he said he would return to th e

farm to get the bigger "M" Farmall topull us across. How grateful we were

to have this help, forniidway in crossing

th e river the back of th e ca r wa s swept

abou t th ree fee t downs t ream.

It was disgusting to have the flat

tire, and for awhile the error by the

dealer was almost maddening, bu t

feelings faded when I rea lized tha t

had the spare fit, we would have triedto cross the river and been swept

away. In the darkness the depth andswiftness were difficult to judge, an d

this was my first experience with high

water. Many have lost veh ic le s and

their lives in just such circumstances.

God knows our n ee ds e ve n before w e

know them. Who can sa y that He had

not saved that wrong spare for j us t s uch

a t ime?

The story might end here, but it

would no t be complete. What a thrill

just a few weeks later when I visited

the Mhondoro Church again, and saw

the man who had been such a help tous a ttending the church! Though no t

yet a Christian, the man ha s been

attending, and is being t augh t about

the Son of God. Truly we r ea li ze tha t

"God works in wonderful and mysteri

ou s ways," and "All things work together

for good to them that love God."

"Can ive doubt H is presence with us ?

Dare ive cease to give Him praise?

Place xve, al l our cares in Jesus,

Fo r we know His wonderful ways!"

— Wilma Smi th



OUR SECOND THREE YEARS

At the conclusion of a second, ^ ^

three-year term, we are inclined to ^ jfy >41reflect on the course of our Rhodesian _ j 'V »ministry. And upon reflection, we feel tthat after the experiences of three : 7 ^years in the bush and the experiences ' ' I^hree years an urban we |^have come to possess a

sionary Certainly, there thas been an the knowledge |^ Iof those methods most likely toproduce ^^ iresults, the necessary ^ %.-

to implement them. And yet, when we _ ^f;

compare what has been accomplished C ^ •wVwith what yet remains to be done, we ^ I ^are humbled. I

Over the the our Y Ihearts have become wedded to this ^ I

her people. Their ^ H.

have become our problems, their burdens

our burdens and their succe s se s our

joy. It is well within the mark to say The Berry Kennedy Family.that thephrase, "Rhodesia —our home,"has become most meaningful to us. Such work is never easy nor pleasam, proven by the sense of peThis is only natural as our family but it is essential for the sake of those gained. It is difficult to attrabecomes more closely associated with who will follow after us in the work, to a service held, regardless©the customs and ideals of Rhodesia. The Lord of harvests has used us conditons, in the open.It is anticipated that upon our return to build numerically. While numbers It has also been a prito the States the childrens Rhodesian are not the vital issue, yet something assis t in building up an Afrjargon and accent will sound a bit would bewrong if therewere noadditions istry. Three of the four

peculiar to you. Also, the Kennedy to the familyof God. We have witnessed ministers were trainedatMashboys* talents will lie in the realms of substantial growth each year and the my teaching. It has been intecricket, rugby and soccer, rather than records available show the following direct these men in the morebaseball, basketball and football. Yes, statistics. There are six African con- aspects of their subsequent ithese three years of our second term gregations, having a total membership in Bulawayo. In the areashave served to Rhodesianize us to a of 800 and having 1800 enrolled in their organization, local autonomygreat degree. Bible schools. There will be another support, these men have show

In the second three years of our 200 souls added this year. growth.

missionary service, the emphasis has With the increase in numbers, the In retrospect, we mustbeen upon "building." And while it is need for phys ical facilities has become the second three years h;

true that we havebuilt upon thefounda- acute. A part of our program has been intensely gratifying. We loot

tion s l ai d by others, yet it has been the construction of church buildings, in spite of the present diffic

necessary, from time to time, to rein- The wisdom of assisting ihe African many more years of servicforce and even a lt e r t hose foundations. brethren in this endeavor has been independent and growing ]

Berry Kennedy Family.

proven by the sense of permanence

gained. It is difficult to attract people

to a service held, regardlessof climatic

conditons , in t he open.

It has also been a privilege to

assist in building up an African ministry. Three of the four Bulawayom in is te rs w e re t ra in e d a t Mashoko under

my teaching. It has been interest ing todirect these men in the more practical

aspects of their subsequent ministries

in Bulawayo. In the areas of church

organization, local autonomy and self-

support, these men have shown definite

growth.

In retrospect, we must say that

the second three years have been

intensely gratifying. We look forward,

in spite of th e present difficulties, to

many more years of service in anindependent and growing Rhodesia.

Building in numbers.

Building needed facilities. Building an African ministry.

Ceniral Afrtco Sfory



m ARC BACK ON THE FICID

As we looked ou t th e w i ndows o f

the airplane, we could see the lightningflashing off in the distance. Every now

and than the airplane would drop quicklyand thenrise again . There was the feeling of being on a roller coaster for

abou t t en m i nu te s.

We were tired and sleepy. Here it

was F riday night, February 11, and wewere coming to the end of our return

journey to our field of labor for th e

Lord. We had left Largo, Flor ida, just

five days before, had spent two and ahalf days in London, and had traveled

nearly 10,000miles on our return journeyto Rhodes i a .

Before we l e f t th e S ta t e s t h e r e we re

many people who expressed a concern

ove r th e future o f R h od es ia and a l l th e

missionar ies serving the Lord there.

Some expressed a fear that our liveswould be in dange r. Other Christians

presented other problems in an attempt

to sway our decision to return. There

were even those who suggest ed tha t

w e rema in in th e S t a t e s and t ak e a

church for th e time being. We would

h av e b ee n l e s s than human i f we wou l d

say tha t the ir reasoning did not temptus . It did, bu t no t for long.

The Lord had presented to us anopportunity not given to many people

in this day and time —the opportunity

to take the Gospel of Christ to a primitive people who had never heard it

before. What a blessing this had been,

and we knew i t co uld b e in the fu tu re!

For t h is r eason alone, we knew that we

would be the lose rs i f we did no t r e turn .

To f ind the Lord's will has always

been our desire. We had constantly

sought it while in the ministry in the

States, and we ha d s ough t i t concerning

our serving as missionaries in Africa.

