Horne Twosome

Hello From The Hornes

November 30, 2004

A TEAM EFFORT: While our SABC colleagues have been giving final examinations this month and performing other end-of-school-year duties, on this side of the ocean we continue to focus on fund-raising. In every newsletter lately, we have underlined the importance of raising additional funding for the Bible College. Indeed, the necessity! SABC is facing severe financial challenges now since the American dollar has fallen so low on international currency markets. It is now taking twice as many American dollars as it did before to keep our doors open to those who want to be trained to preach the gospel.. With this in mind, this month Al traveled and spoke to the following congregations: Kaufman, Malakoff, Bandera, San Antonio (Jefferson Street), and George West. He also visited with the elders of the Rockwall Lakeside congregation in north Texas. Of special encouragement to him along the way were Bryan Teagle, Elmer Morgan, Waymon and Barbara Sloan, Lavelle and Mary Layfield, Martin Smith, Wayne and Doris Keese, Rudine Smith, Maureen Davis and the George West leaders. They say that during the Korean Conflict, for every Air Force fighter pilot who flew sorties, there were nine people on the ground who kept him in the air. Teamwork -- it takes teamwork! You all are part of the team that "keeps us in the air." What would we do without you? We need you!

THE HORNE TWOSOME: Speaking of teamwork, Donna and I have always tried to work as a team. This time I started off our work in America by conducting a weekend Preaching Series in Mesquite. The Christian Care Center congregation is about 175 strong. The following weekend, I accompanied Donna to Houston where she featured as the speaker at Memorial's Annual Ladies' Day. Not only was Donna spoiled by the ladies who presented her with a huge welcome basket full of delights as well as another cache of gifts at the close of the day, but she was also gratified to receive this note from Beverly Watkins, Memorial Minister's wife: "Everyone is still talking about the fantastic job you did for Ladies' Day. The unanimous consensus is that it was the best one yet. Thanks for making it so". Her theme was "Gifts from the Heart". As her husband, I can personally vouch for all the study and work Donna put into her preparation for that day though she simply looked at it as a gift from her heart to the Memorial congregation who supports us so faithfully.

IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY: How many of you live in the same town or close to your children? Perhaps you even attend the same congregation and see them at services. When was the last time you saw your children and grandchildren? Our own four families and their children are so scattered that we seldom get to see them and certainly not all together. You can imagine then the thrill when we learned that our missionary children in New Zealand, Lynda and John Staiger and their three children, would be with us this Christmas -- as well as our other three children and their families. In fact, the Christmas Crowd, counting Donna's mother, will total 26 and a half. That's right -- 26 and don't forget the half!
One of our daughters has five children, another has four, another has three, and our son has one and a half (our 14th grandchild is due next May). We are so blessed. Meanwhile, we were overjoyed to have our eldest, Lisa, and her family from Fort Worth here for Thanksgiving. Our son, Steve, couldn't make it with his family due to work obligations but they made up for it by coming down to see us the week before. They say it takes a special kind of breed of Christian to leave home comforts and security to face an uncertain future so that our fellow-man can hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ but as I often tell folks -- we missionaries in the field don't miss things we can't get overseas. What we do miss is holding and touching our family back home. So yes, it's all about family. But while we are on the subject of missionaries, let us share with you an article we saw on the subject:

YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN A MISSIONARY TOO LONG IF...

1. You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?"
2. You read National Geographic and recognize someone's picture.
3. You have a time zone map next to your telephone.
4. You consider a city 500 miles away to be "very close".
5. You watch nature documentaries and think about how good that animal would taste if it were fried.
6. You can cut grass with a machete, but can't start a lawnmower.
7. You speak with authority on the subject of airline travel.
8. You read the international section before the comics.
9. You have friends from or in 29 different countries.
10. You sort your friends by continent.
11. Fitting 15 or more people into a car seems normal to you.
12. You refer to gravel roads as highways.
13. You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
14. You don't think that two hours is a long sermon.
15. You marvel at the cleanliness of gas station bathrooms.
16. You think you've died and gone to heaven when you go into a foreign grocery store.
17. You think a "foreign school" conducts classes in English.

Of course, not all missionaries nowadays work in conditions described above. But it does remind us of our early days in Africa and some of our experiences then. But on a more serious note...

DEATH NEVER TAKES A HOLIDAY: The uncle of one of our Benoni elders, Chris van Dyk, was attacked and murdered on his farm in Cullinan (just outside of Pretoria) on Friday, November 12. Farmers are often the victims of senseless violence in South Africa. Vusi Ndhlovu, our SABC student who was murdered last May for his cell phone, has been avenged by the police. They shot his assailant dead! Now Vusi's family is receiving death threats. In turbulent South Africa today, death never seems to take a holiday.

SEARCH AND RESCUE: The headlines read, "Woman Thought Dead After Shark Attack". A great white shark estimated to be at least 18 feet long attacked and presumably killed an elderly South African woman off a beach near Cape Town. Tyna Webb, 77, who lived in the area, was swimming earlier this month off Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek when the massive shark circled her and then attacked. About 15 people witnessed it.. "All that was left was a little red bathing cap," said Paul Dennett, who witnessed the attack from his home nearby. He told the South African Press Association that he estimated the shark to be at least 18 feet long. Rescue workers were using boats and aircraft to search for the woman's body. "All efforts to find the lady have been exhausted by a wide and thorough search. We are hoping that police divers will be successful in their efforts," Darren Zimmerman of the National Sea Rescue Institute told the press. Later on, crews spotted the shark. Great whites are often seen in the area feeding off the large seal population. "This shark is bigger than our helicopter ... it is huge!", Institute spokesman, Craig Lambinon, told SAPA. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials were advising people not to swim along the Cape of Good Hope as a 16-year-old surfer had lost his right leg last April in an attack by a great white shark in that same area. The last confirmed, unprovoked fatal shark attack in South Africa had been in 2003, according to the Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File, which has gathered such data worldwide for decades. Reading the above, we were reminded of a massive campaign a few years ago to "Save the Whales!" School children across the world were making it a class project. We also think about long-time efforts to stop animal skins from being fashion wear. All that may be well and good but when are we going to get as excited about saving people? That's what missionary work is all about -- trying to save the souls of everyone out there who are being "swallowed up" by Satan. He constantly circles and feeds off those who stray into and stay in his area! Who will join us in the search? Who will join us in the rescue? Please start by praying for us. Also, help us by mailing a check today to: Memorial Church of Christ, 900 Echo Lane, Houston, Texas, 77024. Designate it, "SABC Fund". Let's be busy here and busy there for the Lord's sake!

YOURS FOR THE SAVING OF SOULS IN SOUTH AFRICA
AL AND DONNA HORNE
 

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