CALSSA REPORT
CBM(SA) 2002-2003
KEMPTON PARK

1.AFRIKAANS PREACHING
The Huisgenoot advertisement placed in February 2001 brought in a total of 1023 students and so it was decided to forego the advertisement in 2002 . 247 Students completed the course and received the Afrikaans Bible Basics but as so often happens the interest in taking their studies further is disappointing. This year in January 2003 it was decided to place a differently worded advertisement spelling out our distinctive beliefs- One God not three, Kingdom on earth not heaven etc in an attempt at reducing the number who register to those who are receptive to true bible teaching. It has had the desired effect so far in that the numbers this time are much fewer- 258 to date Two Afrikaans seminars were held in Centurion We pray these efforts will make inroads into the Afrikaner stronghold of orthodoxy.

2. PRINTING OF INTRODUCING BIBLE BASICS
It was felt that a bridging course was necessary between the 22 lesson course and Bible Basics and the printing of 1000 Introducing Bible Basics was undertaken. Sis Leonie Verster had the cover done locally & Bro Paul Bouwer and his team in Durban did the laborious work of printing, collating and guillotining the booklets. We are very grateful for their effort especially as the booklet is proving very popular. Hot off the press in the news that Bro Zwelakhe Shologu and his wife Sis Grace of PE have completed the translation of IBB into Xhosa. 1000 copies are being printed by a team led by Bro Leon and Sis Joan Shuker in Durban.

GENERAL PRINTING in KP
The DUPLO machine purchased by CALSSA has been put to good use for the courses, booklets, leaflets and seminar material in all the languages and has proved to be very reliable. An interim hymn book of 60 selected hymns from the new hymn book was printed to fill the needs particularly of Swaziland and the Transkei where groups consist of baptised and many unbaptised members and where the purchase of sufficient Christadelphian hymn books would be very costly .The photocopier purchased four years ago with funds from an appeal made by Bro Leon Shuker overseas is also proving invaluable but is now in need of a major service.

3. TRANSLATIONS
i) Bro Zwelakhe and his wife Sis Grace Sholugu of Port Elizabeth have translated IBB into Xhosa . Together with Bro Athol Shem they are going to embark on translating Bible Basics .
ii) The 22 lesson course is also being translated into Swazi by Bro Fanuel Sithole in Swaziland.
iii) Bro Sipho Majodwana has translated most of Bible Basics into Zulu .
iv) The course is available in 9 of our 11 official languages.English, Afrikaans,Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, Sepedi(Northern Sotho), Sesotho, Shangaan, Venda and soon GW in Siswati.Translation is a laborious exercise in that often the person doing the translation does not use a computer and so in turn someone else must type it up, various proof readings then follow before it is finally printed.

AREAS OF PREACHING ACTIVITY WITHIN SOUTHERN AFRICA
1. BLOEMFONTEIN
The advertising in the Express newspaper in Bloemfontein resulted in a good student base, 43 of the 126 students are doing the course in Sesotho which Bro Solomon Ramolahleli is handling. Regular seminars have been held by Bro Lucas Scheepers and other brethren and it was with much joy that 4 of these students were baptised at the weekend camp held in Gauteng in September 2002. These monthly seminars have been extended to Botshabelo (a township 60kms outside Bloemfontein) where to date Bre Obed Mafifi and Austen Mataka of KP have presented two seminars. Further newspaper advertising for the course is planned for April.

2. BOTSWANA
An advertisement was placed in Botswana offering Introducing Bible Basics and we've had a good response of 72 students. To follow up on this student base invitations were sent to all students and another ad. was placed advertising a seminar in Gaborone. Bro Norman Durk gave the seminar to 6 students. Bro Kgamakwe Mokoena attended too as well as Sis Dorothy Gomana a Zimbabwean sister living in Gaborone. This was followed up by Bro Paul & Sis Leonie Verster in April and a small group of interested students is forming. Bro Leon and Sis Joan Shuker are planning to continue follow up work later in the year GW.

