February 2008

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.

It is hard to believe that January 2008 has already vanished. There have been very exciting developments for AURM in the first month of this year. There have also been moments of sadness; moments of anxiety; moments of frustration. Of one thing we remain convinced: God is with us; we are not alone. Thanks be to God!

• We're delighted to announce that Africa Upper Room Ministries (AURM) has been asked to market and distribute an important book, and an important Bible Commentary series, all written by African Methodist authors.
• The first book is entitled -- Methodism in Southern Africa: A celebration of Wesleyan Mission. The authors include Stanley Mogoba, Gcobani Vika, Dr. Sol Jacob, Prof. Joan Millard Jackson, Bishop Gavin Taylor, Peter Grassow and Kevin Light. The book is edited by Dion Forster and Wessel Bentley. Each author has written about mission from a different perspective. Included are chapters on the early days of William Shaw, city missions, new directions for mission, mission policy in 19th century South Africa, and many other thought provoking topics all related to mission. We are hopeful that the book will be available no later than the end of April. If you would like to reserve a copy of this important book, please communicate directly with our AURM book manager, John Mitchley at johnmurmafrica@tiscali.co.za. You can contact him telephonically at 011 948-9978, or send a fax to 011 948-9997.
• The series of Bible commentary books is entitled -- The Malihambe Bible Series. This important resource will be simultaneously released in no fewer than five African languages -- isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho, Setswana and English. The excitement around this series is that there has never been a Bible commentary type resource in any language other than English! The work is written in clear, easy to understand language and is aimed at local preachers and all those who wish to more fully interpret, study and delve deeper into the Bible. The series, when finally completed, will include Bible introductions, commentaries, dictionary, an atlas, as well as introductions to non-canonical books of both the Old and New Testament. The series is edited by Dr. Neil Oosthuizen of Trinity Methodist Church, Linden Johannesburg, who is honoring a very serious personal calling to this work. We're hopeful that the introductory volume will be available by September in all the mentioned languages and will be followed soon after by a volume devoted to studying Mark's Gospel.
• We're delighted that copies of the May/June edition of The Upper Room magazine will be distributed to no less than 1,100 doctors' waiting rooms across South Africa. We have wondered and prayed for many months as to how best we could attend the needs of those sitting in these waiting rooms -- surely a place where people are often sorely in need of a word of encouragement? We will need to somehow make provision for the additional costs associated with the printing of many (at least 5,500) more magazines, but we are convicted of the fact that this is exactly where God wants us to be: in the world, in the marketplace.
• Rev Jeremy Basset (VIM Director -- Oklahoma United Methodist) will again visit the Anathoth property in early March to continue expanding the plans for Anathoth. It does look increasingly like the first real building project will begin during the course of 2008. You can be sure that photographs and reports bearing the "progress and the pain" will be communicated to you via these pages.
• We look forward to welcoming and hosting the very first Upper Room publishing, SOULFeast and Companions in Christ training team to South Africa in early March. It will be the first visit to Africa for some of the folk, and we're honored that they have felt such a strong commitment to support and assist us in expanding our work in Africa. We are grateful for the sacrifice of time that they are all making on our behalf. Our hope is that this will be the first of many such teams.
• It is with sadness that we note the passing last Friday morning of 85-year-old Mr. James Herron, the father of our administrative manager, Nancy Herron. We ask that you add Nancy and the Herron family to your prayer lists.
• Word from our staff person in Kenya, Philip Polo is that he and his family are safe and sound at their home in Nairobi, Kenya. They have sheltered some refugees fleeing the violence. We ask that you specifically add the Polo family to your prayer lists as well as the generally unstable political situation in Kenya.
• Thieves have yet again made off with the telephone cables in the Eikenhof area. (This could be as a direct result of the price of copper going through the roof?) The Anathoth offices of AURM, and especially our book warehouse department telephones and fax machine were "off the air" for a few days. Thankfully we've been able to make emergency plans and have not suffered too much inconvenience. (Practice makes perfect!)
• Demand for the Upper Room prayer booklet Prayers for Encouragement continues to be strong. We're awaiting the first copies of the Afrikaans and Setswana translations of the booklet. Please communicate directly with the AURM office if you require more copies of this valuable spiritual resource for those affected/infected by life threatening diseases. (If you would like to make a contribution to help support the production of these booklets, please designate your gift to HIV & AIDS ministry. Learn more.)
• Christmas 2007 may already be a distant memory for many of us, but for some young folk, their Christmas party at Anathoth which was sponsored and organized by CBM, remains etched in their memories. We've included a number of photographs of the festivities on the website so that you, too, can share in their fun-filled day at the Anathoth property. CBM are to be commended for hosting 111 young people. It really is good to have committed partners in mission such as CBM working alongside AURM!

Make us one with God, one with each other, and one in service to the whole world.