We felt in the depths of our hearts tha tth e Lord wan t ed u s in th e Zambez i

Valley for awitness. If now, when thingsseemed to be a l i t t le difficult, we

t ur ned and fled, how would we ever be

able to encourage other s to le t theLord ' s wil l be done in the i r l ives? To

remain true to our calling, we have

r e tu rned .

As we flew from Tampa to NewYork City, to London, to Zurich, toLos Palmas, to Luanda, to Salisbury,

and f inal ly into Bulawayo, the questionwas constantly in our minds , "Are we

doing what the Lord wants us to do?

I s i t H is w i l l t h a t we r e tu rn t o the

Valley?" Remember, since we left on

furlough, Rhodesia had declared it s

July 1966

by Jack and Poggy Pennington

independence, a state of emergencywasprocla imed, a l l the nations to the north

in Africa were calling for the overthrow

of the white regime, England refused

to recognize the government, (as hadal l the nations of the world), and England

authorized trade sanctions against her.These questions faded from our

minds as we once again returned to ourhome on the banks of the Zambezi River

deep in the heart of the valley that ishome of the Batonga people. As we

began once more to proclaim the wordof the Lord to the people, as we beganagain to take care of their physicalailments and injuries, as we once

again began to work with the school

children and their teachers, as we beganonce more to visit in the villages of

people we have known in days gone

by, as we began again to see thosecoming forward to accept the Lord andHis word — yes, when these things

began to happen, we had the answer toour questions. We had done the right

thing; this was the Lord's will; He had

w an te d u s to re tu rn .

The opportunities for service givento your missionaries all over Rhodesia

are just as great today as they were in1956 when the Pemberton family arriveda s our f i r s t miss iona r i e s here . The re i s

a d e fi ni te n e ed for m ore t e a che r s from

th e S t a t e s . The re i s th e def in i t e need

for more medical personnel. There is

th e def ini te need fo r men and women

\d io a re t rue to th e Word of God and

a re w ill in g to witness for Him.

Yes, we are back on the field and

we are glad. We are looking forward to

the future with grea t antic ipa tion. We

know tha t there are s t i l l obs t a c l e s to

be overcome, defeats to be accepted,

but praise the Lord, there are also

victories to be won, souls to be saved,

and a crown to be gained.

"Y"" - r i

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fewhree Tonga school boys.

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Altac^'>0, Ind.ono •6'DCf



The Central Africa Story

published monthly for the

Central Africa Mission,Churches of Christ

by Mission Services Press

Box 968, Joliet, Illinois 60434Edited b y T homas T hu rman

— O —

Treasurer

Mr. Fred E. Dunn

32 West Bellis le Drive

Akron, Ohio 44319

NOTICE

We have been informed by the Pos t

Office that by th e end of this year no

second class materials will be accepted

without the Zip Codes. It will be impossible

fo r Mission Services to correct t he Ho ri zon

mailing li st, a s well as those of th e many

missionary newsletters at the last minute.

Look at th e address on th e mailing portion

of t hi s pub li ca ti on . Does it include theZip Code? If you do not know your ZipCode, then call your Post Office NOW!

Send your complete address plus the ZipCode to Mission Services, Central Africa,

Box 968, Joliet, Ill inois 60434 —TODAY.

c. —* o : u

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TheHILDREWfi

ORWER Articlesfo r

abou tChildi

EXPERIENCES OF A JUNIOR-AGE GIRL

by Norma Tfti»rmon

Diana Thurman teaching her classa t Dewure Mission.

Have you ever wondered what it

would be like to be a missionary child

and live in a far country? Let me tell

you someth ing about the life of an

average junior girl. Diana Thurman is

ten years of age and has lived inRhodesia for two-and-a-half years. She

can tell you some of he r likes and

d i s l i k e s .

Diana has had many adventures

which you would envy, I'm sure. She

has logged several hours in je t international flights. She has visited three

continents, crossed the equator, crossed

th e in te rna t iona l da t e l ine and unde r

s t and s be t t e r th e t ime zone s a s ou r su n

r i ses seven hours before i t does in

New York. She c an u nd ersta nd th e

earth*s revolution around the sun,

knowing that we of the Southern Hem

isphere have winter while you have

su mm er . Sh e h a s s e en Vic tor ia Fa l l s

and many Afr ican animals. She has

l earned to watch fo r snakes and s co r

p ion s but would surprise you with he r

knowledge t ha t t he mosquito is actually

th e mos t d r ead ed animal in Africa . She

would gladly trade places with you

each Sunday night as we take our

weekly quota of the bitter malaria

medicine. The chief things in the States

which sh e m is se s a re de luxe hambur

gers, ice cream sandwiches and tripsto visit he r grandparents.

Diana has a t tended four different

kinds of schools in five years. She

attended the first grade in America,

then at t ended ou r Amer ican s choo l at

Mashoko Mission, a Rhodesian govern-

ment school (uniform and all) in Gwelo

and now is taking school by correspondence. Many children would be very

unhappy having their mothers for super

visors, but we are great pals and she

cooperates well. Like many of you,

she i s n ' t too fond o f a ri thm e ti c. How

would you like to learn to multiply

and divide in pounds, shillings, and

pence? And to make change using

tickeys, florins, and half-crowns?

You would be surprised how quickly

you would learn just how many sweets

can be purchased for a six-pence!

Diana ha s many hobbies similar to

yours such as r eading , s ewing, swim

ming and bicycle riding. One opportunity

which she has had, I would like to

share with you. EachWednesday morning

the Christians from nearby villages

meet at Dewure Mission for prayers.

The chi ld ren who are too young to be

in school come along, and Diana has a

Bib l e c l a s s fo r t hem. She h a s had a

lo t of experience at this as she has

a little brother five years old with

Viliom she has played and patiently

taught for several years. These children

cannot speak English and sh e knows

very little of their language so sheuses an interpreter. When she t ea ches

t hem a Bib l e v erse s he t r i es to l e a rn

i t in Shona along wi th them. Maybe you

would l ike to l ea rn o ne of the i r favor i t e

cho ru se s :

"Mu^oyo xvangu unojara sei,

Jesu unondida ndingaonga nei?

Mwoyo wangu unofara sei,

Vnofarisisa sei."

Sing it as the chorus of "In My

Heart There Rings a Melody."

