Report on Future Work in Africa

Anathoth is the headquarters of Africa Upper Room Ministries. On five acres of land near Johannesburg, South Africa, it takes its name from the Jeremiah passage in which land at Anathoth is purchased as a sign of hope for the future. Anathoth is, for Upper Room Ministries, a sign of hope for the future of Africa. This newsletter from staff-person Roland Rink brings news from this important ministry.

"SOUNDING THE CALL"

"It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation." (Isaiah 25:9)

Winter greetings to each of you from a chilly Johannesburg!

As was promised in our last newsletter, below please find a very brief summary of the important Anathoth meeting that was held in Nashville on the 28-29th of April when we spent time discerning the next steps for us on the Anathoth property. (Full text of the meeting.) What follows below constitutes for us the necessary taking of the giant leap of faith that we feel God is calling us to.

• In the form of Zanele, our 5 year old HIV/AIDS orphan, we actually have been shown the way by God. Her needs become the guiding light along the path for us to respond to the needs of the Eikenhof community. The establishment of a day care centre for young children, some most likely HIV+, is therefore a priority for us.
• The development of a skills training centre is another priority. From this knowledge/skills base we will impart technical skills to unemployed people on the making of bricks, building structures using those bricks, carpentry, electrical wiring, and plumbing on the property. Ultimately, we see these newly trained people leaving Anathoth with a toolkit for their work.
• The building of a chapel, for use by the Eikenhof community and quite possibly a local Emmaus Community is another necessity at Anathoth.
• We will endeavor to build ecologically sound structures utilizing solar energy, local resources, and energy efficient materials wherever possible on the property. We would like to extend the existing thatch grass theme for all of our new structures.
• As the publishing division of the General Board of Discipleship, we continue to encourage and cultivate Christian writers who represent many cultural realities. We therefore hope to build self-contained rondavels where Upper Room/Discipleship Resources authors might choose to spend time in retreat whilst at the same time being engaged with local Anathoth and Eikenhof community projects. (Efficient, and reliable electronic communication would be a vital component of this specific project).
• The potential to create something of lasting value to the local community is very important. Any project that is begun would therefore need to be very cost effective and must have inherent long-term sustainability.
• Our ongoing partnership with the MCSA and other denominations would be strengthened in a number of ways through the Anathoth development projects. Anathoth could very easily be used as a gathering point for inward and outbound mission teams. The availability of skilled spiritual directors as sounding boards and listeners would be an important factor for the teams, as would the need for simple R+R.
• The emphasis of our work seems to be increasingly youth based. If we are to play a role in the education, skills development and overall wellbeing of people, we will need to focus on the young adults in the Eikenhof area, who seem to be in the majority. This could also offer some potential for the GBOD in that a Youth Desk is operational as part of the organisation.

Whatever we embark upon will be to the Glory of God, and for the benefit of the local Eikenhof community. Anathoth will continue to be a place of hospitality, a place of refuge and safety: a living example of the Church in community with the people.

Two separate yet connected items that have occurred since my return from the USA seem to point to God saying that we're on the right track:

1. There is a very real possibility of a mission team of medical students and practitioners, with medical equipment, supplies and knowledge from a US medical school spending 10-14 days at Anathoth running clinics for the local population.
2. A UMC clergyperson who is a good friend of Africa and The Upper Room is currently looking at bringing a mission team from the USA to Anathoth to assist with building projects in early 2007.

All in all, the immediate future is shining bright with possibility. We pray that God will direct those who hear the call; who feel called to be a part of the work, in whatever way, will come forward, and in partnership with us, will work alongside the community to visibly demonstrate the incredibly lavish love of God in Jesus Christ. We cannot escape one real fact. We are the hands and the feet.

Our needs are many, but with God's help, nothing is unattainable, nothing is impossible.

We go forward
Roland Rink