Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1967 SAfrica

8/10/2019 Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1967 SAfrica

1/16

NEWS WITH THE NICHOLSONS

We do hope that a ll

of

you have had a most happy

Christmas

time and that

this

New Year

shal l

be a

wonderful year

in

th e

work

of

th e

Lord. We

received

so many

nice le t ters , cards

and

presents

that

ou r

h ea rt s a re

so

ull

As we

enter

this

New Year

we feel

that there

are so many

opportunities

in

the Lord's

work here.

In

th e

f i r s t

part of the year much more time shall be spent visi t ing the churches.

The Stanley family came to have Christmas dinner with us.

After

Christmas we drove to East London

where

we visi ted

th e John

Kernans. We

helped

them

g et th in gs packed for their

vis i t

to the States.

We

brought

home

with

us

several hundred copies of Concerning t he D isc ip le s in

Xhosa as well as

ou r

Xhosa

Hymnal.

Amaculo Bandla l ik a K ri st u . These

we

sha l l

be

se l l ing as

we

v i s i t th e churches.

Representatives

from th e

Bantu Trust

visi ted th e school one day

to

se e i f

we

could prov ide another

room

or building to

be used by th e cl inic as an office fo r a

doctor.

I f we

can

do so , they will

give

us

a

doctor

and nurse two days a week and there

wil l

be a

nurse ' s aid

present on

th e

other days. Jus t how

important

i t can

be

was j u s t

shown,

when Beatr ice Nfenyana, who

has

been in school

for the l as t

two terms,

was b i t ten by a snake. I t was on Thursday, th e

day

th e nurse is present . When Beat ri ce a rr iv e d a t the

cl inic he r

le g was

already qui te swollen. But within three hours af te r get t ing th e injec t ion,

the

swell

ing was already going down. I f the nurs e had not been present, she would likely have had to be brought

to th e hospital here a t Port Shepstone and that would have been

a

half hour or

more before sh e would have

received treatment. Attendance naturally varies

at

th e

cl inic

from week

to

week, but

i t

is no t

unusual

fo r th e nurse to see from 45 to 60 people in th e one morning she is present.

Along with this , we can ge t high protein food

which

can be s old very ch ea ply from an organization

called Kupangani . I t gives the

folks

th e food that t he y ba dly need. The most popular in th e small

amo un t we received at f i r s t was peanut butter and plain sardines.

Fo r

quite some time we have been

sel l

in g more than 100

pounds

of

dried milk

each

month. This

is brought direc t from Nest les .

Early in December

I

took roofing to Pondoland

9 for the church at Ngwenyeni They were so happy for

*^ . I this

help

that

they

gave me

chickens

This

help

V fBH ed furnish part of our Christmas dinner. Even one

1 . V of the blanket women came and gave me 10 cents

th e money here

cen ts

s t u d e n t s

wi th

home

ta ug ht th e Sunday School

class

on

Sunday morning

and

W


2/16

Your prayers fo r the

new

year are

greatly

coveted. Pray for us to be prepared to

meet new opportunities and see open

doors Pray

fo r us as we seek

to

help th e

churches

in a greater evangelistic outlook. Pray for us as

seek to help with the building

p rog r am .

Sincerely in

Christ

.

The Nicho l s ons

A lv in , V e rn it a

a nd J am es

FORWARDING

AGENT:

Mrs. Ed Wid lund

1603 Morley Road

Albert Lea

Minnesota

56007

r ight The

African

woman

who gave th e money

fo r

th e

roof We

generally

speak

of these as blanket

na t i v e s .

A

WITH THE

NICHOLSONS

Mai

led by . . . .

First hristian

Chu r c h

Camp Poin t ,

I l l i no i s

Non profit Organizatio

U.S . POSTAGE

] 4 t

PAID

Camp

Point , I l l i no i s

Permit No. 7

R e tu rn R e au es te d

M i s si o n

Services

Box 96 8

Joliet

I l l i n o i s 60434


3/16

. NEWS WITH

TH E

NICHOLSONS

Vol. 8 No .

2

Fe b ru a ry , 1967

How

many

people should

one

ge t into

a

building

20 by 30 feet? When we

visited Middelburg,

Cape

they

estimated

there

were more than 200

people

inside. At

th e

close of the

service

when we came

outside

to

shake hands,

they made a

circle ins ide th e yard which

went around two

an d o n e

ha l f t imes

We came to th e

church a t

6:30 P .M . s o

t h a t

I

could

record some

songs

by th e

church c hoir . T his

was

followed

by

th e sermon,

an d

then we showed t h r e e

film st r ips

on th e

l i f e of

C h r i s t .

They completed

th e

of f e r ing f o r

us

they had begun th e n ig ht

b e f o r e

Ver nita, James

an d I

had b egun this t r ip

on Wednesday

t h e 18th,

when we

lef t

to go to

th e

Cape

Province.

By

leaving

one day before

we

w e r e to b e the re

we w e r e ab le

to

t r a ve l th e

roads

t h a t

t ake o ne

th e

closes t

t o

th e

south s i d e o f B as ut ol an d

Lusotho

today) . This

meant

that

we ha d r oa ds

that

a re j u s t d i r t an d in some p l a c e s t he y

are

no t much more than t r a c k s . We cr os s ed two pas s es , on e o f th e se

by a very

winding

road.

I

w as i n t e r e s t e d

to s ee th e

e f f e c t

o f Ca tho l i c i sm in

one

a r e a

Th e C a t h o l i c church i s s tr ong in B as u to lan d an d we saw on e

ar ea where

they ha d

a

number of

churches

an d s chools .

T h e i r homes

were painted

a

l i t t l e di f f e r e nt l y than here, bu t

made th e same way. They had

e re ct ed b ri ck work

where

th e dead were

buried

and t h i s was topped

with

a cross

or

s t a t u e . There a re no

c e m e t a r i e s t h e s e are

Jus t

bu i l t n ear t h e f a mi l y home.

While

a t

Middelburg, we drove to Noupoort

to see

th e new church tha t is

being bui l t

Work ha s

stop

ped because the r e was such a shortage

of

water . They have s inc e had some very heavy r a ins so th e work

should s h o r t l y be done. The Location

Super intendent

ha d r e c e n t l y moved

t h e r e from Durban.

He s a i d when

he came th e 1 st of December

the r e

were about 20

c h i l d r e n s

graves in th e cemetary an d now by the

t h i r d

week in Ja n u a ry , almost 100 more

graves have been added.

As we

were

talking,

a g ro u p w al ke d by

carrying

a l i t t l e

casket

on

their

s h o u l d e r s

Saturday

night

we

visi ted

Cradock.

Th e

church

gather ed

on th e

f a r sid e

of

th e loc a tion and then came

singing

and preaching

to

th e

church. One

always

knows

that

he w i l l

have

a good tur n ou t a t

C r a d o c k . On e young woman

made

th e Good C onf e s s i on h e r e .

Sunday

morning

we went to a

European white)

farm Afri k a a n s

s p eak in g .