WANISAI

(continued from page 1)

carrying ou t the Great Commission of

Chri s t . We bel i eve tha t we — those a t

home and t ho s e he re — s ha ll s ha re

Christ's p romi sed reward: "Come, yeblessed of my Father, inherit the

kingdom prepared for you from the

f ou nd ati on o f th e world. . . . I n a smuch

as ye have done it unto one of the

leastof thesemy brethren, ye havcdone

i t unto me ."

Cenfral Africa Siory



Volume 6

A F f

} 3

STORYSeptember 7966 Number 9

Why Train Preachers?

Be ca us e o f th e L ost

Mashoko Bible College purposes to

t ra in Afr ican preachers of the Gospel.

We have already proven successful in

chis t a sk . We can do m ore i f th e m e an s

to do i t are in our hands. Why should

we train preachers? Is i t no t the best

way to mul tiply our effectiveness in

the work? When we train ten preachers

our effor ts a re spread into ten a re as a t

once. We can ourselves only be in one

place at a time. Mul ti tudes a re lost ,

and they stand in need of the Lord's

s a lva t i on . He re is th e b e s t answe r to

th is n ee d.

One day we climbed the hills here

in Rhodesia. As we climbed up higher

we could see the villages. There was

v il lage a fter v il lage of African homes.

It brought back a memory of the day weflew in by ai r and saw hundreds of

African villages with the people waving

their hands to us as we went by. Now

a s we s tood on the moun ta in w e could

se e some of these villages. This

Scripture came to mind, "How beautiful

upon the mountains are the feet of himthat bringeth good t id ings ." ( Isai ah

52:7) It would be an a nswe r to prayer

if the feet of t he preacher s tood uponevery mountain and in every village as

far as the eye could see.

We need preachers in Africa because

they ar e so few. This is on e reason

why we came to Africa. We would like

to put a preacher of the Gospel into

every village and city. The re are still

many who d ie w it hout Chri st . Othe rs ,

who have hea rd o f Him, have no church

to a t t e nd and no t eache r to i n s t r uc t

them. They need the p re ache r to plant

churches and to teach them the way of

by Cyril C. Simkins

the Lord. We sa y the truth when wesing!

"A hundred thousand souls a day

Are passing one by one away,

In Christless guilt and gloom.

Without one ray of hope or light.

With future dark as end le ss night,

They*re passing to their doom."

IL Because of the Scriptures

Secondly, we need preachers

because this is God*s way of saving

mankind. The Bible says, "I t pleased

God by the foolishness of preaching to

save them that believe." (I Corinthians

1:21) The Bible goes on to say that

th is " fo o li sh n es s" i s wise r th a n th e

wisdom o f men. I t te l l s us tha t th e

preaching of the cross is foolishness

to those who are perishing, bu t to those

who are saved it is the power of God.

Whenthe making of preachers is foolishne s s to a man 's mind i t i s a n i n d ic a ti o n

that this man is per ishing and lost.

How do p eople get faith? We are

told by God that it comes throughhearing the Word of God . (Romans

10:17) The Word of God is to the Holy

Spi rit much like the sun is to thesunshine. Preaching this Word releases

the power of the Spirit into man*slife. It is the one sure way tha t God 's

Spirit can ac t upon the heart of anunregenerate man. It is t hi s act ion of

the Spirit in conversion that Jesus hadin mind when He said, "N o man ca n

come to roe, except the Father which

hath sent me draw him." (John 6:44)

The Spirit works through the Word toconvic t man*s heart. I t a wa ken s fai th

and draw s men to Chri s t . But this

Word comes th rough a preacher. "How

shall they hear without a preacher?"

Cyril C. Simkins, PresidenlMashoko Bible College

(Romans 10:14) "And how shall they

preach, except they be sent?" (Romans

10:15) The Word needs a preacher, and

the preacher needs to be sen t. Thi s is

the work of Mashoko Bib le Col lege .

The preacher is the most indispens

able man we ca n train. His work is a

partnership with God. He can never do

hi s work by himself. In fact, He isn ' t

th e one who doe s i t a t al l . God d oes it

through him. He cannot do i t without

God, and Grod does no t do i t without

him. The Scripture says that we ar eworkers together with God. God will

always do His part. What we need is

faithful preachers of the Word who wi llbe i n s t rumen t s in th e h and s of God.

The power of the preacher is no t

his own; it is from God. He handles

th e Word of God which in i t s el f is

quick and powerful and sha rper than a

two-edged sword. He must not be

ashamed of this Gospel, bu t be con

fident of its v alu e and strength. Com

pared to what he is preaching all the

wisdom o f man is infer ior . God said

{Continued on page 2)



Why Train Preachers? (continued from page 1)

through Jeremiah, "Is not my word

like a fire? saith the Lord; and like a

h ammer t h a t breake th the rock in

pieces?" (Jeremiah 23j29) Itis powerful

to the casting down of the strongholds j|^K> iof sin. This cannot be done through lajlji^^ tm j |jth e words o f m en. "W hat is the cha f f

to th e wheat? saith the Lord." (Jeremiah

Because of th e People

Thirdly, we need preachers who ^ Bible college student preaching to aare African themselves. The African ^ Mashokopeople need to se e an example of faithamong their own people. They must be the lives of Africans the same as He

able to see what believing in Christ does through Europeans or Americans.doesforotherAfricans.lt is impossible When the people hear the Gospel infor themissionary to become an African, ^heir own language, and from their own

It is hardly possible for him to live people, they know that the church islike an African. He need not try, but taking root in this land.he must try to train Africans who don*t There is no more important workhave to become Africans and who which we do than the making of preach-already live like Africans except for The only thing that compares with

the sin. Hie missionary can bring the « is the preaching of the Cross our-Gospel, and he can plant die church. selves. In the long run the only guar-From this beginning it needs to grow antee the church has for its continuedditough the life that is within it. This life lies in men who are filled withChurch should produce African preachers the Word of God. The hope for theand evangelists just as it produces church's futuredoes not lie in organiza-American preachers and evangelists, tion orin the governments of the world.

