ZIMBABWE
Ingwenya Mission
IT was good to hear that Rev. A. Ndebele is out of hospital and convalescing in the family home in Ingwenya. Mr. Ndebele is improving in health but still very weak. It will be a relief to Mrs. Ndebele to have him at home as the hospital does not provide special diets and Mrs. Ndebele went three times a day to the hospital with suitable meals. We trust that the Lord will restore him to his former strength and vigour, if it is His will. Prayer is still required.
Mr. Donald MacDonald, Dr. Christine, and their little Sarah were visiting Ingwenya recently, and everyone was delighted to see them. The weather was extremely hot, for October is the hottest month of the year there.
It was an added anxiety that the old borehole was giving trouble and there was a shortage of water. The borehole is beyond repair and a new one is being sunk. There are several old wells and boreholes at Ingwenya which may be made use of in a crisis and we may be sure this was done. A project was afoot some months ago to have water piped from the Ingwenya Dam to the Mission but it had fallen through. However, Rev. John MacLeod, Mr Ian MacLean (senior), Mr. Donald MacDonald and Mr. Mziya took up the project again and it is hoped that the water will be flowing in some week’s time at a cost of £4000.
The houses at Ingwenya are in a state of disrepair and it is hoped when it is convenient that Mr. Ian MacLean, administrator at Sengera Mission, Kenya, may be seconded from Kenya to oversee the repair work.
A young lady, a friend of Anne Zekveld, is giving voluntary assistance in the John Tallach School for a few weeks. The secondary and primary pupils are sitting examinations at present. We wish them every success.
Mbuma Mission
Everyone was glad to welcome Anne Zekveld back to Mbuma for a few months after her furlough in Canada. It is hoped that Miss Jessie Coote will come to Mbuma during December and remain for five or six weeks, perhaps for longer if she can be spared from Sengera, Kenya. Louise Leiper may then be able to go on furlough. It has been estimated that four trained nurses and an additional doctor is required. During the past year the staff found the work in the Mbuma hospital very stressful owing to staff shortages and the extraordinary malarial epidemic and other serious illnesses. Sister Margaret Macaskill is on furlough in Scotland and is enjoying a well-earned rest.
Anne writes that Rev. P. Mzamo recently preached a very instructive sermon on Mark 1:15, “Repent and believe the gospel,” giving a good explanation of what true repentance is. Anne adds, “We need the applying work of the Holy Spirit for it to be effective.” She adds, “May the Lord yet be pleased to call able, Spirit-filled young men to the ministry. The need is great.” J.N.
KENYA
Sengera Mission
Rev John Goldby and his family are settling into their new house. It is expected that Dr. de Jong and his family will move into their new house within two or three weeks. The new office/workshop block is completed, and good progress is being made in erecting the new child welfare clinic.
Shortage of water is a concern. Not only is there an increased drain on the existing supply by extra mission staff but also there has been comparatively little rain this season. A large underground reservoir is being constructed in the compound in the hope of accumulating a supply when the heavy rains come.
The Kuria group has recently erected two church building. It is hoped that someone from our Sengera Mission will be able to visit them again this month to conduct services, God willing. N.M.R.
Eastern Europe Mission Visit
IN the kind providence of the Lord, Mr Edward Ross and myself have returned safely from our visit to Eastern Europe. On the whole it was a successful visit, and we hope and pray that there will yet be evidences of spiritual fruit resulting from our small endeavour.
On the outward journey I met Mr Ross and our laden van at Ramsgate late on Monday evening, 21st October. The vehicle carried 2.2 tons of Bibles, New Testaments, Bible calendars, Christian literature, (including copies of Boston’s Fourfold State in Russian), medicines and clothing. I am indebted to Dr Tony Martin for kindly driving me to Ramsgate from London, where I had been assisting at the Communion in our congregation there.
We disembarked at Oostende next morning at 5.30 and motored on through Belgium and Germany in the hope of reaching Regensburg by late evening. We made good progress until we had a tyre blow-out near Regensburg. We could not but reflect on how we must be continuously dependent on the Keeper of Israel for our constant preservation. Next morning, in Regensburg, we discovered that another tyre was also damaged, and had the tyres replaced, but lost much time.