Bu t

t he y

made

us

most w el co me a nd ha d

us

f o r lunch

a f t e r

th e s e r v i c e s . When

th e

Afri c a n s sa y

th e

people on

th e

farms would

l ike

to se e

us ,

I am

n ot

s ur e

i f

i t

is re ally

so or

i f

they jus t

want

to show us off

Bu t

thes e people w er e ha ppy fo r th e opportun

i ty to t a l k with

us and questioned us as

well.

The wife

belongs

to

a club

within th e Dutch

Reform

Church an d

through this sh e is a b l e

to

g et

tap e rec ord ing s of a complete s e r v i c e in Xhosa. This sh e

plays each

Sunday

f o r the i r workers an d fo r

others

who

wi l l

come.

I was interes ted

to learn o f

this

program so

asked

he r to c a r r y

on

as she n orm ally d id an d we would speak fo r a

s h o r t

time

a t th e

c l o s e

of th e s e r v i c e . The

tape

was w el l p re pa re d. We ha d on e more

farm

s e rv ic e th a t

af ter noon

an d th e

on e i n T a rk as ta d

location

t h a t

night.

Monday

morning

we loaded th e

bl oc k

making machine

that

ha d been used a t

T a r k a s t a d

an d

headed

home,

so James could

s t a r t h is

new school

y e a r

th e next

day. We ha d

a good

t r ip

an d very much enjoyed

i t

in

spi t e

o f

th e

fact tha t

we

ha d three f l a t

t i r e s

an d

on e

wheel wa s

r u in ed when th e n u ts

came l o o se .

We a r e happy

tha t ou r Afri c a n M in is te rs a re beginning to

get to

th e p la ce

where

they

can have

some

kind

o f

t r a n s p o r t a t i o n .

Preaching

in many

places ,

they

have

ha d

to jus t

count on

the i r

fee t

bicycle,

o r bu s

i f t he y ha d

th e

money.

On S un da y m or ni ng

some walk f o u r mi l e s b e fo re 10: 00

A.M.

so

t he y c ou ld re

tur n from th e Saturday evening

s e r v i c e

to tha t

f o r Sunday m or ni ng . G eo rg e

Fuphi,

m i n is t er a t

Cradock,

ha s

a new

motor bike. This

we feel

is t he w is es t,

fo r

e v er y on e c a nn o t

beg him

to

take them some place, and

yet

have

no money

to

h e l p

with g a s o l i n e .

Also

i t

c o s t much le s s i f i t b re a k s down. We d id h elp Barnabas

Songo

ge t

a

ca r

by

doing

some

work

on

th e on e

he bought,

so i t would

pass

th e p o l i c e

check.

We a r e

checking

over

a

s co ot er f or

Enock

Z ob olo so

i t

a l s o

may go

t o get

i t s road

worthy cer t i f i ca te

I

think

e s p e c i a l l y of th e work t h a t Fuphi di d

b ecau s e

he ha d h is motor

b i k e .

He

ha d

s e r v i c e s a t Cradock on Sa t

urday n i g h t . Th e t hr e e s er vi ce s a t

Ta rk a st a d on

Sunday

an d

said

he

would

s tay unt i l

Tuesday an d have o ne

more

s e r v i c e

on

th e

farm b e fo re going home.

Without h is motor

bike th i s is i mp o ssi b l e

unles s

someone

else

t ook

th e

ca r an d he l pe d

him.

SHAKING HANDS AFTER

SERVICES.

CHURCH AT

NOUPOORT

ROBERT

G L NHUYS h o l d i n g c o a t ) . HIS

WIFE IS WITH HI M .

Vernita

ha s

he r

booking to

leave Johannesburg on th e 9th of May and a r r i v e in New York

he w i l l be s ta r t ing

back

on th e 9 th o f August

an d ge t

h e re on t h e 12th.

o n t h e 1 2 t h


4/16

Interesting

visitors to our

home

during January was a Professor and his family from

the

University

of Natal at Pietermaritzburg.

They

spent a year at the University of Illinois.

We

hope to visit

them

again a t th eir home.

We were in Durban to visit John and

Heather

Kernan as they flew out fo r their few months in mer

ica

rom the end of February you should be able

to

order t he new set of slides which we have just

sent

to

Mission

Services.

We

hope

that

many

of

you

can

make

us e

of these.

We have a new tape

recorder

through

the help of one of

th e

classes at

Madison

Park

Church in Quincy I l l inois We have made

several

t ape reco rdings

fo r

churches

in

the States

and

would

be happy

i f

we

could

have the same contact

with

you.

A strong wind storm damaged th e

roof

of

th e church

at Hqanduli in

t he Transkei.

Shortly after i t was

buil t

in 1958 i t was struck by

l ightning and two

of the women of

th e church were ki l led .

Do

pray

fo r us as we witness fo r our Saviour i n t h i s land.

In Chr i s t i

an love

FORWARDING

AGENT:

Mrs Ed Wid lu n d

1603

Morley

Road

Alber t Lea Minnesota 56007

T h e N i c h o l s o n s

Alvin

Ve r n i t a

a nd Ja mes

GEORGE FUPHI M i n i s t e r

a t

Cradock

with

his

motor bike

EWS WITH

TH E

NICHOLSONS

Mailed b y

First hristianC h u r c h

Camp

Point I l l i no i s

N o n Pr o fi t O r g an iz a ti

U.S.

POST G

VM PAID

Camp

Poin t I l l i no i s

Return

Reques ted

M i s s i o n

S e r v i c e s

Box 9 68

J o l i s t I l l i n o i s 60434

P e r m i t No. 7


5/16

\

2115S7

Vol. 8. No 3 N WS WIT THE NICHOLSONS April, 1967

Travelling down

to Cradock and Graaf Reinet with Lynn

Stanley,

Enock Zobolo and Nick

Qwemesha

we

stopped at a roadside table near one of the

rivers.

They

saw

a

man

and wife who

are

apprentice witch

doctors coming from the nearby store. When

we finished

eating, I asked

Enock

if

he thought they would

le t

me

take their picture for six bananas. He went f irst and

t alked with

them and then

called me

to

come. I got

my

picture, but such a stink I have seldom smelled. Enock said i t was

the feet

of a legavan

which

they

had

t ied around their necks.

I don't

see

how

people could

even

stand to

come

near

them. I

hoped that perhaps

the

downpour of

rain th at

started

just

as I was

taking t he p ic tu re

would wash them of f

a littl

Brother

Qwemesha said the other day when I was talking to him

I have

lost two of

my

girls . I

asked what had happened and he

said

tha t young men had j u s t run off

with

them. Not that they had stolen

them away altogether without

t h e i r

consent,

bu t

they do take

the

g i r l s away r a t h e r than go through the

regular way of lobolo, and then, as is preferred - a Christian marriage.

When

he asked

one of

th e

mothers

i f

sh e l iked t h i s sh e said No, but

i f

I go and

bring

he r back home again,

they

wil l bewitch her

and then I

will

have much

t rouble .