The African preacher understands Its hope lies in men who have soundthe African people better than we ever doctrine and sound lives. Mashokocan . He knows their customs. He under- Bible College is doing what the Scrip-

stands their fear of the evil spirits, ture enjoins. It is committing soundAfrican peopleneed to see among them- doctrine to faithful men who shall beselves someone who is able to distin- able to teach others also. (II Timothyguish between good and bad customs, 2:2)

someone who doesnot fear evil spirits. Mashoko Bible College is beginningThe only way an evil spirit can be a building program to provide class-kept out of anybody's life is for that rooms and other facilities for the Biblelife to have Christ within it . college. These are much needed, and

The aim of the missionary should will increase our effectiveness in thebe to work himself out of a job. He training of African ministers. We needrejoices when African preachers carry your help. Will you remember this workon the work he has begun. He knows your prayers?that the Holy Spi ri t can work through ..—..—

One of the Bible collcge students baptizing a lady From his area,Turgwe.

Page 2

DOROTHEA PARKER

NURSE-RECRUIT

Miss Dorothea Parker, a native of

Pax ton, I ll ino is , is a nurse-recruit for

the expanding medical program of the

churches of Christ (Christian) in Central

Africa. Miss Parker is wel l prepa red

for he r anticipated mission work. She

attended Minnesota Bible College , andthen graduated from Eastern Christian

Institute at East Orange, New Jersey,

in 1951. She has wo rked with th e

"Go Ye" Chapel Mission and Elmer

Kile in New York City as a summer

worker for fou r summers . She i s a lso a

graduate of Orange County Community

College, Middletown, New York, in theclass of 1961, and is a licensed professional nurse. She has been employed

by Glen Cove Community Hospital,

Glen Cove, Long Island, New York,for the past five years.

tKe

,\^ATT. 21:9

j *

iiJi*

MISSIONARIES SHARE

ON RESURRECTION DAY

by Thomas Courtney

In a spirit of coope ra ti on and

fel lowship, the Berry Kennedy familyfrom Bulawayo, and Jack Pennington

from the Zambezi Mission drove manymiles through the bush to share with

the Courtneys in Resurrection Days e r v i c e s in th e Nuane t s i .

Several congregat ions gathered at

the mission school where Mr. Kennedy

brough t the morning message and Mr.Pennington t he ad dr es s of the after

noon. The picture above shows the

miss iona r i e s with s ome o f t he A fr ic an

Christians looking up at the camera.




t h e Lit t le OoctOR

The night was hot and eve ryone in

the surgery was tired and wet with

per sp ir at ion. The l arge gener ator had

broken down aga in and we cou ld no t

use th e l i t t l e a ir condi t ioner in th e

operating theater."The baby' s heart ra te is awfully

slow," said S ara Stere as she bent

down over the tiny, minute-old African

child. Sara, a prematurely gray, ex-

Air Force nurse, appropriately called

"Captain," by her co-workers, had been

cleaning up th e baby which had just

been delivered by Caesarean Section.

The doctor, meanwhile, was placing

the last sutures required to close the

mo t h er 's a b domen.

"The baby's fingernails are getting

blue, and it s respirations seem s low,

doctor. Should I give it some adrenalin ?"

"No, just give it some oxygen,"

said the doctor. " It wil l be al l right."

The inc is ion was c lo se d now, and the

doctor applied the dressing and stepped

down off t he s to ol . You see the doctor

was just five feet, two inches tall and

needed a s t oo l in order to se e the

operating field.

It had been a rough day, for this

w as the s ec on d C a es ar ea n s in c e noon .

The day had seemed a little longer

because of the tension in the operating

room. Things are always a little strained

when you have a new doctor in surgery.

Our Doctor Pruettwas away in America,and we had on ly r ec en tl y met the new

doctor, bu t the operations had gone well

and we were a ll p leased.

The su rg eon is the captain of the

operating team in surgery, and it is not

an easy matter to come in as a stranger

and take charge. It also takes a great

deal of courage to leave f riends and

Dr. Kenoyer and some of her fellow-workers at Hippo Valley.

September 1966

by Dr. Jerry R. Smith

1 loved ones and security to t ravel alone

1 10,000 miles to a remote area to take

i up arms against a se a of t roubles such

t as malaria, bilharzia, leprosy, witch-

i craft and other condit ions foreign to an

American. It takes a lo t of courage to/ step into a s it ua ti on such as this,

t especially when you have only just

1 completed your hospital internship,

and especially if you are a girl.i Since her arri val in Rhodesia, Dr.

1 Gayle Kenoyer ha s proven herself time

t after time to be a very capable doctor,a tireless worker, and a very courageous

, Chris tian gir l.

; Gayle's home is in Hugoton, Kansas,

and as a child sh e was very active in

I the Girl Scouts. She attended Milligan

, College, and received her medical

' degree from the University of Kansas.

' While in college she wa s a Phi Beta

' Kappa member, and she interned at the

j Los Angeles Harbor Hospital. Recently

1 she was honored by being selected

r (a s was her co-worker at Hippo Valley,

1 nurse Mary Bliffen) as one of the Young• Business Women of th e World, an

organization headed by the wife of the

! P r es id e nt o f the U.S.A.

S ince her ar r iva l in t he fa l l of

1964, Dr. Gayle has been living at

j Hippo Valley and supervising thei medical work there. It is through the

labors of John Pemberton and Dr.

, Dennis Pruett that we have this tremen-' dous opportunity of service in the Hippo

I Val ley area. As the work in Rhodesia

grows, however, so do the responsibili-

! ties of these pioneer missionaries, andt he del egat ion of authority becomes

r mandatory. And so it has been that the

t mantle of medical responsibility inI Hippo Valley ha s fallen upon the

shou ld e rs o f t h i s " l i t t l e " doctor.

In my capacity as a dentist I have

been t rave ling from Mashoko to Hippo

Valley on Monday of every week for

two-and-a-half years. The only way to

appreciate th e tremendous amount of

work that goes on there is to actually

experience it . Week after week I have

seen the work load grow along with the

Sugar Estates and the town of Chiredzi

which is springing up in the area.

Try to picture in your mind just one

woman doctor and a missi on nur se ,

assisted by three par t- time Rhodesian

nurses, providing the medical coverage

for almost 1,000whites and over 60,000

Africans! Joh n and Marjorie Pemberton

live nearby and a re a lw ay s ready to

help, but it is Mary Bliffen and in the

Dr. Gayle Kenoyer

final analysis, Dr. Kenoyer who must

bear the medical responsibility for

th e a r ea .

