Derek and Shea in SA

Mthatha meetings

We drove into the Transkei last night and arrived in Mthatha around 5 o’clock. We met up with Bongile, a contact we knew through Rufus (www.HuntSA.com) and we went straight to his sister’s house in a village outside Mthatha. She has a nice portion of property with a main house and 1 rondoval that Shea and I stayed in. This morning we found out that we were the first white people to stay in her house and village. I felt very privileged to know this! Bongile’s mother lives on the property with his sister and she came to visit with us this morning. She was in awe and wondered why 2 white people from America would want to stay on this property in this village. She said she was thankful to God for us being there, and we assured her that we were just as thankful to God for her and their hospitality to us.

One of the most beautiful things about my day today was the fact that God was my only commonality Bongile from Mthatha. We are meeting, dreaming, and scheming about how the Gospel can spread like wild fire throughout his community and the surrounding villages.

He has a vast knowledge of the culture and the Transkei. Today we listed the different villages that he has direct access to, and the number blew me away. He knew someone from over 25 surrounding villages. This is a great access into a big portion of the Transkei. One of the surrounding villages he has access to is Bukwini! Most of you who may read this blog are familiar with this village because of the involvement of Shoal Creek with the Child Sponsorship Program for the orphans of the village. Tomorrow we (Me, Shea, and Bongile) are headed to Bukwini to try and start a Discovering God group. Pray for us as this is the first time that we are going to crack open the Bible and help the committee of the village discover God for themselves. To see our strategy check out www.cpmtr.org and www.discipleship.co.za.