Brother Qwemesha asked me. Just what am I

supposed

to do? As we

talked, I found th at there

are

problems - f i r s t there

are

few Christian young men

for

th e

young

g i r l s to

marry. There

is

also the

problem

that g i r l s and women do

no t

have a g r e a t

part

in any arrangement, ex

cep t by the g e n e r o s i t y

of

the men. I know

t h a t

many of our m i n i s t e r s

a r e worki ng h ar d

in

t r y i n g to g e t

t h e i r young peopl e mar ri ed by Christ ian r i t e s and married

before

th e g i r l s have become mothers of

one or

more

c h i l d r e n .

When Vernita and I v i s i t e d Durban, we took th e used clothing we had packed for th e two minis ters

there. One had

already gone

to an outstat ion

before ou r

l e t t e r arrived, so his people came

to

get

his.

The

other man

asked

me to

e xp la in t o

th e church about this g i f t . Not only

di d

he and his

wife

express

their

thanks,

but s ev era l o th er s a ls o

stood

up to thank us fo r this

g i f t .

I

wish that

many of you

that

have g iv en cou ld se e the real joy that

these

things

bring

to the people here.

Vernita

has been

going o ut each Tuesday to Invutshini to help Mrs. Songo

learn

to play th e pump

organ

that she has. Following this , th e

women

gather for a lesson. The turnout has been large according

to th e

m i n i s t e r s

wife. One day Vernita was l a t e because of some things

here a t

home and they were very

concerned, fo r they feared that something

might have happened

to her.

She

can only

go when I

am

home so

sh e may have th e pickup

to drive .

I know th e B ib le

says

do

not

covet,

bu t

Honda has jus t come out with a small l ight plant. I t i s

about a

foo t h igh,

a

foot

wide and

eighteen inches

long.

I t

is th e most portable one I

have eve r seen.

I t

will give 12 volts, 110 and 220 direct current. This would really make

i t

pos si bl e t o make much more

us e

of the

sl ides and film

st r i p s

for a

300

watt bulb would be much b e t t e r than th e 100s we must us e off

th e car battery.

The

cost i s a lways one of th e

things.

I t is

R140 which

is

196 in American money.

I f

t h e i r motors

work

as well on

t h i s

as

they

do in th e

motor

bikes,

i t

should work f ine.

By th e time you receive t h i s

i t

wil l be

l e s s than

two

months

and

Vernita w i l l

be in the

S t a l e s .

One church has j u s t raised nearly 100 to

help

with th e t ickets .

In March, I

s h a l l

be

gone from home

for

j u s t over a week v i s i t i n g a number of churches and at tending

the Conference Committee meeting, where plans

will

be laid for the coming Conference in

October.

Zulu

class

has been very interest ing. I find the ear is good, but the grammar rather rusty. Most

of the others in c l a s s have b een there

fo r

the

past three

years

and I have been away from Zulu

class for

10 years now. I t has taken a lo t o f re view. One hour is

spent

on grammar and one hour on reading and

t r a n s l a t i n g a Zulu novel. I find i t much

harder to

study

for

one night

class

a week, than when we had

to

study

for

a

class each

day.

There was a complete s h i f t of personnel

at

th e TB

hospital

a t

th e end of February. Vernita sha l l go

out alone t h i s time fo r I s h a l l be away.

Those

leaving were preparing a s ch ed ul e o f

what

we have

done

fo r those

who

shal l

be coming.

We have

j u s t read

a most

interest ing

l i t t l e book, Have We No

Right?

by Mabel

Williamson

and

printed

by

Moody Press.

I t

i s

about

missionaries, bu t

I

am sure that

you

will find i t

as

interest ing

as

we d i d .

May God

richly

bless and keep you a l l . Thank you so much fo r your continued support . Do l i f t us up

on th e

wings of prayer, for

without

the

guidance and help

of the

Lord, we could do nothing.

FORWARDING AGENT:

M r s .

Ed W i d l u n d

1603

Morley

Road

A l b e r t Lea,

Minnesota

56007

Yours

through Chris t ,

A l v i n a n d V e r n i t a N i c h o l s o n


6/16


May, 1967

ol. 8

No. 4

Vertp-t^^TfS

I^..ifTly

thank

God

and you, the wonderful

way

that you have given for Vernita s

return

tî

Adieja'C ?^

845

has

heen received

oj^j>^r^-c^lready

and that is just a

few dollars

short

of pay

ing

for

thi-ûnd ti'tp-t-ioJt-e^sto^Nevt^JS^rtlTand.îySck..

From

this I

sure

that yet

enough shall come

to

cover thj


7/16

Vol. 8

No . 5


June 1967

By th e time you receive this l e t t e r

Vernita

will be there in th e States f or S an dr a s wedding. She

had much packing to do to ge t ready for her

trip

not only fo r herself but fo r

a ll

of us. I am making a

trip through Zululand on

ray

way back from Johannesburg. James will go to stay with th e Stanleys. J a l i

must do

hi s own

cooking

while

we ar e away so provisions had

to

be se t a side for him. Once

again

may we

sa y

thanks

to th e

many

of

you who

have

made

t h i s

t r ip

possi bl e.

Last month I was away

to

Pondoland

fo r

f our days. Going down I took th e r e s t of th e timber

the roof of

th e

church

at

Ngwenyeni. I t

is

only th e door and

part

of th e roofing

irons

that remain.

f o r

After checking with the Magis trate at

Lusikisiki

I went on to Ntontela They had a good turn out

for the

two

days.

y

forgetfulness kept us

from

seeing the film

strips.

I

had

taken every thing except

th e

l i t t le piece that lets one show

th e

small pictures on

th e

regular

projector.

I t had fallen out

th e

las t time used and Vernita had

laid

i t in

th e

cupboard and I had not

gotten

i t

From Ntontela we went to Mseleni. This was new ter r itor y fo r me. The services were held

at th e

kraal

of one of

t he E ld er s.

They had worked to prepare the road

for the car.

F illing in in some places

and Just burning th e grass in others. The one riding with me to show me th e way would say stop and get

out to find a hole he knew was there and direct me around i t. When we arrived at th e meeting I asked

them for a horse to go back with that night and I would leave the ca r until

th e

next day. When I spoke

of going back I was invited to spend the night with

th e

Trader and his family at the Trading Station.

Sunday morning we had to move out into th e open b ec au se t he

building

was

far

too small.

I t is

much nicer

to do t ha t now t h a n

in the hea t

o f summer.

I hope some of

th e

pictures I have taken will help you to see some of th e people we meet. The one

with the women showing

their

hairstyles and

especially

th e one looking through her

hair. Even

th e Afri

cans h ere w o n d e r how s h e ca n

see

A

woman

came to th e school one day last week. She had broken off a needle in her hand while doing

some washing. I checked i t but it was too deep and t he nurs e was not present. She was taken to th e

hospital but because

i t was

a holiday they asked her to

come

back

the

next day fo r an

x-ray.

y that

night i t was hurting he r quite a bit.