3.LESOTHO
The response to advertising has been disappointing - however a student who has been studying with us for 2 years Tsepo Bernard Lintsa was baptised by Bro Norman Durk on 26 March 2003. Visits to Bloemfontein (his closest ecclesia) will be arranged for Bro Tsepo to enjoy fellowship and be encouraged to preach and keep strong in faith as the only brother in his country.

4. NAMIBIA
Efforts in Namibia have lagged behind because of the difficulty in doing follow up (great distances and costs) and the lack of workers to do it. The first visit was made in December 1999 followed by one in 2000 and since then none. A few advertisements were placed in the intervening years but without many students. In 2003 a renewed effort was made and an advertisement for the course placed in February. Only 15 new students have enrolled to date. Despite this a visit was undertaken because a brother Isaac Peter N, baptised in Cape Town in 2000 is living there in the Osire Refugee camp and he had requested a visit to consider baptising the group he has been preaching to. Also in the prison at Marienthal two students of the 20 we have there has requested baptism some time ago. Bro Paul and Sis Leonie Verster visited in the first week of April. Two full mornings were spent in the prison but there are only 8 of the 20 students left and the ones wanting baptisms have been discharged. The prison authorities were very accommodating in facilitating a room with the students but they are very Pentecostal in their beliefs. A trip 260kms north of Windhoek to Otjiwarongo was where Bro Isaac was met with a his group of 8. Interviews were conducted with them all but only two had sufficient understanding and with pleasure we baptised Jafari Amisi and Nduwimana Melkior. An attempt to visit the brothers outside the camp at Osire the next day was thwarted by very officious policemen who said permits were required not only to enter the camp but also to even speak outside the camp to anyone. That was a disappointment as the previous day there had been no time to Break Bread or give words of exhortation. Permits have to be obtained two weeks prior to going to the camp according to the UNHCR. On the Saturday a 3 hr "How to Read the Bible Effectively" seminar was held at the new and very suitable Nampower Convention Centre in Windhoek. It had been advertised twice in the newspaper and we were very happy to have 25 interested friends attend. GW Bro Leon and Sis Joan Shuker will do a follow up in May/June but if we hope to sustain interest we will need to find the money and workers to make more visits.

5. SOWETO
Another ad. was placed in the Sowetan mid June offering the course in all the languages. Bro Obed Mafifi is to lead and co ordinate the team of Black tutors that will handle the response. To date 358 students started the course. Two day seminars have been held -each advertised in the new newspaper "The Sun" which is cheaper than the Sowetan. Although attendance was small- 5 and 8 it is planned to persevere.

6. SWAZILAND
Regular seminars usually in Manzini have been held in Swaziland where there is a student base of 187 students. On 9 November a student of long standing was baptised in Nhlangano. Bro Fanuel Sithole was the leader of the Nazarene church but fell out with them as he was teaching Christadelphian doctrines. He has his own premises which he uses for a meeting room. A campaign was held there on 23/24 November when Bre Emmanuel Mphambo of JHB, Van Zyl du Plooy and Paul Verster of KP gave a series of talks. From the 9th January to the 13th,and from 25 February to 3rd March about 18 talks were given in Nhlangano by Bro Norman Durk and supported by his wife. The best attendance was about 30 adults and 30 children and an average overall of about 15. Sis. Lily Sithole (Bro Fanuel's wife) was baptised. Two others applied for baptism. One was interviewed but not accepted, the other was working away and could not be interviewed. At one Sat. seminar in Manzini the Swazi TV filmed about half an hour of the seminar. It appeared on the national TV on the Sunday. Bro Leon and Sis Joan Shuker accompanied by Sis Jane Samwell will follow up for a month in April/May

7. TRANSKEI
Two visits were made to the Transkei and the following "town" shopping centers were canvassed resulting in 630 applications for the correspondence courses in Xhosa and English: Lady Frere, Stutterheim, Butterworth, Kentani, Willowvale, Idutywa, Candu, Elliotdale, Mqanduli, Ngqeleni, Umtata, and Port St Johns. We also obtained applications from as far away as Cape Town, Durban, Pieternaritzburg and Johannesburg.. These efforts were assisted by Bro .Zwelake and Sis Grace Shologu(PE), Bro. Simphiwe (Mfuleni) Sis. Lydia Kraal (Bloemfontein) and Bro. and Sis. Durk (Reading) These students are being attended to by Bro. Templeton and the local sisters. . Our thanks to Bro Templeton for accommodating and feeding so many.