It has become a common sight to

se e Dr. Gayle bouncing down the dusty

road at a rapid clip on her small

motorcycle enroute to one of the three

African clinics up to 15 miles away.

She has been learning to fly and seeras

to like to practive takeoffsand landings

with her motorcycle! In spite of th e

tremendous work load, Dr. Gayle is very

meticulous and thorough, and every

patient is treated as an individual. Her

day usually begins before si x and

extends well into the night, as she does

most of he r own laboratory studies. Then

more of ten than not the doc to r and the

nurse are up during the night with

medical emergencies. A few days at atime of t his schedul e are rough, but

day in, day out, seven days a week,

withou t a b reak i s more t ha n m os t men

can take, much less a small young

woman. The next time you have to

visit your doctor, and a re sitting in hi s

comfortable waiting room, remember

our work at Hippo Valley, and 60,000Africans being served by one, big,

l i t t le Chr i s t i an doctor in Rhodes i a .

The Central Africa Story is published

monthly for the Central Africa Mission,

Churches of Christ byMission Services

Association at 509 West Jefferson,

Joliet, Illinois. Second Class Postage

paid at JoUet, I ll inois 60434.

Volume 6 September 1966 Number 9

Page 3



THE PROFESSIONAL by Bob Smith

The guard executes a block; thehalfback knifes through the hole,neatly evades the safetyman, and scores

a touchdown. This is a scene you willsee many times this fall if you're a

football fan. The men knew their jobsand did them perfectly. Why shouldn't

they? They're professionals.The surgeon steps confidently to

the operating table; all instruments

prepared properly and arranged in thesequence of need. The rest of the

assistants carry out the surgeon's

commands with precision and speed.

Another life has been saved, and whyshouldn't it have been? These people

are professionals. Some have spent

more than a third of the average lifespan of man in preparation.

An author writes a text, spelling

out t he cor rect principles of using theEnglish language in a clear and concisefashion, easily understood, and there

fore very valuable to the student. The

author has spent hi s entire career

developing knowledge for compila tionand writing of the text. It is accepted

widely because the author is a pro

fessional.

We could go on giving examples of

careers of very capable people using

their particular talents in a specialized

The Don Poorman family

It is with a great deal of joy and

anticipation that we announce ou rintentions of becoming a part of theeduca t iona l work in Rhodesia .

The oppor tuni ty for evangelistic

soul winning through the school is

unique. It s influence on the community,

matchless. Evangelism through thesecondary schools is th e foundation forth e res torat ion of New Tes t ament

Christianity in Africa.

The growth of this work is incom

prehensible. To describe it is difficult.

h M

Part of a local congregation at Chircmwaremwa School

f ie ld of endeavor, but i t isn' t neces sa ry . l it tl e more than a babe in Christ him-

The one characteristic in the lives of self. If this man persists in the sharingal l these people has been willingness of the Good News with others, if heon the ir par t to discipline their minds,

hands, bodies, even their souls toperfect their part icular skills.

Several weeks ago one of the

African men in one of the congregationsbrought another man to t he worshi p

service with him. They had come to the

mission so that the man might be

con t inues to lead the kind of l i fe t ha t

will attract others to the Worthy Individual much good will be accomplished.

No matter how important or entertainingthese other skills which we practice

to perfection may be, nothing is more

important to God than the s oul o f man.

Are you a professiona l Chri st ian?

immersedfor the remission ofhis sins - you disciplined yourself for thisvital task of Christ ian witnessing?

nothing unusual exc ept that the one

bringing the prospective Christian was

Educa t iona l Worke r s fo r Rhodesia

To view it , as I did for 30 days this

past summer, is a spiritual splendor.

To participate in it, by both teachingand preaching, a joy. It s opportunities

are e n d l e s s .

We look forward, with thankfulness,

to sharing several years of experience

in the ministry, youth and camp work,secondary school teaching, counseling

and administration, andas an elementaryschool princ ipal with this excitingly

progressive country and continent.Both Don and Ruth a t t ended

Johnson Bible College, Minnesota

Bible College, and, later, Ozark Bible

College. Don's A.B. was granted byMinnesota Bible College in 1949. Both

also hold bachelor degrees in education

from Eastern Michigan University.

Don's M.A. is also from Eastern, with

post-master's work taken at Eastern,

Wayne S ta te Unive rs it y and Michigan

State University.

by Don Poorman

As we join in the educat ional part

of the evangelistic work in Rhodesia,

our need is for support and prayers —support, that we might go quickly,thereby heeding John Pemberton's

plea, "We really need you to come bythe end of this year —we are veryshort of staff"; prayers, that we might

be used effectively.Contact for speaking engagements

and information may be made direc tly

to th e Poormans, 5444 Kingston,Dearborn Heights, Mich. 48125. Their

phone number is area 313/565-4488.

All funds should be s e n t to the i r

forwarding agents, Dr. and Mrs. WilliamEly, 35570 Orangelawn, Livonia,

Michigan 48150.

He Calls — You Send — We Gol




ABITS AND

1 HappeningsOF CHURCH GOING by Richard Hostetter

Manner i sms and forms o f church

services ar e not univ er sal ly th e same

among people who do not conform to aspecific "order of procedure" estab

lished by a heirarchy. Perhaps you

would be int er es ted in knowing someof th e c i rcumst ance s c ent e red around

our local church gatherings.

First, th e services do conta in the

recognized components of New Testa

ment worship, i.e., preaching, singing,

prayer, communion, and offerings. But

in mat ters where th e Bible has not

spoken there is much variety and

flexibility of act iv i ty .

Here, the peop le walk to churchservices. If they arrive late, most

kneel for brief prayer before taking aplace on the earth or a bench. Such

kneeling is difficult for mothers withbab ie s s tr apped on their b ac ks , so

they just sit and bow their heads.

There is absolutely no socializing or

nodding and whisper ing between the

late comers and tho se a lre ady present.

But such fraternizing is very robus t

af ter th e serv ice . No cold and formal

parade ou t of a building and "away

we go" to th e funny paper, T.V., etc.

Few, if any, people in th e reserves

have t imep ieces, and so a preacher

must get u sed to people arriving late,

even to coming at the end of the

service. We speak of a meeting forworship and teaching as "becoming a

good service" or "it became a goodserv ice ."

