Rev Hendrik du Plessis
Restoration of the yard and building
Some time ago I contacted reverend Len van Onselen about the ministry in Bere. Reverend van Onselen is an emeritus minister who settled in Maun. He has been involved with “Word to Africa” here in Botswana for years. He wanted to get involved with Bere years ago but never got that far. In our conversations, we discussed the possibility of getting involved in Bere together, seeing that Bere, like many other settlements, is engulfed in alcoholism. On one thing we agreed, if you are looking for fast results, do not go to Bere. He mentioned to me that he has a black helper, an evangelist who can go to Bere from time to time. I mentioned to him that we had a problem there with housing and that the building had fallen into disrepair. Reverend van Onselen was then able to arrange with an outreach team from South Africa to come and repair the building. Currently, the building is habitable again. In stead of the bath that had always been there, a shower has been installed. The building is also fenced. The veranda can now be used again to hold services. We were able to hold a service there on Sunday. The only problem we currently have is the water connection. We are so thankful for reverend Len and his team.
Sunday school
We currently have someone there teaching the kids. Every Sunday she has a group of children for whom she teaches (Sunday school). With our next outreach, I want to provide her with teaching materials that she can use.
Home visits
Home visits are one of the mainstays of our ministry there. One can preach and one can hand out pamphlets, but if one does not talk to a person at the grassroots level, one cannot radiate the love of Christ. Friendship is one of the most important approaches. When you get there, you are welcomed as a friend. You drink tea with them and you eat with them and through a friend, you make friends with others and it circles. Often they ask me to fetch wood for them. In the afternoon we all drive together and come back with a load of wood. They appreciate little things and you forge ties. When they start to trust you with their problems, you realize you have an angle. The people are starting to trust you. The great secret in the mission is to constantly feed them with information from the Bible. There are still so many underlying superstitions, and every superstition has the fear that comes with it, if I do this or that certain evils are going to hit me. Then there is the underlying fear of witchcraft and traditional doctors to whom they will then turn for help.
A Christian can not be bewitched
During one of our Bible studies, witchcraft and, the occult powers that come with it were discussed, specifically the questions of whether it exists and is it possible for a Christian to be bewitched.
My answer was briefly the following:
Of course, it exists. The devil and his powers are like an angry dog on a leash. If you move within its reach, you are looking for trouble. If you go to a witch doctor or show interest in the occult world you are looking for trouble. You surrender to a power that will control your life. You move within the reach of the devil. Of course, the dog is going to bite you.
Another example that they understand well is the concept of a sheepfold. In this world, there are two folds, the fold of the Lord Jesus and the fold of the devil. You are safe when you are in the Lord Jesus’ kraal, but if you crawl through the wire and seek help in the devil’s kraal, do not think you will easily crawl back. This the devil will not allow. On the other hand, the Lord Jesus promises those who are in his fold (John 10:28 and 29) that no one can snatch his sheep from his hand or his Father’s hand and they will never be lost forever. This is the consolation for everyone who belongs to the Lord Jesus and who is in his fold. No one can bewitch me. I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. No one can cast a spell over me, because the Lord Jesus is my Shepherd.
Everywhere in South Africa where I came, and also here in Botswana, there is a belief among the black people and also among the Bushmen, that white people cannot be bewitched. My answer to them was, any man can come under the influence of the devil if he goes within his reach. The only reason whites could not be bewitched in the past was that they did not have the habit to approach a sangoma or a devil worshiper for help, but whites who ventured into the devil’s sphere allowed the dark forces to control him and take over his life. Here was a white farmer in our area, a friend of mine who came to consult a sangoma (witch doctor or shaman) here in D’kar about his goats that they had stolen. After that, he struggled to sleep because voices spoke to him at night and kept him awake. Then I also had a friend in South Africa, a black pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church, Rev. Makamu. He once told me: “I grew up among sangomas (witches). Our family and relatives were sangomas. At one point, my cousin came from Vendaland and told me about Someone who was willing to give his life for others. I was just a kid and thought about it a lot. Later a white Dutch Reformed pastor came to our area and he told us about Jesus who gave his life for sinners, and I immediately realized that this is the One my cousin talked about. It gripped me so much that later in the Dutch Reformed Church I confessed my faith. After that, I wanted to become a minister with all my power. When my family heard about it, they flatly refused. When they saw that they could do nothing to convince me, they decided to see a witch doctor, the largest sangoma in the southern hemisphere, in Mozambique, to bewitch me. When they got to the witch doctor, he took out his bones as usual and threw them out in front of them. After that, he made a snoring sound and made it clear to them that he did not want anything to do with this business. ‘This man you want me to bewitch is a Christian and the Lord is with him. Leave him alone.’ Deeply disappointed, they had to return to South Africa.” When I met reverend Makamu (a Shangaan) for the first time, he had already been a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church for many years.
The question also arose during our Bible study: “What can we do now? If you went to visit a sangoma, and you realize that you are now under the power of the devil, what can you do?” The Bible teaches you to confess your sins before the Lord. 1 John 1: 9 states that the Lord is faithful and just to forgive your sins if you confess them before Him. You must confess and confess that you have sinned. You went to see a sangoma and you should never have done it. You went to the devil for help and now you are sitting with the consequences. You must repent deeply of what you have done, and the Lord promises you, He will forgive you and He will deliver you from the power of the devil. If you do not do this, you will suffer under that power for the rest of your life and then be lost forever.
Bibles, audio bibles, and pamphlets
For those who can read, we hand out Bibles. Along with the Bibles, we also distribute pamphlets to help them study the Bible. Even if pamphlets were just lying around, they could still be picked up by someone and serve their purpose. The audio Bibles are distributed to people who cannot read but have a sincere need to hear the Word of the Lord. Before handing it out, we first arrange a Bible study. At that time it is explained to everyone, the implication of John 14:23 and 24 where the Lord Jesus says: “23Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” My answer then to them was: “We now have a golden opportunity to show the Lord Jesus that we love Him and we want Him and His Father to come and live with us. It’s a simple gesture of love when I listen to His Word. But on the other hand, it is unfortunately also an opportunity to chase the Lord Jesus away and tell Him that He is not welcome in your yard. Your attitude toward His Word speaks volumes. If you do not want Him in your yard, who is going to move in there? It’s only one and it’s the devil, and you bear the consequences. The Word of the Lord can therefore be for you either a curse or a blessing. If you do not pay attention to this audio bible, it carries the message that you are not interested in the Lord’s blessing and His presence in your life and that you do not love Him. If the Lord is not in your life, it also affects your children.” There is usually a dead silence when you confront them with John 14.
To conclude:
More and more, one realizes how occult activities have paralyzed these African people throughout the centuries. Democracy has only recently made its appearance in Africa. Throughout the centuries it has been sangomacracy where a captain or chief ruled with his sangomas (witch doctors). What the sangomas told him was law. If the sangomas tell the chief that you are a sorcerer, then you will surely die, no matter how innocent you are. You live constantly in fear. It is then understandable why Dingaan killed Piet Retief and his followers, with the words: “Bulalane abathakhathi.” (Kill the sorcerers.) It was none other than his sangomas who told him this. Here in D’kar too, we are constantly confronted by accusations of so-and-so who have bewitched so-and-so. We have someone here in our congregation who survived a stroke which is firmly convinced, someone in our congregation bewitched him. We ask for your intercession for these people but we are also very grateful for the multitude who are saved and delivered from this bondage.
Your brother in Christ, Hendrik du Plessis.