Talks were given in Kei Road location,(3) Elliotdale(20) Ntlaza(6) Ndabakazi(5)and Candu. Some of those who attended are very interested. (Figures in brackets are the numbers of friends attending) The talk in Kei Road was organised and supported by East London Meeting and Bro John Shrosbree. Bro Templeton was the speaker and was accompanied by an enthusiastic bakkie load from Candu.

There have been five baptisms so far, they are: Sisters Andiswa Mbuge, Felicia Mdludlu, Eugenia Mapukata, Charlotte Jevu; and Bro.Michael Maseti. We have more than a dozen who are very interested and are being followed up locally.

In view of these numbers and the need for a centralised focus for the activities an ecclesia was formed at Candu which now numbers 14. Recording Bro : Templeton Mdludlu. Breaking of Bread 12 noon. Bible class Wednesdays 4pm. Meetings at Bro. Templeton's home. Postal address; P.O.Box 2113 Idutywa 5000. East London Ecclesia have agreed that one or two Bre. should visit Candu Ecclesia the last Sunday of each Quarter. The first visit was undertaken by Bro.Gordon Shrosbree. On one Sunday two cars and one bakkie full of T/Kei Bre. and Sis. and friends attended the East London Ecclesia filling their meeting room

The plan at present (God Willing) is to try and cover the whole of the Transkei in three years by concentrating on the local centres, hoping that groups may be formed there, and they can then take the gospel to the surrounding villages. We have completed the first part of the target by covering the area between the N2 and the coast. We now have to cover Pondoland and then Northern Transkei. The greater challenge in "Xhosaland"-The Ciskei, East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town. Bro. Zwelake has started at Port Elizabeth, and hopefully Mfuleni will be able to handle Cape Town.

Challenges are the lack of communication -phones, transport, electricity (computers), a subsistence economy and no measurable income etc. Lack of simple things like pens, envelopes, post offices, and few able to converse in English. Nevertheless great enthusiasm and interest is evident.

VISITS to STUDENTS IN ISOLATION
Visits have been made to various students in the following places: three times to Middelburg, three times to Badplaas, once to Britstown, one to De Aar, one to Aliwal North, one to Welkom. Anyway travelling though these places are urged to contact the students there.

RADIO ADVERTISING
Bro Oliver Lebotho in Ekangala ( near Bronkhorstspruit) arranged to have the correspondence course advertised in Zulu on the local radio station which covers Mpumalanga. We intend investigating other local radio stations.

Preaching in Polish
An advertisment was placed in Polish offering the Polish Bible course in a newspaper in the Sasolburg area as there is quite a concentration of Poles in the area. Bro Wacek Cwiewek was anxious to preach to his people. The advert. resulted in contact and a number of Bible studies with a group of Poles who meet together. We pray something might develop with those more open minded in the group.

Preaching in Prison
In the Western Cape, Bro Stuart Strachan holds regular studies with a group of some 15 students in the Malmesbury Prison where we have two brethren. The prison authorities there welcome the involvement of outside "pastors" as it assists with rehabilitation.

Bro Lucas Scheepers regularly visits Bro Hansie Barnard in the Zonderwater prison in Cullinan.

BAPTISMS
We are very thankful that this year has seen the baptisms of 14 new brethren and sisters as a result of CBM work. The challenge is that these babes be fed spiritually and nurtured so that where they are in isolation these areas may be the start of lightstands.

CHALLENGES
To take THIS Gospel of the Kingdom to all areas in Southern Africa for the end to come. Labourers in any capacity are urgently needed as well as an awareness in South Africa that preaching outside our immediate ecclesias is a responsibility and funds are required on an on going basis if the work initiated is to continue.

It is always our prayer that more will accept the invitation of salvation through Christ Jesus and that in Southern Africa there will be those from every nation, race, tribe and language standing before the Lamb, dressed in white on that great day.

Leonie Verster (Secretary)