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Hello From The Hornes - 2003:
July 31, 2003
HE SAYS, SHE SAYS: Al: “As most of you know already, ‘My Donna
(Bonnie) lies over the ocean, my Donna lies over the sea.’” Donna: “I will only
be Out of Africa a little while longer. I’ll be giving my mother her 94th
birthday party on August 8th and then I’m outta here!” With our
SABC Annual Lectureship (Sept. 21-25) looming
large on the horizon, Donna and Al will be busily working as a team again to
help ensure its success.
VIP VISITOR: When President George Bush included South Africa in his tour
of the continent this month, the majority of whites, except for the socialists,
welcomed him. As for the Moslem population, they strongly demonstrated against
his coming. When Nelson Mandela was asked if he would see Bush, his answer was,
“Yes, but will he want to see me?” That was a good question, considering the
fact that Mandela had, on international television broadcasts, viciously put
down President Bush and American involvement in Iraq. Oh, well, if nothing else,
maybe Bush will meet with Mandela to wish him a happy 85th birthday, which will
occur while the president is here. At Mandela’s age, sometimes he feels a little
BUSHED!
A ‘PREACHIN’ WE WILL GO: The break between semesters this month gave Al
and Jerry Hogg the perfect opportunity to preach in three different distant
cities. They were also able to represent the Bible College on that 10-day tour.
From all accounts, their lessons were greatly appreciated and they themselves
received a warm welcome from all the brethren. By contrast, the wintry weather
along the way was frigid, and, to make it worse, there’s no central heating in
South Africa. So their stay in Welkom, Port Elizabeth and East London was
freezing, to say the least. Generally speaking, the guest bedrooms (referred to
as “igloos” by Al) don‘t have heaters, and even the bathrooms are like deep
freezers since windows are left open to let out the mist and vapor from hot
water faucets! Talk about cold! Temperatures at night dipped to a mere 28
degrees F while daytime temperatures were at a high of 55 degrees F. As a matter
of fact, this month we had one of the coldest July days on record for the past
25 years! When seven African adolescent boys died in the Xhosa Tribal
Circumcision Ritual in the Eastern Cape where we traveled, some said it was from
unhygienic conditions during the “surgery” but others said it was form exposure
during that bitterly cold night. Both conditions can be fatal!
“THE HAPPY WANDERERS:” As Al noted, “Welkom must be misplaced on our
South African road maps. It has to be near Antarctica, fairly close to the South
Pole!” He declares that it is undoubtedly the coldest place he has visited in a
long time. He even introduced his sermon there with a take off on a biblical
passage… “many are chilled (called) and a few are frozen (chosen).” Both Jerry
and Al spoke there on “The Crisis of Leadership Facing the Church Today.” The
van der Spuy’s hospitality was excellent and Shirley’s meals were something for
two “bachelors” to write home about! It warmed their hearts!!
ON TO PORT ELIZABETH: “The old home town wasn’t the same as I stepped
down from the car again.” It had come of age! Modern improvements were
everywhere. Once again, in the city where Al was born, the two men experienced
brotherly love at its best. Diane and Reg Branford, SABC grad and Port Elizabeth
minister, gave up their town house for them and Sharon Benton (also a SABC grad)
provided scrumptious meals. Al and Jerry spoke there Tuesday and Wednesday
nights on the need to “Make Men for the Master.” They were afforded ample
opportunities to visit with the brethren there and give them experiential
assistance with many and varied situations. “We left the city with feelings of
gratitude for the wonderful brethren in that metropolis,” Al stated.
ENDING UP AT EAST LONDON: On their way to East London, they visited the
Woodings in Port Alfred. They are members whom Al baptized in Benoni two decades
ago. Al says, “We wallowed in waves of nostalgia, compared notes on church life,
and laughed a lot. They are doing their best to keep the church going in that
town.” In East London, itself, where SABC grad, Roy Lothian is the minister,
they preached a gospel series with the “linking” statement, “What the Bible says
about…” On Thursday evening, Jerry laid the foundation with the subject of
“God.” On Friday night, Al’s topic was “Salvation.” On Saturday morning, at a
men’s breakfast, both men spoke on the crisis of leadership and gave statistics
from around Africa and the world. Jerry reported on the Leadership Seminar, that
was recently conducted at SABC, and all its positive ramifications. On Sunday
morning, at the adult class, Al spoke on “What the Bible Reveals By Way of Its
Languages.” Then, Jerry continued the theme with “What the Bible Says About
Attendance.” On Sunday evening, Al again spoke about the growing leadership
crisis and the answer that Southern Africa Bible College provides. The brethren
there supported the meetings beautifully and five even indicated their desire to
attend SABC next year.
THE LIGHTS OF HOME: The round trip of 2,635 Km (1,650 miles) is
indicative of a lo-o-o-ng journey by car, so they came away weary in body but
refreshed in spirit. “There are no people on earth nicer or more precious than
our brethren and we dearly loved the opportunity to be of service to them. The
memories of that preaching trip will stay with Jerry and me forever, though we
must admit that when we got back to Benoni, it was great to see the lights of
home,” Al declared. Some may be wondering why in the world, after an
exceptionally busy school semester, they used their “vacation time” to travel
among and preach to churches so far from home. The answer is that one day we at
SABC want to see the welcoming lights of our heavenly home and we want as many
as possible from this dark Continent of Africa to also enter into the City of
Light…”for there is no night there.” We praise God and thank you for your
on-going support. With you behind us and God before us the victory in Jesus is
assured! Till we meet again!
FROM SHORES OF AFRICA & AMERICA
YOUR FELLOW-SERVANTS IN CHRIST,
AL AND DONNA HORNE
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