Making a Difference with Foxfires: A Testimony

My name is Khutala Tswane, I am originally from the Eastern Cape, but I have lived in Pietermaritzburg for a very long time. I never knew my Dad and my Mom worked far from home, so I was raised by my granny. Although I grew up in a Christian environment, it wasn’t until 2009 whilst attending a Christian School that I was first challenged to make a commitment to Christ.

Before making a commitment to Christ, I used to live a very bad lifestyle which involved taking illegal substances and making very bad choices. I used to drink and smoke, and would “play with the boys” though the Lord protected me from totally losing the precious gift of virginity. I was highly disobedient to my mum and grandmother and used to be quite angry.

During my last year at School, just after I had made a commitment to follow Jesus, the Foxfires visited my School. Their enthusiasm and the energetic way in which they shared the gospel really attracted me to them. My School principal encouraged me to join the Foxfire programme and so I had no hesitation in becoming one of them.

It has been a huge learning curve being a part of the Foxfire programme. My character has changed for the better and I have gained quite a few valuable life skills. I have learned to speak and preach in public where in the past I had a huge fear of public speaking. I have also grown emotionally and the Lord has taken my temper away.

The highlight of the year for me was when African Enterprise ministered in Sudan where the children and the women there really ministered to my spirit. I was given the opportunity to share the story of the Lord’s saving work in my life too, and it was a joy to see many of them give their lives to Jesus.

It has been an amazing year, and I would like to thank all the faithful partners for their support without which the year would not have been possible.

Khutala shares the gospel during the Juba for Jesus Mission 2010

[Khutala was one of 10 Foxfires who were invited to join the international evangelistic team in Juba Sudan for the city wide mission in September 2010. In teams of five, the young foxfire evangelists ministered in schools, community neighbourhoods, market places and the prison. Their energetic presence, stories of hope and friendly warmth drew many to the Lord.]

Update from AE founder Michael Cassidy: Lessons out of Antarctica, Ezra, Nehemiah, the Book of Revelation, and India!

Our Very Dear Friends and Family and Barnabas Group Leaders, now also receiving this communication,

Thank you so much to so many of you who have responded to my letter written from Hyrax Cabin on the Kariege River in the Eastern Cape. I do try to respond personally to these letters as I am able, but in the nature of things I don’t always get to reply to all. If by any chance you have written to me, and I have not personally acknowledged or responded, please receive apologies, get your mercy machinery going and excuse my oversights! But also know that it is such a joy and delight to hear from so many from all over the world who are praying for Carol and me, also for the African Enterprise ministry, plus the Lord’s work in Africa and so on.

Courageous Humans, Nature’s God and the Fourth Person

Today is a good day because it is Valentine’s Day, and Carol and I have a Valentine dinner date tonight, and have exchanged cards and gifts with each other. I didn’t however give Carol one Valentine message which said:

“I’ll walk the deserts of Palestine,
I’ll drink a bottle of Turpentine,
I’ll even sit on a Porcupine,
If only you’ll be my Valentine!”

Carol’s gift to me was a wonderful set of seven or eight books on the Antarctic which she picked up at a second hand bookshop for R150! They are absolute jewels and I have reveled in these last few days in reading Ernest Shackleton’s South, the story of his 1914-1916 ill-fated journey, which though at one level a failure in terms of achieving objectives, was one of the most historic and exciting success stories in terms of the human spirit and monumental human courage, as well as an interesting spiritual principle.

It was early January 1915 when his ship The Endurance stuck in ice in the Weddell Sea and they floated on a vast ice floe a distance of 560km in the next 16 months before finally being able to take to the lifeboats and get to the famous Elephant Island. The rescue voyage of Shackleton and five other men in the little lifeboat James Caird (see pic below) as they sailed 1,300 km to South Georgia, being buffeted by mountainous waves and gales and beneath cloud cover which made navigation monumentally difficult, is one of the great adventure stories of all time. Their desperate venture succeeded, but landed them on the wrong side of South Georgia so that Shackleton and two others had to take a never-before-done journey over the glaciers and mountains of South Georgia over to the other side and down to the Stromness Whaling Station. A staggering saga.

Adventurer James Caird leaving Elephant Island

Anyway, I wanted to encourage you, if you are in any storms or valleys, with the moving statement Shackleton made in the following terms: “When I look back at those days I do not doubt that Providence guided us, not only across those snowfields, but also across the stormy White Sea which separated Elephant Island from our landing place on South Georgia. I know that during that long march of 36 hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia it often seemed to me that we were four, not three. And Worsley and Crean had the same idea.” Later Thomas Crean, one of the threesome, wrote simply to a friend: “The Lord brought us home.”

This affirmation is so reminiscent of the experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 9:24 reported the king as “astonished” and saying to his counselors “did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “true, oh king” he answered “but I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Is not then our Lord Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever, whether with Daniel’s three friends or with Shackleton and his colleagues, or with us now. Jesus still walks with us. Shackleton also added: “We had pierced the veneer of outside things. We had seen God in His splendours, we had heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man.”

