From our street to yours ...
Glyn, Susan, Maeyken, Adriaena
March 2005 #2.2
Paseka/Easter
Gaborone youth choirEaster is the season for church conferences with lots of worship and choirs. Each church (more akin to our conferences or denominations) gather at their headquarters. Last weekend we participated with the Spiritual Healing church in their Paseka celebrations at Matsiloje. Thursday evening there was an early evening communion service. The next day, Good Friday, we worshipped from 9 to 12. The readings taken from Matthew 26 described the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Each section was followed by a sermon by one pastor with hymns interspersed. Then we broke till 3, when the death and burial passages were read and preached on. Saturday there was a choir concert with choirs from each branch (congregation) singing. The Spiritual Healing church has many branches, and each branch has a variety of choirs. The concert began at noon and ended at 7pm. They began with the youth choirs which I quite enjoyed. They seemed to my ears to have a more African sound to them than the adult choirs which were singing hymns that had tunes that I recognized, and not from Africa. Saturday night worship began at midnight and continued till 6 or 7. In the early morning the women sang and danced their way around the village and those who wanted were baptised. At about 8 there was a final worship time. Susan figured that between worship and choir concert we were in church for about 22 hours.
Procession to get the
church leaders prior to worshipWe were worshipping in a large new building that is not finished. The roof is on, and many of the window frames are fitted, but the walls are only partially bricked up. They thought they were building a place that allowed for growth. But it was packed full and there were always people outside. This is a growing church. It is also a church that desires more Bible classes. A few weeks ago we were n Lobatse talking to their leaders about t he possibility of starting classes and at Paseka several pastors and members asked us about classes in other locations.
Glyn
The leaders of the
church enter to WorshipImages of Paseka
*Tents, tents and more tents.
*Hundreds and hundreds of people immaculately dressed in their church uniforms - the Bishops and prophets in their stately dress, pastors in blue robes and men and women in white and blue.
*Watching as the women came to collect the church leaders to lead the procession to begin worship. There they were in a semi circle in the prophet’s yard singing, clapping and dancing all in off white shoes!
*Renditions of familiar hymns being sung in Setswana to a swaying, jubilant, African beat. All this week I keep finding myself singing “Washed in the Blood...”
*Feeling the jubilation of believers as we sang on Easter morning “O tshoha, O tshoha, Alleluia, O tshoha” (He arose.)
*Listening to the peaceful rumbling of voices as 2,500 plus people prayed out loud at the same time.
*A peaceful moment with Batswana friends as we stood by the grave sides of the founder of the church and his son, the former Arch Bishop, listening to the history of this growing church.
*The Bishop’s wife after surveying the crowds in this new building saying “We thought we had built it big enough to accommodate growth but already it is too small.”
*The spirit coming upon people as they worshipped and were touched by the words of the Prophet.
*Members of various branches presenting their contributions for the building of the church at Matsiloje.
*Jubilant, happy people departing in full combies with bags piled high on roofs and in trailers.
*The energy and enthusiasm generated by people who were happy to be together to worship God and fellowship together.
Susan
North American Assignment
We have our tickets. We will be leaving Botswana on July 28, returning on October 4. The first two weeks in North America will be with our families. After that we are in congregations on the weekends and willing to meet with people, committees or other organizations during the weeks.
Most Sunday mornings have been spoken for. However, we are interested in connecting with congregations and smaller groups in a variety of settings. We are available during the week for mission committee meetings, Bible study groups, youth groups, women’s meetings, etc. If you are looking for a creative Southern African way of gathering a brai is perfect! All you need is lots of meat, bread and salads and a few barbeque’s!
If your congregation is interested in having us visit, contact Kathy Fast at Mennonite Church Canada. Kathy is arranging the details of our time in North America. Her email address is kfast@mennonitechurch.ca
In the Future
3 April Glyn is preaching in the Dutch Reformed Church in Mochudi
9 April Training day for Bible class leaders in Gaborone.
16 April - 16 May Fall school break.
23 April MCC celebration to mark the work that has been done in Botswana.
25 April - 8 May We will be taking time in South Africa with Brian Dyck and Lynell Bergen and families and then taking some time to enjoy the Kwa Zulu Natal coast as a family
21 May Annual Meeting of Inter Church Ministries Botswana
The Family
Adriaena modeling a
birthday presentMaeyken and Adriaena were with us at Paseka and did well. They attended some worship, part of the choir concert and played with Thumasong and Nathan, children of one of the men in the class that Glyn goes to, and also grandchildren of the Bishop in charge of administration for the church. The Prophet, who is the leader of the church also has a grandchild that they played with. We bribed them well with chocolate and junk food which they shared with the other children!
After the Paseka celebrations we went to a small resort and played in the pool, enjoyed the surroundings and had a good nights rest.
The girls have two more weeks of school before term break. Next week Maeyken will be writing end of term exams every day. Tonight (Thursday) we will all go to school for the end of the year swimming gala. It’s a fun one where the Thornhill swim squad is divided into teams and have friendly competition against each other. May the best shark or was that pirate win! The school choir is also involved in a musical production being put on by Maitsong, a music/cultural organization. Maeyken is really looking forward to being part of it.
Oh yes, and not to be forgotten, Adriaena is now 8! We celebrated with the Mennonite team after the garage sale on the 19th and she had her friends over for a party on the actual day (20th). Maeyken and a few of her friends planned the party so all Mom and Dad had to do was get the food and the pool ready!
Please Pray for...
... the Bible teaching ministry among the African Indigenous Churches (AICs) and for all of us as we gather together in Gaborone on the 9th of April for a training day. Pray for the new classes that are emerging right now. Pray that we will be able to find capable leaders and that people will follow through on their desire to study the Bible.
... us as we continue to explore other meaningful ways to work with the African Independent Churches aside from our work with Bible Studies. This includes looking at some of the spiritual, social and moral needs of the people of this country. As exciting as an event like Paseka is it is still daunting to look over the crowd and realize that if the crowd represents statistics over a third of the people are HIV positive. There was also at least three times as many women there as there were men.
... the Mennonite Ministries Team here in Botswana and the work in South Africa. The reality of MCC’s departure in Botswana is evident as things are sold and workers prepare to wrap up their assignments. The Partnership Councils of Botswana and South Africa are also currently looking at files for new workers for this region. Pray for the members of these councils that we can make wise decisions in terms of placements and for the people who are discerning God’s call for their lives and the ministries in this region.
... rain. While we have had some rain we have not had enough and the season for rain is quickly disappearing. The dam is still dangerously low.
... us as we make plans for our North American Assignment. We need to find some capable people to house sit for us. There are also many logistical details that need to be worked out for our time in Canada. Pray also that God would direct and guide our thoughts and planning so we are able to communicate effectively the work here in Botswana.
Contact us
Mail us at:
Susan Allison-Jones &
Glyn Jones
Box 33, Gaborone,
Botswana
Phone us at:
267-390-5554
(just remember that we are 7 hours earlier than Ontario time)
We welcome your contributions for our support and invite you to send these to:
Mennonite Church Canada WITNESS
600 Shaftesbury Blvd
Winnipeg MB
Canada R3P 0M4