Our trip to Johannesburg

th e

forepart of April was a very enjoyable one. It was good to enjoy the

nightly

messages and to have

fellowship with th e

b re th re n t he r e. Vernita and I came home

with

such hor

r i b l e

colds and s t i l l cough from them.

They were around

at

school a short time ago giving typhus shots

fo r we

have some here and some up

toward Durban. Further north

they

ar e having malaria

this

year.

James got to play soccer with th e A team from hi s school and felt proud of that. Their

first

game

ended with

neither

team making a goal so t he y both have a

perfect

record.

Enoch Zobolo and I

ar e

going to work on

translating some lessons

which we

feel

ar e very

much

needed

by th e churches. We have talked of th e great need fo r them but no one has g ot te n t he work done. So

now

we

a re

going to

q u i t t a l k i n g

an d

g et

on

with th e work.

Nick Qwemesha hea rd o ur portable phonograph

with

some of th e Zulu

records

that we have and wants one

for himself. e said this would really

draw

the people when they are going preaching from

home

to home

I have planned to us e t h i s one

bu t

as ye t have

no t

taken i t ou t with me.

Plans for

camp

in Pondoland have gone a

step

further. The date being set for the 10th through

th e

14th of

July.

Pray fo r ou r camps that we may have more

students

in school next term

- -

and

that

we

may be able to ge t

th e

portable l ig h t p la nt .

May

you

have

many

bl essi ngs from

th e hand

of th e Lord.

FORWARDING AGENT;

Mrs Ed Widlund

1603 Morley

Road

Alber t L e a M i n n e s o t a 56007

HERD BOYS

WATCHING CATTLE

AND S H E E P

MR. MRS.

ISAAC

NOMAZELE

MINISTERS A T N TO NT EL A

Sincerely in Chr is t

The Nicho l s ons

HEATHEN BLANKET

WOMEN

AND T H E I R

H A I R

S T Y L E S


8/16

NEWS WITH

THE NICHOLSONS

Vol. 8,

No. 6 June, 1967

Vernita

had a

very

good

t r ip

back

to

the States. She was in

Barcelona

from

noon of one day until the next morning and able to take a guided tour of the city.

We here are

now

anxiously waiting to get

the

news concerning the wedding. Pictures

and

tapes

should reach us before too long to give us a clearer

picture

of

all

that

happened,

Many

her e keep asking how

James

and I

are

getting on. We

are

managing

quite

well, but not quite as smoothly as

when

the

homemaker

is present, Jali got mar rie d

while I

was

away to Johannesburg

and

Zululand so his wife helps with the washing,

ironing

and cleaning up which takes

much

work off us .

n my

way

back

from

Johannesburg I visited Paulpietersburg two places at

Nongoma and

one

at

Ingwavuma.

This

was

our

first

trip to Paulpietersburg. We en

joyed the wooded

hills

of the other areas for great areas have been planted to

forests.

Then

in other areas

we

saw many of South Africa s large coal mines.

At

tendance was not as large as they

had

hoped for here because the minister

was gone

from

home

when my irs t le t ter

arrived.

I t was over two weeks before he re^

turned and knew I

was

planning to come, which cut short his time of getting word to

others outside

that

we

would be

there.

The

first

place

we visited

at Nongoma

saw

a very large

group

of people pres

ent. Khumalo has just moved his home and so had

no

large building to hold services

in.

But

they built a wall of

branches and

corn stalks on three sides

and

spread

grass on the

ground and

used this at night. In the day time

we

preached out on the

side of a hill. They

would

have liked for us to have stayed with them for four

days.

In all of the areas

we found

the people

busy

gathering in the corn crop.

The

people have to work together in a way to get this

done,

for the grass is beginning

to dry and

it

is difficult to keep the cattle from getting into the fields.

It is

better

if all

the

people

will

do

their reaping

then

they can

le t

the

cattle go

where

they

please.

At Nongoma we had

just

finished showing the film strips and I was walking

back

to the front

when

the piece holding the

mantle

in the pressure lantern

fell

right

off.

It no

longer

gave

light but

only fire.

I

had only bought

this piece

new

a

short

time

before. I have

now

gotten a bottle gas lantern to take

its

place. This

should be much easier and bet ter than the

other

ones.

We talk

about

the pearl

of

great price

in

the Bible. An

African in Lusutho

found a

diamond

the

other

day

that

was matchbox-size and 601 carat. The man did

not even have enough money

to ride

the bus when he took i t to be

sold.

He received

302,904.00 for the sto ne.

At

Port St.

Johns south along

th e

coast

in

the

Transkei

i t is at the south

edge of

Pondoland

a ship

has run aground.

All the

crew was saved

for the ship is

only

75

yards off the shore.

Heavy

seas have forced it further

upon

the rocks

and

daily are

doing

more damage to

it,

and within a short

time

will completely destroy

the ship. It has o ft en caused me to think of the

great damage done

to the

lives

of

men

when

they become shipwrecked in the sea of sin. I

wonder

if men really

appre

ci at e the

power

of sin to destroy

and

that

many

are

not

lost

because they

think

any

time they

like

they can

turn back...but

they never do.

We

visited

Durban fo r one day of the Natal Missionary Conference. One of

the

men

told of his impression at the

World

Conference held in Berlin

last

year.

e

posed

one

question

which

is

worthy

of

thought., Is our

present Missionary program


9/16

the result of the failure of the church to carry out the program that od gave to

the

early

church?

He

went on to say

we

are the best equipped best prepared and

best organized we

have

ever been yet the total number of ail people

who

become

Christians

does not keep up with the growth in total world population. He felt the

lack was in Christian witness

where

men and women fail to witness to

their

neigh

bors

and fellow workers and

win more

of

them

to Christ. I

know

that the hope of

the

mission

field

Is on

the

witness of

the

church

fo r

the missionaries minister

and even

elders

are

not adequate

to

the

task.

I wonder also how

true

is this paragraph in TH CHRISTIAN MINISTER a magazine

printed in South Africa: Today the preacher is a worker not a witness; a plod

der not

a

preacher;

a manager

not

a minister; an

administrator

rather than an

ambassador;

he

studies

methods

rather than the

Word

of

God; he

has

an

office rather

Hran a study.. . Well I am

not

sure that even

the

missionaries are excluded.

When I went to get iron roofing to take to Pondoland for

the

church there I

found that I could get

none

in either Port Shepsione or Duroan. But fortunately

one of the

stores

in Pondoland has enough so

we

can complete the building.

Pray

fo r

us: In

the

Bible

Schools

In the work of

the

Bib le Tra in ing School

In the work of Evangelism

In

our

Winter Camps

In Transla t ing new.

mater ia l

fo r

the

churches.

May the

wonderful peace

of God be

with

you

at

a l l

times.

Amen.

The N i c h o l s o n s

FORWARDING AGENT:

Mr s

Ed

Wi dl und

1603 Morley Road

Alber t Lea Minnesota


Mailed

b y

F i r s t

C h r i s t i a n

Church

Camp Poin t I l l i no i s

Return

Reques ted

56007

A l v i n and Ve r n i t a

M i s s i o n S e r v i c e s

Box 9 68

J o l i e t I l l i r i o i s

60434

Non-Profit Organiza

U S

POSTAGE

PAID

Camp Point

I l l i no i

P e r m i t

No.

