Sunday 11 March 2012...St Andrews Boikutso, near Lichtenburg, (in the north of Matlosane Diocese)

Our final Sunday in Matlosane was spent in different places.  Rose, Andrew and Sam went with Bishop Steve and his family to a church in Kanana, near the town of Orkney – about 20 minutes drive.  I had a longer journey, about 1 hour & 20 minutes to the township of Boikutso, just outside Lichtenburg-

These long journeys and early starts are routine for priests here in Matlosane.  Many of them will have several churches (or chapelries) to visit within the same parish ona Sunday.  The parishes are often huge, so the distances covered can be very large.  They would appreciate our prayers for God’s care for them as they travel

I had no idea where the church (also called St Andrews) was and had arranged to meet the priest, Father Joseph Ngiidi at a petrol station at 7.30am.  This all went according to plan.  I was glad to arrive safely as I had travelled on the same road on which, two weeks earlier a guinea fowl had flown into the windscreen and cracked it when we were in Bishop Steve’s car.  I found myself driving astride the centre line and looking closely at the verge for most of my journey… thankfully the journey went well.

Canon Joseph Ngidi (left) & Father Ghoro Mogami -
Ministers ar St Andrews, Boikutso

Inside St Andrews Boikutso

Having been met by Father Joseph, I followed him to the church and we joined those preparing for worship. The sights and sounds and actions were more familiar now – one of the servers lighting charcoal on which to burn the incense which would be generously used in the service at various points.  My role was to preach and as all the readings were in Tswana I had to take it on trust that the readings I had used were the ones which had been heard by the congregation.  (It turned out that they were)… All the same I listened intently to try to see if I could recognise key phrases (like “Jesus”) which I knew should come at the end of the Gospel reading.

I still haven’t got the hang of the skill of preaching with a translator… unlike Rose’s experience of hearing Bishop Steve with his translator -  I don’t think that the person who translated for me knew me well enough to know where I was “going” with my talk.  Nevertheless I trust that the message encouraged them to trust the Lord Jesus and follow him.

I found that the service was reverend and worshipful and even though most of it was in a language I do not speak –I could especially sense that the Lord was present as we gathered to receive bread and wine in Holy Communion and in the beautiful singing which followed.

After the service Father Joseph and his wife Obertina, took me along with Father Ghoro the deacon for the church took me around the township of Boikutso, The community is perhaps one of the most needy I have come across… 2/3 (66%) unemployment and poor housing for many of the residents means that life is heard for lots of people who live here.  There were (as in all the townships) a collection of tin “shacks” put up at the edge of the “formal” housing… But there were more of them here… without electricity or sanitation… I wanted to take a photo, but I was the driver, and anyway it felt like I would have been intruding. 

This must be such a hard place to live in.  But how good that there is a church here…  St Andrews Boikutso gathers members to worship God, even though lie is hard.  There are talks of using the back to the church for and Internet café, which would help township residents get access to jobs which are advertised on the internet. 

The scale of the problem for communities like Boikutso is massive… politicians have make promises to people in these sort of situations – but they are still to deliver on them. 

Whilst we have been in South Africa there have been, in various parts of the nation, protests and demonstrations involving people living without water and electricity and with poor schools for their children.  It is no wonder that they protest – who wouldn’t, when you can see across the road and work daily with people who have these basics, and luxury on top as well. 

We went on to have lunch with the Masia family (with whom Rose and I & Andrew and Sam had stayed earlier) before I returned to Klerksdorp.  Our conversation over the meal covered the distance which South Africa has come.  Father Ngidi told me of the harsh way he personally had been treated under the apartheid era… “And yet,” he said, “here we are!”  We agreed that it was by God’s mercy that South Africa had not descended into civil war.  It has certainly come a long way…. But there are still such a lot of things to put right, injustices to correct and attitudes to change. 

In praying for South Africa, perhaps we can pray “Lord have mercy” and do the same for the UK too.  We do not know what God having mercy on these lands on their people will look like, or when he will answer that prayer… but we can be certain that His mercy is a good thing to pray for.

Richard