Before I get to the really awesome part, here are some pictures from last night’s last BEC Wednesday night class (although I have threatened Barry that I’m going to Skype in sometime when he comes back).
It was kind of a funny class, because somehow we started talking about Revelation 12. Why is that funny, you may ask? Because none of us had a clue what it was about, and we weren’t even sure what the question was – which is often the case with this group, who between them, speak about 12 different languages. They’re all super-dedicated Bible students, though, and it’s been a pleasure to learn from and with them for the last year.
At one point, when the class was winding down, I took the opportunity to jump up on stage and take this photo.
Mary and Boniface – great people.
Then Matt, Naomi, and I went to Waxy’s for one last Burger Wednesday. We were amused by these two kids who bellied up to the bar as we were awaiting our table.
Okay, now the awesome part. Veronica has been studying at the BEC for a long time, and when I started the ladies’ classes a few months ago, she began attending. I didn’t realize how committed she was, until a few weeks ago she mentioned that she had been discussing her beliefs with her pastor and he disagreed. I casually suggested that she was welcome to come to our church anytime. Usually that offer is met with a polite, “Thanks,” because people are hesitant to leave their own church, even if they no longer agree with their doctrines. But Veronica immediately said, “Okay.”
Two weeks later, I went to Durban (because that’s the one we thought at the time she lived closest to), and Veronica met me and Maxwell. She stayed for service, lunch, and the afternoon BEC class. The day before, when I had called to make sure she was still planning to come, she asked about starting baptism classes.
At the time, I wasn’t sure how much understanding she had of what we consider first principles. But after a couple of meetings with her, it became very clear that she not only understood and agreed with what we believe the Bible teaches – she was very convicted that her previous baptisms were not according to the One Gospel, and was desperate to get baptized. We began working out the details, and continuing to meet in the meantime to continue to make sure we were truly of One Mind.
When we realized she actually lives closer to Westville, I spoke to the brothers there, who were confident that Maxwell and I were able to properly assess her readiness. They pretty much left the details up to me. I was considering who should be the one to baptize her, and running through the brothers in my mind. Then I realized that obviously it should be Maxwell, though he attends Durban and not Westville. I asked Maxwell if he had ever done a baptism, and he said he had not, but he was willing.
Veronica had asked if we could meet every day this week, and I had agreed to every day except Monday and Friday. She ended up getting sick and missed Tuesday and Wednesday. Luckily we were able to have one last meeting this afternoon, before her baptism. The last thing I asked her was why she wants to get baptized. She gave a beautiful confession of faith.
I happened to ask Maxwell if he had remembered to bring clothes to change into. He didn’t realize we were using a pool instead of a baptismal tank, and hadn’t brought any. I called Mdu to see if he had anything Maxwell could borrow, and we picked it up on the way back to the hall – where we would wait for Veronica and her husband before heading over to the house where the baptism would be held.
We decided the best place to have the baptism would be at the location of one of the “cell groups” – small Bible class groups that meet every other week – so that a lot of people would already be there. Since we were bringing about 10 extra people, and the hostess didn’t feel right asking them to leave before dinner, I made a triple batch of the South African equivalent of Beef-A-Roni (called Mince Mate) to bring along. I added a bunch of extra curry, turmeric, garlic, and cumin to spice it up. It wasn’t too bad.
We were supposed to be there at 6:00, so that the other cell groups could leave to get to their own cell groups by 6:30. But, it’s Africa. We got there at 7:00. Besides the local Westville members who were there, it was Matt and Naomi; Mdu, Funo, and Anna from Clermont; Sizwe, who rotates between ecclesias; Veronica and her husband, Sipho; and me.
Since it was Maxwell’s first time to perform a baptism, I helped come up with an order of events, wrote out some verses for people in the audience to read, and talked to Mdu about leading us in “We Glorify Your Holy Name” and a song Veronica said was her favourite, called “Remember Me.” After Maxwell gave some opening remarks, the verses were read by Sizwe, Petru, Mdu, Anna, Matt, Yvette, me, and Funo.
Here are the verses. I’m mostly just wanting to document them for my own future reminiscences.
Romans 6:1-11
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:5-9; 26-29
Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 2: 4-9
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Colossians 3:1-4; 12-16
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Revelation 22:12-14 [Veronica said the Alpha and Omega verse is her favourite, so I included it.]
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
Romans 8:33-39
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 8: 26-31; 35-38
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south[d] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Then Maxwell and Matt dunked her.
Bro. Tim, whose pool we were using, gave a closing prayer – asking God to help Veronica always focus on the eternal instead of the temporal. Then we went and ate our temporal food.
First we took pictures.
We shared a lovely meal and fellowship, and then I had to say final goodbyes to several people. As I was about to leave, I realized I might not see Mdu again. “Is this the last time I’ll see you?” I asked, taken by surprise. We both thought for a minute. I normally wouldn’t see him again until Tuesday.
“No, I’m not saying goodbye,” I told him, because I was close to tears, which I had somehow mostly escaped most of the night except a brief moment at the baptism when I was reading one of my favourite passages, from Romans 8. “I’ll come to Clermont and say bye next week.”
It was also supposed to be the last time I’d see Maxwell, but that too is unacceptable. We discussed doing something Monday night. I’m not ready yet.
I drove Maxwell home. Since it was too late for me to be in a township alone, Sizwe went with me. On the way, we stopped for petrol, and I had a funny exchange with the attendant, who was an old, gray-headed Zulu man.
“Sawubona,” I said.
Instead of just saying, “Yebo, unjani?” he went ahead and answered his own question, which they do sometimes. All I understood was “siyaphila” [“We’re fine”] and I was totally thrown off. I just smiled.
He felt the need to interpret for me. “Hi, how are you? I’m fine,” he said.
“Yeah, if you’d just said ‘unjani?’ I would’ve been okay,” I told him. “You said too much.”
“I know lots of languages,” he told me. “I’m a bushman.”
“So am I!” I told him.
“You are?” Then he said something about coming here when he was 6, and being really clever. Then he said it wasn’t because he was clever, but because of God.
“Amen,” I said.
“Just like Jesus, he never went to school, and he was really clever.”
Then he told me they were out of petrol.
Today was, for the most part, my last work day here. I have my ladies’ class Saturday, but other than that, I’m through with volunteer work in Africa – at least for now. It’s crazy. It’s so weird to think that there are things happening next week in America that I’ll be a part of. Next week!! It’s so strange.
I’m reading a book Kim sent me (on my Kindle – I didn’t realize you could gift people Kindle books). It’s called Re-Entry, and so far is really good. It talks about the importance of getting closure before you leave. I think my last few Mondays and my “week of lasts” have been an important part of the process of living these last few precious moments here with intention and attention.
When I got back to the hall, Matt was still up. We chatted about the next few days. I kept going in my room and coming back out to say something else.
“I’m so hyper,” I said on the fifth time out. “This needs to knock me out.” I held up the capful of the SA equivalent of Nyquil that I was about to take (my eucalyptus oil has pretty much zapped the cold I was starting to get, but I still have a little bit of a sore throat and cough).
“Why are you hyper?” he asked, barely looking up from his phone.
“Just exhilarated from tonight,” I said. “I’m trying not to talk your ear off…it’s not working, is it?”
“That’s okay, I’m not listening.”
I’m going to miss not having Matt around to not listen to me.
Today was chaotic and perfect and fully African. What an amazing way to finish off my time here! I’m so grateful for the blessing God gave me in getting to watch Veronica grow in understanding and make the choice to fully commit to His ways.
[I took some videos of the baptism, but that would take forever to upload and maybe I’ll do it eventually.]
Next Comes Africa 