7


10/16

V o l . 8

No . 6

N E W S W I T H T H E N I C H O L S O N S

J u l y 1967

e

have

had many

l e t ters t e l l i n g

of

S andra s wedding

and

have

received pic tur e s

showing

some of

th e

deta i l s

e a re s ure t h a t

i t was

as

n i c e as

a l l have s a id th at

i t

was.

ow we

a r e

wa i t i n g

f o r Mother

to come

home

to us

Th e

Y ou th Camp

in

Pondoland is now over. I t had i ts problems bu t we

feel

i t was a g rea t ste p

fo r

ward

an d w i l l

lead

to

a grea ter camp ne xt y ea r. 68

childr en

re c e i v e d

cer t i f ica tes an d ther e were

many

more people who visi ted th e c l a s s e s

a t d if fe re nt

times. Monday night

af ter we had a r r ive d and unloaded th e things fo r camp and

s e t

up

ou r

tent

I

ha d

to r e tu rn

back

about

25

miles

an d

pick

up some

childr en

waiting a t th e road. I

returned

them home when camp clos ed. I

di d

not co unt how many go t in th i s

time

an d when I u n l o a d e d found that

with

myself

we had been

carrying

22.

These people

have no conception

of

what a vehicle should c a r r y. If th ere is room

to

get in i t must

be a l l r ight an d

fo r

su re the y do no t

want to

be

l ef t

to

walk. Camp

was als o c u t

s hor t

by

on e day

b ec a us e p e rm i ss io n

to c ut gr as s

for

r oo fi ng t he homes had been given on Monday and

they

were

very

anxious

to

g e t

s t a r t ed

One

o f

th e

m i n i s t e r s

asked f or camp in h is a re a next

y e a r.

Th e date an d

e xa ct p la ce

w i l l

be

s e t la te r

Lynn

Stanley an d

I

s l e p t

in a

te n t at

th e Ep is co p al Ho sp i t a l be

hind

th e r e c t o r y . Th e f i r s t

n i g h t i t

r a i n e d .

Mr.

S t a n l e y

was

s ur e

there was f r o s t th e second night. Ou r

te nt

was so we t with dew i t

looked l i k e it h a d been r a i n ed on a n d ft r th e s u n

w e n t

down it f lt l i ke f ro st o u t s i d e

SOME

OF T HE C AM PE RS

Th e

camp

h er e

f or

ou r a re a

s h a l l

be held

from

th e

lOth

through

th e

14th.

ar e

wondering

how many

campers we

s h a l l

have. Enock Zoboio s b r o t h e r is to be married t h a t week and

tha t

means

tha t

f ro m two

of

his

s t a t i o n s

we

s h a l l

no t

have

many people. You may wonder why we

di d

no t make

allowance

fo r

t h i s bu t

the

f a mi l y

o f th e

br ide w a i t e d

unt i l

J une

23 to a rr an ge f or th e

date

an d camp ha d long been

pl a nne d

th en .

In

sp i t e o f t h i s we know camp

wil l be

a

blessing

to

a l l

who

ca n at tend

e ha d

planned

to us e th e

new

church building

when we

were

p re se n t a t

Ngwenyeni f or

camp bu t

th e

wa l l s

were

n ot y et even f i n i s h e d . The

la s t o f th e b r ic k s

only came when we

were near ly

through camp.

They

ha d

been

on

ord er f or

some t ime.

e

s e t a

t e n t

up i n s i d e

t he b ui ld in g

and i t was

used

by some o f

th e

people

fo r

e a ting.

There is such a building boom in t h i s land t h a t often i t is impossible to get bricks

an d c e m e n t A l s o

th ir

b u i l d e r

ha d to

be away f o r

a

w h il e b ec au se

o f th e

s i ck n es s

o f

one

o f h i s b ro

the r s

By th e

chi ldren

sl e e p i n g

in ne a rb y homes tliey g o t

a l ong

f i n e

I

h av e

r e c e i v e d a l tt r f rom

Simon M t s h y i s a

tha t

th ey

a re plan

ning

the i r

d ed ic at io n f or th e 12th

o f August when I s h a l l be in

Johannesburg to meet

Ve rn i t a .

People from h er e

s liall

be t rave l

l ing w ith us to

th e me e t i ng.

TH E

CAMP KITCHEN

CARRYING FOOD TO THE S ER VIN G P U C E

Magistrates concerning

church

s i tes

In on e

place

they would l i k e

to

o f

th e

C h r i s t i a n s In

t h e o th er a man who

h a d c l a i m e d

t o w o r k w i t h u s

one has

worked ou t - in

t he o th er

we were g iv en d i r e c t i o n s

as to what to

do . Bu t

each

to

se e

and things to do . so t r ips

tha t might

have taken

only

a few

hours

took a long

day.

Two t r i p s

were

made in to Po n

doland l a s t m o n t h

to

m e e t wi th

m o v e to an a r ea c l o s e r to t h e h o m e s

ha d picked up ou r paper. Th e l as t

t i m e

I

ha d m en

Th e people a r e anxious tha t we try

e va nge lis tic meetings

using a t e n t . The Women s Group from Mitch

el l South D ak ot a h av e

given

money

toward

th e

por ta ble generator

and Mrs.

Nicholson

ha s

also c olle c te d

money f or i t e a re a ls o working toward get t ing a t en t

Th e students

a t

th e

B ible

T raining

School

have

v i s i t e d s e v e r a l of

th e

churches and pu t on p ro gr am s a nd

have made a

very

good impression.

a re looking

fo r a much

l a r g e r

c l a s s when we open

la te r

t h i s month.

Pray

for the

school

and

i ts

students. Pray

t h a t

more students may come. Pray for the

churches

in

the i r o ut r eac h fo r th e

Lord.

Pray

fo r

us tha t we may have wisdom and understanding.