By Thursday morning we reached our first drop-off point, the home of pastor Istvan, in Letavertes, Hungary. We then pushed on to the Hungarian-Romanian border at Bors, but our progress was suddenly impeded. The customs officials at the Romanian side refused to let us go through Romania to Moldova, claiming that we required another document, although the Romanian Embassy in London had said that this particular document was not necessary. We were told to go back through Hungary and go directly into Ukraine via the border crossing at Cop. However, the Hungarian customs refused to let us go by that route without our being cleared for it by the Hungarian Embassy in London; and that could not be done at such short notice. After going back and fore to negotiate with both Customs departments we found ourselves stranded, so it seemed, in no-man’s-land. We then succeeded in contacting the British Embassy in Bucharest. The British Consul kindly interposed with the Romanian authorities, and eventually, after almost 12 hours’ delay, we were allowed to proceed into Romania.
After a good but tiring drive through beautiful Romania we reached Kishinev in Moldova in the early hours of Saturday morning. We received a warm welcome, even at that unsocial hour, from Mr Gregory Katz, a Christian Jew who is our contact in the city. As well as being a university lecturer he also pastors a group of Christian Jews and oversees the running of an orphanage. A large proportion of the clothing was designated for the orphanage, so after a short sleep we unloaded it, together with literature, Bibles and calendars, which Mr Katz and his congregation distribute.
We had to press on through Moldova into Ukraine and were greatly relieved to reach Kiev that evening. We are deeply indebted to Mr Igor Belosyrov and his mother for their warm welcome and great kindness. On Sabbath, a dozen of us met for public worship in the Ilchenko home in Borispol, when I preached on the nature, necessity and evidences of the new birth. An interesting question and answer session followed the service. It is very kind of Mr and Mrs Ilchenko to open their home for this purpose.
On Monday we had to get clearances from the Customs and other government departments in Kiev so that we could unload our vehicle. This process took two and a half days. We are exceedingly grateful to Pastor Grechenko for organising our entry into the country, to Mr Igor for his constant help, and to Pastor Grechenko’s daughter, Luba, for her invaluable assistance in our dealings with the various officials. We were then able to visit Pastor Grechenko’s church, and various needy families who have contacted us, and distribute Bibles, calendars, medicines and clothing.
The next Sabbath was spent in Odessa, 300 miles due south from Kiev. We were very kindly lodged and generously cared for in the home of Mr Igor Zadorozniy and his wife. His daughter Inna and her husband Dimitry were also present for our stay. They, and the group who meet with them regularly for worship, have been in correspondence with the Church, are studying the Westminster Confession of Faith, and wish to be connected with the Church. They were delighted to receive two copies of Boston’s Fourfold State. We spent some hours on Saturday discussing church principles and leading doctrines of the faith, as well as reformed teaching on the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. On Sabbath about 20 of us, including some boys and girls, met together in their home for a service, when I preached on “…those things which are most surely believed among us,” Luke 1:1. After the service we had a talk about various points of doctrine.
It was with regret that we parted from the Zadorozniy family in the early hours of Monday morning. Our aim was to reach our last contact, Pastor Laszlo at Dobrin (near the border between Ukraine and Hungary), by evening. This we succeed in doing, despite getting lost in the darkness and because of lack of road signs. Mr and Mrs Laszlo kindly gave us a hot meal and even pressed us to remain for the night, but we were concerned about crossing the border at Cop. It was with great relief that we crossed over and then settled down for the night in Hungary. Thereafter it was a case of pressing towards home, and with the good hand of God upon us we arrived safe and well on the evening of Thursday, 8th November.
The prayers of the Lord’s people, that we would “have a prosperous journey by the will of God”, have been answered, and for this we would seek to be humbly thankful. We hope and pray that their prayers for the Lord’s blessing on the work will yet be answered more and more.
Neil M. Ross