Hymn singing before the sermon is

usual ly very extended in order to giveopportunity for as many as possible toarrive in t ime fo r th e communion and

preaching. There is no specific time

fo r th e service to end. I have been to

gatherings which lasted over two hours,

while the next week they may last onlyan hour. While we a re speak ing of

singing, we must admit that i t varies inquality from poor to excellent. The

people are adept at learning to sing inparts and easily memorize t une s and

words. They r ea ll y love to sing and

ar e given oppor tuni ty o f choos ing or

spontaneously starting hymns in which

al l the people join. O ccasionally apreacher may expect to have a hymninterjected into t he mid st o f his sermon

delivery. This past Sunday while

speaking, I asked th e people to turn

in their Bibles to a certain passage

for reading, ^ i l e they were doing so ,

a woman started a hymn. All joined in,

September 1966

including myself. When the hymn was

finished (all stanzas are sung), 1

continued with th e sermon. The people

all say "Amen" in unison at the endingof public prayers also.

The seating arrangements arerather es tablished. I f possible, one or

two western style cha ir s a re provided

and reserved for the local preacher

and perhaps the guest missionary.

The men and older boys are seated

separately and occupy whatever seats

and benches a re a v ai la bl e. The men

are first in al l privileges (no problem

about women ruling and running the

Church). The women an d chi ld ren a re

n ot to ta ke a bench i f a man o r men are

present to take such places. I have

s een r a th e r we l l- e du c a ted women s i t

on th e ground while a place for her ona bench was occupi ed by a man whocould not read o r w rite . "Adam was

first," in the eyes of these people and

the women are no t marching in p ro te st

o r d i scon ten t.

There is only one cup used in the

Communion, especially in the rural

reserves. It is no t because of any

doctrinal convictions, but that in

div idua l communion s e rv i ces a re not

available. Every new missionary ha s adifficult time getting used to drinkingfrom a cup perhaps already used byover 50 people.

Preachers generally preach without

notes and t he sermons are very spon

t aneous . Thi s writer generally avoided

the reliance upon notes when preaching

in America and was grateful for having

done so because there ar e no pulpits

ou t in the reserves to la y them upon.

The wind could play havoc with notes

as it sometimes vigorously whips thepages o f one*s Bible. Not once in the

past year has a per son eve r come tome after a sermon and said anythingabout it —either complimentary or in

Baby Missionary

Mr . and Mrs. Richa rd Hostet t er

are receiving congratulations on the

birth of a daughter, Heather Faye,

bom on August 1 at Umtali,

Rhodesia. Her birth weight was

9 pounds 7 ounces. Mother and

daughter are both well.

criticism. I always believed that al l

th e kind remarks made in Amer ica

about one's sermon could not always be

true, and there is small danger of

conceit in the sermonizer's opinion of

h im se lf h e re .

One may expect almost anything tohappen during a service of worship ,especially when meeting outdoors. The

past Sunday whi le preaching, several

dogs were present strolling and sniffingamong the congregation. Hens withtheir broods scratched nearby, and about

a dozen cattle walked by. Also, we had

the service disturbed by three malemembers, beards and garb, from abizarre religious group called "Zionists." They arrived late and left

during the middle of the service.

Another Sunday, a delegation from the

"Apostles," another large indigenousAfrican group, believing in polygamyand other unusual and unscriptural

tenants, visited us while we were

baptizing. These people c la im to have

prophets among them. This day wehad one of their "so-called" prophets

in our midst. Soon, in our assembly, hestarted violently shaking his head,

twisting his staff and moaning and

screeching as if possessed (I believed

by the devil, not by God). Then hestarted to shout and proceeded to rush

pell-mell through the bushes, loudly

uttering unintelligible noises. Ourpeople just snickered and laughed while

watching him go, robe flying behind

him, holding his s ta ff with both handsabove hi s bearded head. Disconcerting,

to say the least!

Much more space could be used

describing many other happenings.For instance, on another Sunday wehad a man who had drunk too much

hwabwa (strong beer) wobble into ourservice. Taking a seat, he started

yelling loudly some polit ical opinions

and two of our men had to forciblylead him away while he kept looking

back and shaking his clenched fists.

One may expect most anything tohappen when going to worship overhere, but the mos t amazing and wonderful occuren ce is when we se e people

responding to the message of Christ,

their Savior. Knowing that through

their faith in, and obedience to . Him,

t hey wil l h ave the forgivene ss of sins

and everlas ting l ife, we recognize that

such is indeed a "happening." We pray

that such "happenings" will constantly

b e a "hab i t " !

Page 5



CHURCH AND STATE

(Article Number Eight)

much of that territory. The history books

never fail (nor must I in this art icle)

to mention the story of King Alfred the

Great, while a fugitive and in hiding ina peasant's home, being scolded by hi s

hostess for al lowing her cakes to burn.

He ultimately succeeded in retaining

hi s kingdom, signing the Treaty of

Wedmore, in which the Danes agreed to

make peace. They also agreed to bebaptized, but only after being assured

they would be allowed to retain their

conque s t s .

Othe r Northmen made a success fu l

landing in that part of France now

known as Normandy. They went e ven

further in assimilation by dropping

their Danish speech, and adopting that

of the French. A century later theirconquest of England would cause a

merger between the Anglo-Saxon and

the Norman-French tongues, till modemEnglish evolved.

What also had been evolving in this

period was the Feudal System. It

developed most fully in France, Ger

many, northern Spain, Italy, England

and Scotland, attaining i ts highest

s tage a ft er a few centuries. There are

still remnants of it surviving, although

in the New World it may be more diffi

cult to find it. The American emphasis

on f reedom s t r e s s e s th e i nd i v i dua l

rights of every man, but this standard

ha s not ye t been attained in many

countries. By the s igning of the MagnaCharta in 1215, King John conceded

the right of his barons to some things

• - e e a r - . • - >

by Dr. A. C. Woffers

he had been denying them. It has takentill this century to g rant women 's

suffrage even in the most en lightenedcountries; and there ar e some countries

where the practice of s lave ry has not

yet been abandoned.