FORWARDING AGENT:

Mrs

Ed

Widlund

1603

Morley

Road

Alber t

Lea M i n n e s o t a 5 6 0 0 7

Sincerely in Clir ist

A l v i n

V e r n i t a an d J a m e s


11/16

Vol

No

8


August

1967

All

our

attention

just now is focused on

th e 12th

when Vernita should be

arriv

ing

back

in Johannesburg

James and

I along with Mr

and Mrs Zobolo and

a

young

man from Johannesburg staying at school will leave here on Thursday the 10th We

shall spend that

night in

Ladysmith and arrive

in Johannesburg

on

Friday Without

such a great rush

this

will give us opportunity to get our permits

and

see Mtshyisa

about the plans for the Dedication

We

were happy

for

a very

short

visit

from Harry

Schaefer the

f irs t

of

the

month

We met him on

the early

morning

plane

from

Johannesburg did

some shopping

and then showed

him

the Indian

market and

gave him an opportunity to

talk

with some

Indians in

Durban

They

took us

to see the

new

Indian

township

of Chatsworth which

is presently

being

built

When

completed

it

will

have 200 000

Indians living there

There are already enough living there to give a good idea of what i t shall be like

Brother Schaefer

was amazed

at the

number

of Indians in this area

and

the

opportun

ity

to witness amongst them On the way home

we

stopped at

Park

Rynie where we were

amazed to find a white man who could speak their language For

there

are so few who

can here in

this

land

e

spent

two days

v/ith

us

here before returning to

Durban

and then on to Kenya We would be most happy if he or someone else should come to

work with

the

Indians

here in South Africa

School has

started

again with ten students present

Emphasis

is

still

on

the

younger people with only three being

older men

This also means a group with a

higher standard of education However they are finding the

book

of Leviticus real

work as we seek

to get

each

sacrifice

and feast clear in

our

minds

There were 38

young

people present for our camp at Invutshini Brother

Lynn

Stanley

came

down

with

the flu

so

he

was

not able to take his class The young

people who were present for camp

were

older than those we generally have so I ffelt

we got our teaching across bet te r this year

You

could also clearly see those who

come

from

places

where

they have regular Sunday Schools

We had

some very cold days

since rain

put snow on all

the

mountains around us

and in

many

places

where

they

have not seen snow for 50 years The girls had to move to the church building be

cause the building they

were

in leaked This meant they

slept

on grass on a con

crete floor In the

day

time they piled the grass to

one

side

and

piled

up

their

things so we could use the building for classes But

never

once did I hear anyone

complain

and they

a l l seemed

to

have a

wonderful

time

Mrs

Nicholson has received more money toward the portable generator There

is

a tent on sale here at

the

auction which we want to check and

see

if

i t

will

not

serve for our area here We are

going

to

need

a tent

and any

offerings

toward its

purchase shall be most happily received

James spent four days in the hospital with infection in his leg Outside of

the

day they lanced i t i t

did not give

him

as

much

trouble as

being

used for a pin

cushion

e missed

two days of school

after he

returned home because this was part

of their winter holiday time

Many

of the

African

folks are

working on

their

plans

for

the

Annual Conference

to be held at

Cradock

the

first

of October Many things must be done as they get

their

rai lway concessions and prepare the

things

they will

take

with them

o

pray for us as

we

seek to help these people to

win their

people to

Christ

Thanks so

much

for your help

to

Mrs Nicholson

Sincere ly

in Christ

lv in

Verni ta

and Jam es Nicholson

FORWARDING AGENT:

Mrs

Ed

Widlund

1603

Morley Road

Alber t

Lea Minnesota

56007


12/16

NlEiWS

WITH

THE NICHOLSONS

Vol. 8 No.

8

Sep tember , 1 7

James and I were

waiting at

Jan Smuts

Airport fo r Vernita's return,

and

i t

was a happy reunion

when

she

made

he r

way from customs. Thanks

to

all of you

who

made he r stay and travels in America one filled

with pleasant memories.

The

dedication,

of th e church at

Natalsprui t

went very

well

and

tlie

church was

well f i l led

I t is

good to know that we have a building

there

today. Our need now is fo r a home fo r the minister. do

have

some money

on hand but need more. At th e present time, he is

living

in

part

of th e church and a

t

s hed

The

fore part

of September was

the

25th wedding anniversaries for both the Stanleys and us. Lynn

and Alvin witnessed each other's wedding just four days

apart).

So the

first

Monday of the

month

being a

holiday here, we

invited

friends to our home to

celebrate

th e day with us.

ynn

Stanley and I went to Pondoland to

the home

of

Elias

Sogoni on the 30th and

3Ist

of August fo r

a mee ting with al l th e

ministers.

The three m inis ters from

this

area

plus

two of the older s tudents

went

along. Just

before we were to leave, Ashwell Bukula

called

and asked me to go te l l hi s brother

that

th e

brother's

son had been

killed

by a tractor. He rode back with us and we had

to

go to the sugar mill

here

to

get ano ther

son. With this and

taking

them to

their home

we did not

ge t

to the meeting

place

for the afternoon meeting. While we had planned the meeting and messages fo r th e

ministers,

we found

many

people present

when we

arrived.

changed

our pla ns

and

Qwemesha

gave

his

message

on

Prayer

that

night.

Lynn tauglit on the Eldersh ip and I on the Jewish Feasts, th e next day. Al l six of th e ministers

fo r

Pondoland were present and one minister who

lives

beyond

also

came - so we managed

to get all

of

them

together.

While th e messages were deeper than the people

normally

get , they

were

very

happy

fo r

i t

Another meet ing was

n ot p la nn ed a t

th i s time, fo r Engwenyeni

would

l ike to have

the i r

church

dedication

in

January

and a l l will

want

to

be

pres

en t fo r t h a t

In our study of Numbers a t

school ,

when we came to the

d is he s of

the

tabernacle

carr ied by the

t r ibe of Kohath,

Xhosa

ha d

t r ans l a t ed snuf f

dish

with the word fo r sn uff in

Xhosa,

which

gave i t then an al together different meaning. Transla

tio ns in to

another

language brings many

dif f icu l t ies

Especi

al ly when

these

people had

few

of

th e things

whi ch wou ld be men

tioned in t he B ib le . One of th e church groups here is

having

many

discussions

on

which

word

they

will

use

for

redemption,

when

they

revise some of the

books

they

use. I t makes me wonder

how many

times

we p ass over words without knowing

they are no t

exactly l ike th e

or ig ina l

LYNN STANLEY WITH

AFRICAN

MINISTERS

I f th ere are any who would l ike to send money

to

h elp w ith

th e

Christmas t reats for the Sunday

School

children,

we would like to suggest that you do i t

short ly .

Vernita and I

are

tak ing t he

services

at Hibberdene th is coming

Sunday.

I t will

be

th e f i r s t time

she has

taught

since

before she went to the

States,

so has been

working

hard on her le ss on and th e Zulu to go

with

i t

di d

not

have even one

inch

of rain in August, so keep a close watch to see

if

there is

any

sign

that i t

might

come.

But

what a windy month August was Just seemed l ike the wind

blew

from one way one

day and turned around

another

way

to see i f i t c ou ld n ot

come back

faster th e nex t day.

Mrs. Wid lund

would

appreciate i t

i f

when you

send

in your checks, you would make them to

th e

Church

of

Christ Mission

or

to Alvin

Nicholson,

Missionary.

Do keep us

in

your

prayers. Pray for those who

study

for the minis try . Pray tha t more sha l l become

in terested in this work. Pray fo r the people as they

travel

to

and from the annual meet ing at Cradock in

Oc tobe r

Sincerely

in

Chr is t

Alv in an d Ve r n i t a Nicho l s on

FORWARDING AGENT;

Mrs.

Ed Widlund

1603 Morley Road

Albert Lea, Minnesota

56007


13/16

N E W S W I T H T H E N I C H O L S O N S

Vol. 8, No. 9

October ,

1967

We

ar e a ll in a

stew

getting

ready to

go

to

Cradock

fo r Conference.

