Motopi
Dorette is doing well. She is still in Maun, but plans to move back to Motopi by the end of the year. This is her house, she says. Every Sunday she still conducts the worship services there, and for that we are very grateful.
On the weekend of the 17th we showed the film Walking with Jesus at the church for two evenings. It is a film that depicts the typical life of Africans, and how even a sangoma was eventually converted. Brs. Mac Mc Menamin and Lourens Gouws, who spent the night with us in D’kar earlier this week, showed the film there. They toured through Botswana to show the film in various locations. My request to them was to please come and show the film to our people on Motopi. Fortunately, it worked out well that they could be there on their way back to South Africa. Everyone sat glued watching the film because they could identify with it.
On Sunday I was able to conduct the worship service there after which we left for Mababe the next day.
Mababe
As I mentioned in some of my previous reports, we got a churchyard in Mababe. The government has given the yard to our church for free provided we develop it. We were busy with fence pole chopping and wiring all week. We have accepted the fact that the elephants would damaged the fence from time to time. We therefore did not fence it too high so that they could step comfortably over it. Where they damage the fence we have to just fix it again. This is what the local people of Mababe do from time to time. At least it does not happen every day or every week, but we do not doubt that it will happen.
What also keep us busy was a funeral this week. They asked me to conduct various services until the funeral on Saturday. It was a Bushman who was born in 1925 and lived there for most of his life. People from all over as far as Gaborone came for the funeral. His son is a very good friend of ours and a devouted Christian and we were grateful that we could be there for at that time. On a previous occasion we were able to give the old man an audio bible. It is about his son that I mentioned in my previous report as someone I would like to see in the ministry one day.
During our visit at Mababe we (Abdul and I) were invited to attend a cultural event on the weekend of the 9th of July. We will hopefully have a special conversation about their language on the verge of extinction and how the Bible can be central to the preservation of their language. Fortunately, it is not too late because there are many people who can still speak their language. For some reason, the older generation decided to talk to their children Tswana. As a result, the new generation only talk to each other in Tswana. We are grateful that the other Bushman languages like Naro and Qgoo are still strong. My answer to them in short was this: “There is only one Person who can save your language and that is Jesus Christ. Where the Bible is translated into a language, the Triune God is being worshipped. This is eventually the reason for any language on earth to exist, to praise and glorify the Lord.” As an example, I used Naro: “Today, Naro is stronger than ever. We have a New Testament and we are busy with the Old Testament. In church Naro is alive by Word and song. Not just in church, everywhere you go you hear Naros with their distinctive clicking sounds. They no longer hesitate to speak their language, because the Gospel has freed them from a feeling of inferiority, especially as far as their language is concerned. ”
To conclude, my prayer is that the Lord will give us the wisdom to bring the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to these people through there beautiful and unique language.
Your brother in Christ,
Hendrik du Plessis.