As in the ninth century some of the

Northern pagans fled from Charle

magne's formof compulsory Christianity

so , seven centuries later, did America's

Pilgrim Fathers flee from England's

form of religious compulsion. Progress

for the masses has been a slow business,

and in no country, as a country, have

we yet a ttained to the Christ ian teach

in g on liberty or equality.

In the rapid development of our

social conscience we are apt to bepremature in enforcing our enlightened

ideas on those who have not yet grasped

them. We are disappointed in the results.

And as we look back on the Chri s t i an

story we ar e disappointed in i ts r esul ts

also. The way of utilizing state power

to promote the Christian interests is

no t the wayshown by Jesus of Nazareth,

either in His teach ing or His example.

When 1 began writing this series

I had the idea that 1 might require ayear (12 articles) to bring the study

up to modern times. Here I am at No. 8,

and I am only dealing in any detail

with th e n in th and t en th c en tu r i e s .

In that period a certain process

was repeated in Western Europe. Pagan

invaders overran the territories already

Christianized, and in their turn they

came under the influence of the peoples

they had conquered , sooner or later

accepting what was presented to them

as the Christian religion.

It was in t he yea r 800 that Charle

magne had been given by the Pope the

title of th e Holy Roman Emperor. This

gave t he head of the Roman Church the

political p ro tect ion he desired in hisr ival ry with th e church leader in Con

stantinople who had the protection of

the Byzantine emperor. This developed

into a cleavage be tw ee n th e Eastern

and Western churches, a cleavage whichhas continued to the present day.

Only in the last few years has therebeen even the beginning of a rapproche

ment, motivated a t le ast in part by the

common danger arising from the growingpolitical power of a non-Christian

c ommun i sm .

Not only was there the development

o f th e Great-Schism be tween Eas t and

West, bu t in th e West i tse lf there was

a struggle continuing through manysubsequen t cen tu ri es between the

heads of Church and State, sometimes

the one and sometimes the other being

in the ascendancy.

"After Charlemagne had been

cmwned emperor," to quote H. G.

Wells, "he required every male subject

above the age of twelve to renew hi s

oath of allegiance, and to undertake to

be no t only a good subject but a good

Christian. To refuse bap ti sm and toretract after baptism were crimes

punishable by dea th ." Perhaps never

again in t he h isto ry of Christianity

did the general spi rt iual s tandard ofso-called Christianity sink so low.

In the "evangelistic" drive directed

by Charlemagne throughout his empiremany of th e resi st ing e lements made

their way to the coast, and thence

escaped to other shores . It was in this

way that the D anish invaders arrived

in England and managed to conquer Evangelist Ghivigi baptizing in the Soli River




OUR FIRST LOOK AT CH IDAMOYO

T he b la ck d ark ne ss o f th e Afr i can

night had closed in on us as we arrived

at the Chidamoyo Mission. Our fellow

missionaries, Ziden and Helen Nutt

and their two children, ha d met us in

Salisbury after our fast trip by je t

fromAmerica.

AsZiden pulled his

Volkswagen-size car in to the mission

and up the drive that leads to their

house, we were a weary bunch. We had

come the 200 miles from Salisbury with

four adults, four children, 26 chickens

(new baby chicks), luggage and gro

ceries inside the car, in th e trunk, and

even on top of the car. This was theKelleys' first view of ChidamoyoM iss ion . A s w e walked t oward th e

house and f inal ly inside, I inquired ifsomeone would kindly turn on the

e lect ri c l ight s. Then I remembered,

there is no electricity here. The room

got somewhat brighter then as our

friends lit a propane gas light.

O f c ou rs e I knew t h a t with a l l th e

darkness outside there wasn't any

use to ask about seeing more of the

mission until daylight. Bruce Ammerman

and his wife Carolyn camc to greet us .

So we did get to mee t ano ther fel low

missionary.

After several hours of visiting, weal l went to bed. I still could hardlywait to see more of Chidamoyo Mission.C aro l a nd I had heard and read much

a bo ut th is f ine miss ion .

As I stepped from the back door of

Ziden Nutt*s house the next morning

the ai r was c le ar and the sky a lovelyb lue . I cou ld see th e Ammerman ' s

house a short distance away and the

new nu rse* s hou s e which w as under

construction. Beyond this new house

was another building which I thoughtwas the m i ss io n 's c lin ic b ec au se the

Africans were already beginning togat her th er e. Of course, I knew by

ar t ic les I h ad re ad tha t there would be

some hymns sung and a Bible story

told after which the people would

r ec e iv e t re at me nt . What a di f f erence

from Amer ican c l i n i c s !

Stepping farther away from the house

and almost in the opposite directionof the small clinic building, I saw othernew buildings under construction. As

I walked up toward the const ruct ion

site, I knew instan t ly that this was th e

new Christ ian Hospital providing 100beds .

Continuing my trip around the

September 1966

by Charles Kelley

mission I could se e African villages

sca t te re d a l l a round . The schoo l

building was there with African children

coming from what seemed to be every

di rec t ion to a t t end s choo l . Th i s s choo l

I understood to be one of four granted

by the government. With present enrollment there a re a lmos t 700 in th e four

schools and 14 teachers who ar e pa id

by the government. I recalled too that

in each class one half hour is spent

io prayer and Bibl e study every day .

On Sunday at each one of the schools

the church meets for study and worship.

What I had heard an d rea d whi le in

the States is true. The Gospel of Christis being preached and taught. Well

over 1,000 precious souls have acceptedJesus Christ in the brief four-and-a-

half year hist ory of the Chidamoyo

Mission. Nearly 40 churches have beene s t ab l i shed a t th is t ime . C hris t h as

truly been lifted up among these 250,000African people. The prayers and

support of Christians in America have

uplifted t he labors of the Ziden Nutt

and B ruce Ammerman fam il ies and

others who have laid the groundworkin t hi s a re a of Rhodes ia .

As the f ir st weeks have passed, I

can s e e even more v i c t o r i e s fo r Chr i s t

at Chidamoyo. The fields are trulyripe unto the harvest an d the la bo re rs

have increased by two more missionaryfamilies. We pray that o th ers will

come to share in this great unbelievable

opportunity for teaching and preaching

Chr i s t .

I am privileged to se e what ha s

been done for Christ at Chidamoyo, buti t makes me rea l ize t ha t I have a task

to do in working with those here and

trying to open even greater opportunities

fo r Chr i s t in th i s a r ea .