Seems

right at th e

end of

th e

month we

have

been

extra busy. Two weddings,

closing of

th e third school term,

a tr ip to Durban, Pondo-

land

Saturday

and Sunday services have

a ll

crowded in on us

at the

end of

th e

month. Then

to

make

things

more

interest ing

we have had some

trouble with th e

pickup

-

bu t

we hope we

shall

reach

Cradock

a l l

in one

piece .

This

has

been a good

school

term and I have

enjoyed

leaching. The two gir ls ar e going home as well

as

two, perhaps

three of the men. Three are staying, two completing

one

full

year

and

th e

other

three

t e r m s .

Th e f i r s t wedding held was for Enoch

Zobolo s

s i s t e r . When

we arrived

at their

liome

at

11:00

A.M.

Enoch asked

if I

would

yji

take the bride to the church

Some

walked with

her

to the car, . ^ ^

then aliead of

th e car

while we went to

th e

c hurc h; th ey

sang

a l l

the

way. As soon as th e

bride

and groom took t l ieir

p la ce s, th e

service

began The wedding

itself

does not

take

long but

fill-

^ 4 ^

ing in

th e papers does.

The bride was in

white satin

and lace, ^

bridesmaids

in pink satin with flower girls in

green

The

maid

^/jL JljflKHH

of honour took her

dut ie s s e ri ou s ly

and kept busy keeping

th e

b r i d e s veil in place and seeing that a l l went well

for

th e i

bride. After the service, I

took

the

couple

back

to

her

^

mother s home Dinner was served, after ivhich they

set

tables 9I^S^B9SL 1

on th e

side

of

th e h i l l outs ide

for

receiving the g i f t s . The

.. . _

bride

and

groom came

out

preceded by several women who called AND

ALVIN STUDENTS

and

threw samp cracked

corn

before

them There

were

men

to

SCHOOL TERM

receive

th e g i f t s as they were brought. They unwra pped th em, i f

necessary, and called

ou t

th e name of th e giver and th e g i f t . We

were

among tlie f i r s t to present our

g i f t s as we had

to

leave and knew

they

would go on fo r hours. We

estimated tliat

they gave th e

bridal

c oupl e a bout 7 5.0 0.

Enoch s brother was to have been married in July b ut cou ld

no t

get o ff work. So En och had him come

now so

these could

be

completed. Being quite

a

distance

to

their

homes,

they

came to

our

home

for the

wedding

service. We served

them

te a

and

cookies afterwards (no cake,

as

i t

was

unexpected.)

The weekend following th e f i r s t wedding, I made a

trip

to Engwenyeni

with roofing

fo r their new

church as they

were

shor t

some

of

t h i s

material .

I

also

wanted

to

se e how they

were coming.

Travel l ing

with me were Enoch and others

with

g i f t s for

his s i s t e r

who had gone to Pondoland to l ive a f t e r

her

marriage. After leaving

them, we

were

sai l ing

merrily

down

th e

road when

with

a

very l i t t l e

noise, we no

longer had any power from

th e

motor to

th e

wheels r e a r ) . The

drive

shaft was gone

again.

I had to walk

most of th e

f ive miles

into town for few cars came

along.

About

f ive

hours

l a t e r ,

Lynn Stanley

arrived

to take over

my

load and carry us

to

ou r

destination.

After services on Sunday, we t ow ed th e

Puegot

back to

Port

Shepstone fo r repairs . A second hand

part

Iielped to cu t the cost

of repair

somewhat.

Mr. and Mrs. Enoch Zobolo and three chi ldren wil l be going with us

to

Conference

a t

Cradock. We

expect

to

be

th e f i r s t ones

there to

se e

i f

Fuph i n eeds any

help

with prepara t ions .

May God

richly

bless and keep you and thank you so much

for

your

continued help

and prayers.

Please

do no t forget

us ,

for l ike

the

cost

of

l iving and taxes i t seems as i f we always

need more .

^ Yours

in C h r i s t ,

DEDICATION SERVICES AT NATALSPRUIT

T h e N i c h o l s o n s

A l v i n , V e r n i t a an d James


14/16

NEWS

WIT H THE NICHOLSONS

Vol. 8. No.

10

November 1967

To

see

if

George Fuphi

might

need any

help in

preparation

for

Conference

Vernita

and I

with

th e

Zololos

arrived

on Monday th e 2nd o f O ct ob er . They told us

they

had jus t taken

tlie

minister to

th e

hospita l with a nose bleed.

When we

returned th e

next

morning

he was home bu t would no t

stay

in

bed.

A farmer had sold tliem a

cow for meat and had

sent

word to them by phone and through another par ty that lie was sending i t with a

driver but

i t had

no t

arr ived

in town and they did no t know

where

i t

was.

One of the

elders went with

me that we might try and learn where the problem

was.

Going by the di r t

road

we came a l l th e way to th e

farm

without see ing

anything.

were then told by

th e

farmer

that

he had

sent

i t

about halfway to a

railway

stop.

I t

had been

left

with

a

family

who

were members

of

the church. This

farmer had

many

good

words for the Christians who were working

for

him and often

gives

a

helping

hand to

the min is te r.

He

had

sold the cow fo r

about

one seventh

of i ts market

value. On the

return

tr ip

we

easily

found

th e

cow

but it

was

s t i l l far

from town I

suggested that

we

ea t

f irst ,

then bring others

to

help

us

with the

butchering

and carry

the

meat

back in th e pickup.

Brother

Fuphi

unfortunately

had to go back to

t he hospi ta l

on Tuesday

night

and was

there until

Friday.

He

is

s t i l l

not feeling too

well.

The attendance at Conference was the

largest

I have

ever

seen The spirit and the preaching was

excellent. The on ly complaint seemed to have

come

on the second day

when

the cooks misjudged and not

enough food was

cooked

and th e l as t to

eat

were shorted. On Saturday afternoon we had a time when th e

ministers

formed one group and the

men

another In this time they could ask questions I think

the

men

would have used a whole

half

day with no problem

It was

almost impossible to get them to stop asking

questions

even

when i t

was

past

the time fo r supper to be

served.

Next year we shall ask them to send

their questions ahead of t ime which we hope will

help

us to answer more questions in a shorter time

How

greatly

we

enjoyed th e visit of Brother

Paul

Holderman

both

at Conference

and in

ou r

home Our

facilities for sleeping at conference were not the best thought w

had

made arrangements early and

then found an organization

had

booked most of the rondovals ahead of us But

it

was much cheaper than a

hotel and gave us more freedom for

coffee get to gethers

and

discussions

in the evening However

some

of the missionaries did have to stay at a hotel in town

While

Brother Holderman was here he preached

Sunday morning at Invutshini Sunday evening at

Umzumbe

spoke for chapel at school and spent two class

periods talking

with the

students and answering

their questions.

