There is a small ecclesia located about 45 minutes north of us in downtown Pretoria (one of the three capitals of South Africa) comprised of 5 newly-baptized members originally from the Congo. We routinely schedule visits to drive up and support them on Sunday afternoons following our memorial services in Kempton Park. They are in desperate need of help from other ecclesias, since they are a small group still in the formative stage. The first trip for Megan and I was last Sunday, and Lucas and Leona Scheepers took us up.
The location where we meet for memorial services is the shared apartment of several of the members. The building is quite sketchy and located in a really rough area of town, so we always go in teams of at least four to get into and out of the building. Once inside the apartment, everything is fine, but the stairway leading up to it is almost pitch black and their apartment is located on the fourth floor (no working elevators, this is Africa).
With the windows open due to the heat, we had to contend with loud music blaring from surrounding apartments. A loud POP went off halfway through my exhortation that I can only hope was a car backfiring... and not gunfire.
Everyone showed up, and we had a productive memorial meeting. There's a lot of potential with this group. Our hope is that the Truth really takes hold with them and others around them start to see the beauty of what God has done in their lives. Our next scheduled visit is in January when we get back from Durban.
I exhorted on 1 Peter 1: Triumph over Troubles.
From left: Paul (who wishes to be baptized), Bro. Padre, their roomate, and Bro. Tomas.
Sis. Kiza (the lone sister in the Pretoria meeting) and Paul listen intently during exhortation.
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