Anyway, I must also report that I had a very happy experience, for which I believe a number of people prayed, when I made my Antarctic presentation to a full Hilton College Theatre with nearly 500 people present on the evening of Saturday, February 5th. I so enjoyed telling of the early explorers and showing the splendours of the Lord’s work in Nature and then moving from Nature to Nature’s God and on into the biblical world view of our Lord Jesus being indeed the Agent of that creation. “Without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). “All things were made through Him and for Him… and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17).

Oh, wow! It is so exciting to grasp.

Announcing: Maputo, Mozambique Mission 2011!

A map showing the location of Maputo, Mozambique

AE's largest city-wide mission in 2011 will be in Maputo from 2nd - 12th September, using "stratified evangelism" to reach into every corner of society. The city has a population of 1.8 million people and more than half live in severe poverty. Mozambique ranks 175 of 179 countries on the UN Human Development Index. Civil war, HIV/AIDS and diseases such as cholera have had a massive impact on the population – made worse by floods and other national disasters.

Songe Chibambo, AE's Pan African Missions Director, says that the Church in the city is divided, partially because stringent laws, preventing the Church from operating freely, have only recently been lifted. Such extensive outreach involves many expenses - from venues, publicity and equipment to administration and AE team members' travel. The mission has been carefully budgeted and to complete the full "saturation" programme and follow-up in Maputo, £240,000 (€282,951) will be required.

Please pray for Maputo, for reconciliation among its churches, and for a powerful and effective proclamation of the gospel, both in the preparatory meetings and in the main meetings in September.

If you would like a donation specifically designated to the Maputo budget, please click on the "Donate Now" button on the right-hand side of this page, print out the freshly downloaded reply slip and write "Maputo Mission" on it before posting.

Thank you for your prayer and support!

My Trip To South Africa: A Letter from the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Norman Hamilton, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The delight for my wife Evelyn, daughter Julie and myself at being in South Africa for the first time in our lives at the end of August last, was only exceeded by the opportunity to visit and stay with Michael and Carol Cassidy at their home in Pietermaritzburg in the province of Kwazulu-Natal.

It would be only too easy to use the whole of this article to praise them publicly – again! That is not what they would want, but nonetheless I think it important to say that they are a couple who exemplify so many qualities in Christian living that seem increasingly neglected. Hospitality in their home; time made available and given so willingly to visitors like us; conversation around the table that uplifts the Lord and warms the soul; vision for the welfare of the nation getting even clearer as they get older. We would do well to learn the art of godly living from living mentors, rather than only try to pick it up from books or even history. After all, the Apostle Paul was able and willing to say, "imitate me" (1 Cor 4. 15-17).

The primary reason for our trip to South Africa was to see and learn at first hand what the church there had learned over the 15 years since the ending of the apartheid era. The South African experience is often used here in Ireland as a model of how to make further political and social progress. In particular, its Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been suggested as a model for us, as we struggle to work out how to deal with the past.

Our visit left us far from convinced that this would be a good way to go. If apartheid was the way that the state oppressed the black population, and its removal was expected to deliver equality and hope to the blacks, then those hopes have scarcely been realised. The levels of poverty in the black townships are often intense. The whites have the money – and so still have huge power that is not subject to the decisions of the ballot box.

Within 20 minutes and just a few miles, we were in a shanty township where families eke out the hardest and poorest of a living, and then on down the road to one of the most prestigious private schools in the whole of Africa. The school grounds extend to 3000 acres and they have an Olympic size swimming pool as part of their sports facilities.

The basic fees for 2011 are over £16,000 (€19,000) per annum. There is virtually no opportunity for the majority of blacks to have even a basic education, whilst the best can be bought by those with the financial power, most of whom are whites. This gap cannot be changed by changing the law. It is here to stay.

It is in this new economic apartheid that African Enterprise is seeking to build a ministry fit for changing Africa. Christian ministry requires leadership of the highest calibre, both spiritually and strategically, to bring real hope, light and deliverance to those bound by oppression of all kinds – whether dependence on mammon, or reliance on the spirits and the witch doctors.

David and Lynda Rees, Carol and Michael Cassidy with Evelyn, Julie and me.

Perhaps the most sobering moment of our visit to AE was at a lunch hosted by Michael. I asked a leader in the black church what he had learned 15 years after the ending of apartheid. He was silent for what seemed a devastatingly long time. Then, with tears beginning to come, he said ‘We have taken our eyes off the ball. We thought that all would be well when apartheid ended. It is now worse than ever.’

What did we learn? Lots. Perhaps the most important lesson for us all, North and South of the border, is that man does not live by politics alone, and we must turn away from the idolatry of thinking that we do. There is a huge temptation to place our futures in the hands of those we elect. South Africa has taught us – again – that whilst those who govern have great responsibility, it is the living God to whom we must turn and give the fullest allegiance, and to find in Him the hope we need to face a very uncertain future. Sadly perhaps, this is a message that needs to be broadcast to believers here in Ireland every bit as much as to those who are not yet committed to Christ. That need is something we share with many parts of Africa.

