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Hello From The Hornes
February 29, 2004
GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA: This being Leap Year, we have enjoyed
having an extra day this month and come midnight, are getting ready to leap into
the month of March! Someone said, "God pushes back the gate and in marches March
to the cadence of the Conductor's Command. Happens every year. Enter, renewal.
Hello, hope".
DEATH STALKS ZIMBABWE: One of our third-year students, Leonard Magaya, is
one of six brothers. Week before last, he was called home to Zimbabwe because of
the death of his 28-year-old brother named Never. He had only been back at SABC
a few days when a younger brother, Luke, arrived to buy medicine to take back to
Zimbabwe to still another brother! But that very same day, that second ailing
brother, also in his twenties, also died so Leonard and Luke had to make a
return trip to Zimbabwe for a second family funeral! We asked Leonard why they
hadn't bought medicine in Zimbabwe and was told, "There isn't any". He also told
us that the chief reason behind the deaths of so many children in Zimbabwe is
malnutrition. Our hearts go out to our students from Zimbabwe.
OPEN HOUSE AT THE HORNES: For the past few years, we have issued an open
invitation to our home on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings every week. On
Tuesdays for a Bible Study with Al teaching, and on Thursdays for a Marriage
Enrichment Course. Even though many people have been exposed to the Marriage
Enrichment Series in the past, imagine our surprise when 12 couples showed up.
We've also had some additions and subtractions to the congregation of late. One
couple moved back to England, their home country; another couple moved to Cape
Town as their first step towards emigrating to America; another brother passed
away; and one of our widows is moving to Nelspruit. The addition is that of
Marge Venter, who was first approached with the gospel by the late George
Archer, one of our members whom Al baptised over two years ago and who passed
away last May. He even gave her a really nice Bible. That seed was watered by
one of our leading ladies in the congregation, Mary Bothma, who had one-on-one
studies with Marge every Wednesday. Then last Tuesday morning following Ladies
Bible Class, God gave the increase and Al baptised her into Christ. To Him be
the glory!
SOUTH AFRICAN STAMPEDE: Thirty-five people were injured two weeks ago in
a stampede sparked by thousands of jobseekers who tried to rush into an
exibition center in Durban for employment. The injured were among more than
15,000 people who turned up looking for jobs in response to the company's
advertisement. They'd advertised 500 jobs and desperate people had started
lining up at four in the morning! Once security personnel opened the gate,
people started pushing from the back. The gate proved too small to handle the
flow of people. All of this in a country where unemployment stands at over 50%
among South Africa's population of 44,8 million.
POLITICAL PARTIES: And you think American politics are complicated! Can
you guess how many parties there are here in South Africa? One hundred and
twenty! Among the quaintest are: The Success Party, The New Earth Party,
Independent Democrat, Pro-Death Penalty Party, Financial Party, and African
Christian Democratic Party. One of them is even called God's Peoples' Party
which espouses that "There are two kinds of people: God's people and all the
others"! Not only is this an election year for you in America, but also here in
South Africa. An election is held here every five years and April 14th is the
big day. Of course, the largest party is the ANC (African National Congress) who
are expected to make a clean sweep in the election.
AMBULANCES HIJACKED: What next? Now they are hijacking ambulances. So
far, 57 have been stolen. This is the way it usually happens. A hoax phone call
is made to the Emergency Medical Response Service. When it nears the area, men
approach the ambulance claiming to be the ones seeking assistance. They board
the ambulance offering to accompany the paramedics to the house where the
patient is. Later they pull a gun and drive away in the ambulance. Why? The
ambulances are Toyota Vans which are easily converted into mini-bus taxis.
BENONI PRODUCES A CELEBRITY: For the first time ever, a South African has
won an Oscar as Best Actress. What's more, Sunday night's winner, Charlize
Theron, hails from our little town of Benoni. In fact, her home and the school
she attended are less than five miles from our own house. As President Thabo
Mbeki put it, "It just proves that good things can come from South Africa". This
weekend, Charlize is flying back to South Africa with her Oscar and plans to
visit Benoni, her hometown. Of course, that's a secular accomplishment that has
suddenly put Benoni on the world map. We'd rather Benoni be famous as the home
of Southern Africa Bible College.Thank you for your prayers and financial
support to this end.
WITH OCEANS OF LOVE FROM ACROSS THE SEA,
AL AND DONNA HORNE, YOUR MISSIONARIES TO SOUTH
AFRICA.
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