The f i r s t

week en d of t h i s month Verni ta an d I

with

the

f ive

men

students at school

went to

Escourt

fo r

services

there. Friday

night the

services

were held in th e city location and in th e

rura l

area

on Saturday and Sunday. Three made th e Good Confession on Sat

urday night

and

three were baptized

on Sunday

There

should have

been one

other

who

did

not ge t

there

on Sunday The s tudents grea t

ly

enjoy

these

opportunities

and

th e

people enjoy

having them

vis i t .

In one

week

we have had more rain

than

we ha d ha d in th e

f ive

months

before.

Most

people

can

not

remember

this part of Natal

having

been so

dry

before.

For

August we

should ge t about

four

inches but we did

no t

even g e t o ne f ou rth inch.

I shal l be taking a ten day t r ip to the

Kimberly

area. I

have

plans for s ee ing the ministers at

Hopetown Warrenton and Douglas

THREE

YOUNG WOMEN

IN FRONT

WERE BAPTIZED

In December

th e

family

is planning

on

going to

Capetown

fo r

a re t rea t

that the Missionaries

there

are

planning.

shall take some of

the

students

home from school and stop to visit at Graaff Reinet

on tiie way down and

at least Port

Elizabeth on th e way

back.

December

will bring Christmas

t ime and

our meetings with the

Sunday

Schools

of

this area.

Several

churches have already remembered the children with gifts of money which shall be used for making

up

their

Chr i s tmas

t r e a t s .

Thank you so much

fo r

keeping us in your

prayers.

do

feel

that

God

has

lead

us

and

blessed

us in many ways pray

that yielded

to

Him

we shall

find

greater

areas

of

service

in

the

new year

to

come.

Yours t hr ou gh o ur great

Redeemer

Th e

Nicholsons

Alvin

Vernita.

an d J am es

OUR BOY S COUT

James

FORWARDING AGENT:

Mrs. Ed Widlund

1603

Morley

Road

Albe r t Lea Minnesota

56007


15/16


Vol. 8, No. 11 December,

1967

D e a r Chris t ian Friends

What

is your life? Today

we

buried a friend. had

planned on going

to an

African service together on

Saturday

and having a picnic

supper

afterward. Vernita

had supper in

their home

on

th e

16th and they were here

fo r

tea on

the

17th.

Just

over a

week l at er

she

was

dead. Our hearts ar e heavy for th e husband and two

l i t t le

children. But

their

loss is nothing

compared

to that of those outside of Jesus

Chr i s t

Week before last

when

I was in the

Kimberley

area I picked up an African hiking

along

the road. I asked him

if

he

was

a believer, for that is the way the question

is

framed

in

Zulu.

He said, Sorry

Boss,

but I have

not

time. I answered, Yes,

but you will have time to die, and then what? He

had

no answer and

was

not willing

to

t a l k

about t

But thank

God,

this month we have seen the other side of the picture as well -

men, women and boys and

gi r l s

coming to

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ,

to

be b ur ie d w it h Him

in Christian

baptism

to arise to

walk

in the

newness

of l ife.

For

the privilege of

preaching the

Gospel,

we g iv e t ha nk s

to

ou r God.

It

was raining on the 10th of November when I had planned to start forKimberley,

so I decided to stay and make an early start the next morning. This I did at 4:00

A M When

I

came

to Escourt

where

I

was

to

pick up one

of the

men so he could go

to

visit

his sick brother, I

found

that they

had been

waiting for me or Brother Zobolo

if he came with me) to preach to them the evening before.

arrived at

Kimberley

before

dark

to find

Brother Jackson

Johane with

many

of

the church folks at the church building. He was giving them instructions for the

week to come for he

would

be

going

to the farms

on

Sunday.

They

made arrangements

for

someone

to

go

with

me

as

interpreter.

Early

Sunday

morning

we

drove

to

Douglas

where we had

services both morning

and

afternoon in one of the rooms of the school.

After the afternoon services, we talked about some of their problems. Smith would

interpret into

Chuana

and

another into

Afrikaans.

If they asked a

question

of

me

Smith

would

interpret it into Xhosa

and

my

reply

would beinEnglish.

They

have been

two

years in the new location but have done almost nothing toward

their

new church

b u ild in g .

Tuesday night, I was with the

Kimberley

Location. After services,

we looked

at

plans and talked about a new parsonage fo r them. Jackson Johane must move from

where he is living as they are moving all out of that area. He can best

do

the work

by living in Kimberley. Friday night they

chose

a new plan,

made

for

us

by the

architect. The

next on the

l ist

is the money to build with. I just

wish

we

had

two

dozen

men

of Brother Jackson s character

and

ability.

Wednesday I was with th e church

at

Warrenton. The work is

better.

Brother

Sithumesho s

new

wife is a good leader without

being

a driver

and

the

work

is

growing.

Saturday

and Sunday,

I

was

at Hopetown. Brother Henry Jantjies has

found

the

work hard,

fo r

the

brethren

have not supported

him well.

Part of this is due to

th e

old minister who had been there many years

and

not done his work well. However, I m

sure Brother

Jantjies

and his wife new) are

going

to see a growing

work.

Their

faibh has been sorely

tried,

but thank

God

they have not become bitter and have

plans for keeping on. The people have told them that they didn t want them to work


16/16

and that they

would

pay them but

they

have no t done

so .

I told them then to work

i f

they wanted to until the people

started

paying them what would be average for work

ing men of

the

church.

ven

if he has borrowed a

bicycle

he has had to pay so

much

a mile for using i t This was to use i t for

the

v/ork of

the

church tOo.

nyone

want a job? e very badly need a family to

live

in Kimberley and help

with the work of that area.

I t

is hot, dry, dusty,

windy

and cold except this year

when

they

had

rain

on

17 days out of 20, a

great

exception).

One

coul d get by with

English but the second language of the land is Afrikaans, so this would be a great

help.

There

is

a

great

work

right

in Kimberley

i tself

with

the African

and Coloured

work...then round about many churches that need help and encouragement. Kimberley

was the first place to have mi ssio na ri es, had more than any other place, but for

many reasons

all

have moved to other areas and we have no one at

all

there today.

WITH

THE

NICHOLSONS

Mailed b y

irst

C h r i s t i a n

Church

Camp Poin t I l l i no i s

Dear

brethren

we do

pray that

you, one and

ai l

shall

have a most

joyful

Christmas.

e

pray

that

in 1968

you

shall

be

a great b less ing

to the Lord. How can

we

t hank yoiL

enough fo r what you have done fo r us

this

past year God

has wonderfully cared fo r us and much of

t ha t

care has come

through

you

the Children of God.

Pray

fo r

us. Pray with us

and

le t us

guidance

of the Holy

Spirit

and

the help

of

it

a

great

year f or C hris t

through

th e

L o r d

th

ma ke

r \

Yours

with Chris t ian love

The

Nichol sons

Alvin

Verni ta and

James

Non-Prof it Organ izat io

U S

POSTAGE

PAID

Camp Point I l l ino i s

P e r m i t

No. 7

B ox 9 6 3

J o l i o t I l l in o i s 60131

Nicholson Alvin Vernita 1967 SAfrica

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