Blessings,
Norman

[Get to know Rev Hamilton better by clicking here.]

Exciting Follow-Up Stories From Juba Mission 2010

Juba youth with mission follow-up materials

More than 100,000 people in Southern Sudan heard the Good News of Jesus Christ proclaimed during AE’s evangelistic mission to the city of Juba in September 2010. Seventy-thousand of these came to one or more of the 200 evangelistic meetings organized throughout Juba during the mission week. Evangelists preached the Gospel in marketplaces, offices, hospitals, prisons, schools and in evening stadium rallies. Another 30,000 listened to the proclamations via radio. In all, 3,000 Sudanese made first-time commitments to Jesus Christ and are now being discipled in local churches.

AE’s outreach was especially strategic, coming as it did just four months before the Southern Sudanese referendum on whether the southern portion of the country should secede from the north. Decades of cruel harassment by the Arab and Muslim Northern Sudanese army raids have left thousands of Southern Sudanese dead and have contributed to a shattered economy. The South, comprised of Africans who are mostly either Christian or adherents of traditional animist religions, has just elected to secede, with Southern Sudan set to become an independent country on 9th July, 2011. AE’s mission contributed to the so far relatively peaceful transitional process to independence now underway.

Searing hot weather, punctuated by disruptive wind and rain storms did not prevent the AE team from ensuring that as many people as possible had a chance to respond to the numerous offers of salvation during the mission week. One of these was Andira Sebe, a 25-year-old woman with three children. When she was a child, her father converted to Islam, something she refused to do, even if it meant death. Though she did not have a relationship with Christ, she did believe in God in general. When her first child died as a baby from yellow fever, however, she despaired, choosing to believe that God did not care for her. She turned her back on him completely.

Andira Sebe

Not being involved in any church, she found herself strangely drawn to one of AE’s outreaches in the part of Juba where she lived. The message touched her heart deeply and she gave her life to Christ that day. She now feels a peace with God which she never knew before and senses a deep joy that he is helping her, even to find healing from the loss of her baby. She is also growing in her newfound faith through her involvement in a discipleship course at a local church. This has helped her to feel that she can give up her business of selling beer, something associated with a drunken and illegal lifestyle in Sudan, since she now trusts God to guide and provide for her.

A Teacher's Heart: "The Foxfires are a voice of hope to many, many young people"

Kurt Miles is a Teacher at Middle Land Secondary School in Middleburg, Eastern Cape. He is also the Circuit Steward at the Middelburg Methodist church in South Africa. He shared the following words at the 2010 Foxfire graduation service held at African Enterprise on 26th November 2010:

I am an English Teacher at a school in Middelburg, in the Eastern Cape, but was born and raised in Durban. It has been an absolute privilege for me to always see the Foxfires at our school, Middle Land Secondary School. They are very much interactive with the children and teachers. The Foxfires are carriers of hope to our nation, firstly because in the community that I live in, many of our matriculants leave Middleburg to go and work in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and other main centres of Sout Africa. What happens is that when they come back home, they die of AIDS & other related diseases. The influence of the Foxfires in the cities, townships, smaller towns of South Africa has been phenomenal as it has caused many young people to make decisions for Jesus. One of the areas in which they minister is the area on Life Orientation, when they speak about drugs, sexuality and the positive self image that youngsters should have and I just want to commend the Foxfires to all. They have done a tremendous job, not only in the community where I come from but also in Port Elizabeth where I have lots of friends and in the schools there – they can tell you that our schools are in utter shambles. I think that you will see on television that in the Eastern Cape crime and corruption is rife and all I can say is that the Foxfires are a voice of hope to many, many, many young people in South Africa.

I would like to close with a scripture from Isaiah 52 v 7: "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"

The Foxfires are carriers of hope and good news in South Africa.

Update from AE founder Michael Cassidy

Me and grandson Matthew enjoying bonding time at Kenton-on-Sea.

Beloved Friends and Family,

I am starting this letter to you on 15th January from Hyrax Cabin on the Kariega River on Doug and Edie Galpin’s farm in the Eastern Cape. We can only get here by 4x4 or boat. So the solitude is complete. Magic.

I am just wrapping up my four-day annual retreat and wish I had another week. The cabin in the forest on the edge of the river is simplicity itself – no electricity or flush toilets – just candles and a long-drop up a forest track in the bush! Delicious beyond measure. And I love it.

My companions are birds and bees, insects and butterflies, with plenty of busy little dung-beetles plus an array of little kite spiders who weave exquisite webs everywhere which need modest skills to negotiate. Then the final bit of orchestral accompaniment, behind the chorus of crickets, are the lapping waters of the Kariega just a few metres from my door. The sunsets take one’s breath away (see pic) and the night skies are of such brilliance that they seem to be arched just over one’s head and within reach of an outstretched arm. All this gets one’s doxologies really going.

I am just back from a one hour run through the riverine bush and farm lands and am now about to have a quick swim and then exercise my legendary culinary skills to fix myself some breakfast. Later on I want to add a few extra comments out of my time here.