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The Central Africa Steiy

published monthly for che

Central Africa Mission,

Churches of Christ

by Mission Services Press

Box 368, Joliet, Illinois 60434Edited b y T homa s Thurman

- O -

Treasurer

Ml. Fred E. Dunn

32 West Bell is le Drive

Akron, Ohio 44319

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HILDREN'S

ORWERArticles

for

abou tChildi

SHUMO'S STORY

I would like for al l you boys and

girls to close your eyes for a fewmoments. Can you imagine what it

would be like to have to spend your

life with your eyes closed? That is howa blind person feels. I'm going to tellyou now about a blind boy at Mashoko.His name is Shumo (see picture at

left), and he is eight years old. When

he was just a baby, he go t sore eyes,but instead of taking him to a doctor

or a hospital, he was taken to thewitchdoctor. This man put something in

Shumo's eyes that caused him to go

blind. Recently, he also became il lwith tuberculosis and his parents, who

were not loving and kind like yourmother and daddy, brought him toChristian Hospital and deserted him.Not once in th e te n month s he*s been

here have they come to se e him. Fortunately, most African parents are no t

l ike t h i s .

Sometimes Shumo is very sad and

lonely and then he cries and cries.

But he ha s ano ther and very sweet

side to his nature. He loves God and

has memorized manyShona hymns which

he sings loudly and joyfu lly . One dayI heard him singing "God is love, Godis love" an d this t ime th e tears were

in my eyes.

Shumo loves to help our hospitalchaplain as he visits and talks to thepatients about Jesus. He also joinsthe chaplain in the singing of hymns

by Marjorie Van Dyke

for devotions over t he loudspeaker

each day. He has attended so many

baptisms that he can readily find hisway to the baptistry across the roadfrom the hospital without a guide. He

knows the hospital so well that youare am aze d to l earn he i s bl ind a s he

turns corners, walks down halls, and

f inds h is ow n ward and bed a s wel l

as everyone else'sl

Sometimes he is very mischievous

and even naughty, bu t he has becomequite a pet of al l of us. The nurses

have given him toys and clothes, andour family gave him a harmonica which

he enjoyed so much until it finallywent to pieces from so much use. Heknows r ight where our adminis trationoffice is an d m ak es a beeline fo r it

several times a day when he will use

the English words he's learning suchas : Tm hungry." "Give me sweets,""Give me milk (or perhaps an orange,

a mea li e o r a bun) ."

All is no t hopeless for Shumo as

he ha s a type of blindness which canprobably be cured by surgery. However,

the eye specialist has told us he mustwait for two more years. What will hisfuture be? We don't know, but we pray

th at h is lo ve a nd serv ice fo r the Lord

might continue and grow and th at h isphysica l eyes may gain the s ight tha t

hi s spirit already has. Will you pray

fo r Shumo?

^uroo singing hymns for patients at Mashoko Christian Hospital

Page 8 Central Africa Story



I^OJ NOV 28 1

STORYVolume 6 October 1966 Number 10

MASHOKO CHRISTIAN SECONDARY

Although we are late arrivals on thescene of secondary education, we ar e

fully cognizant of the potential for the

Lord's work in th is area of endeavor .

Mashoko Christian Secondary representsthe second of the two secondary schools

to be granted to Central Africa Mission;

the other being our sister school in

Gutu , which is under the very capable

leadership of the Doug Johnsons.

After tw o ful l t e rms o f school we

can make these observations concerning

the work at Mashoko. There are young

people here who are capable of carrying

a college-preparatory curriculum to asuccessful conclusion, and of going

on from there to profitably undertake

university-level work- I do not believe

t hat there will be many earthshaking

scholars, but then my faith may be

small concerning this.

Certainly we can se e this potentialpresent — that of bringing many of

these youngsters to a ripening maturityconcerning their Christian faith. As

this po tent ial is developed they willbecome th e backbone of th e future

c hu rc h in this and other areas .

There isa

vital needfor

trained,

well-educated Chr is tia n t ea ch ers in

our schools and in government schools;

there is an equal need for this kind ofindividual in industry, witnessing by as trong Chri st ian life in the areas of

urban dev elopmen t. Th e Africa of

tomorrow w ill no t be the A fr ic a o f th e

bush reserve . This is just a passing

stage as were the days of the old West

by Robert Smith

in ou r not-too-distant p as t a s a nation.

It will take a special kind of individual

to resist the pull of the devil when he

i s r emoved from the envi ronment to

which he was so long accustomed.

We feel that these young people

are the kind who wil l respond to these

challenges. The group pictured here

was preparing to do some work after

classes. They spend about t en hours a

week performing such chores as gath

ering firewood for the dining hall,

pumping water necessary for cooking

and cleaning, caring for the classrooms,

and even digging ditches for t he wate rconservation program which is under

way. Their program is complete for the

development of soul, mind, and body.

The facilities and potential are

present at Mashoko for a fine secondary

work. The re a re some t hi ng s that are

necessary, however, before this can

be fully realized. There has to be

water available for bathing, and sani

tary facilities have to be improved. An

extensive water conservation program

is in progress and solutions to the

other problems are under active con

sideration. A laboratory is planned and

will be completed at the end of this

coming term. Many new ideas will bei ncorpora ted which will increase the

effectiveness of the lab , whi le keeping

the expense at a minimum.

O ne def in ite need a t both second

aries is a library containing books ofgood l it er atur e p re sent ing various

fields and subjects. There would be

Somes ludenls of Mashoko Christian

Secondary

few children in th e United States, even

in the mos t impover ished condi tions

who w ould no t have a c c e s s to a con

siderable amount of reading material.

Th i s i s no t t rue in Afr ica whe r e t h e r e

ar e thousands who have access to few,

if any, books. There are several ways

for a student to acquire a workingknowledge of English. One is hearing

good English , another is wri ting with

the proper supervision, and ano ther

very effective method is reading good

literature. Plans are being made at

both of our schools to open libraries.

Wc feel that this is a good step forward.This first year at Mashoko Christian

Secondary has been interesting and

challenging. We are looking forwardto many more productive years.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION - THE HOPE OF THE WORLD!

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