February 2006 Report

Anathoth is the headquarters of Africa Upper Room Ministries. On five acres of land near Johannesburg, South Africa, it takes its name from the Jeremiah passage in which land at Anathoth is purchased as a sign of hope for the future. Anathoth is, for Upper Room Ministries, a sign of hope for the future of Africa. This newsletter from staff-person Roland Rink brings news from this important ministry.

"STEPPING OUT IN FAITH"

Greetings to you from a very soggy Johannesburg! We've had more rain in February than we can remember. Whilst the wet weather has slowed down traffic and caused numerous power outages, the work has continued at a hectic pace. As befits the start of any new year, we have been "stepping out in Faith" on a number of projects.

RADIO TRANSMISSION OF THE UPPER ROOM

On Wednesday, February 1 at 18:45 on MW 1170, the very first isiZulu transmission of The Upper Room daily devotional guide was made. This radio broadcast allows up to 9 million isiZulu speaking people in Kwa Zulu Natal the opportunity to spend time with God each evening through the medium of radio. Our sincere thanks again go to those who sponsored the project and to Trans World Radio for facilitating the entire process from inception to broadcast. We now wait with bated breath for the first feedback samples from actual listeners. Whilst the isiZulu baby "is still in the crib," so to speak, we are already hard at work planning the recording of La Chambre Haute, our French edition of The Upper Room. The French translation of the devotional for radio will reach as far afield as Germany, France, and Switzerland. However the primary aim of this radio edition will be to reach African Francophone countries. Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC, to name but a few. Again, we are stepping out in faith with regards to the French radio edition, but if God is beside us, we see no reason to be anxious. (See pictures.)

UPPER ROOM LIBRARY PROJECT

We have begun advertising for churches who wish to become partners with Africa Upper Room Ministries in the new Upper Room Library Project. Whilst in Cape Town last week we met with Elaine Richardson who has already begun to resource church communities on the desolate West Coast of the Cape Province. Elaine is passionate about offering disadvantaged communities quality Christian resources. She travels up the West Coast every fortnight and always seems to encounter someone hungry to hear more about Jesus Christ. The villages are inhabited by hardy fishermen and their families. They have little or no access to quality Christian literature. We are excited and terrified all at once. We sense God is calling us to be in community with these small fishing villages and many others around the continent. If you would like to become involved in this specific project, kindly communicate with us. We need support in every tangible way for this project. (See pictures.)

WORSHIPING IN GUGULETU, CAPE TOWN

Lastly, Dale Waymack, Foye Webb, and I visited the United Methodist congregation in Guguletu, Cape Town for Sunday worship on February 19. What a celebration it was! After the service we were able to renew our contacts with friends of AURM, Rev. Solomon Cele who is now pastor at Guguletu, and Rev. Mabona from Stellenbosch. Both commented very favorably about receiving regular supplies of The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Both clergy requested more copies of the magazine for their church communities. In fact, Rev. Mabona says that his church class meetings in Stellenbosch are now using the devotional guide as their weekly readings and questions during meeting time. You can find the weekly questions at the back of every Upper Room magazine. (See pictures.)

On Saturday 25th February at 13:20pm SA time the world's population reached 6.5 billion. In October 2012 it will be 7 billion. Seems as if we all have a lot of work before us!

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday for the Christian Church around the world. We pray that you will step out in faith and allow those ashes to be real symbols of your own mortality and tangible signs of true repentance.

Make us one with God, one with each other, and one in service to all the world.

We do go forward
Roland Rink