March 2006 Report

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.

"LENT AND EASTER 2006"

Lenten greetings to you from Anathoth House. In the space of three and a half months we have moved from the fullness of the manger to the emptiness of the tomb. We are presently fully in Lent, and the 40 day period has been filled with questions about who we are as AURM, what we are doing at Anathoth House, and where we sense God is calling us to in mission and service to the Eikenhof community of which we are an integral part. We welcome the time of reflection. It is vitally important for the future of our work as Africa Upper Room Ministries.

March has been another exceptionally busy month. Some of the visits, challenges, and budding new projects where we have seen God at work include:

• Visiting the Cape West coast with Elaine Richardson. Elaine really feels called to begin libraries in the churches of disadvantaged fishing communities along this rugged desolate coastline. We visited a fish-canning factory where we were made very welcome. The HR department of the factory insisted that we leave copies of The Upper Room daily devotional guide in their waiting room and visitor reception area. This is going to be an exciting project!
• We also made a start with recording the daily devotional guide in French. Our French editor, Winifred Montgomery has proven to be a real gift from God, taking on the challenge of doing this arduous work without batting an eyelash. We will keep you advised as this project progresses. We already have at least 20 requests for the CD that will contain a full year's devotions in French for radio broadcasts in Africa and Europe.
• We are delighted and relieved that Zanele has been taken into the care of Mrs. Joyce Jones of St. Andrews Methodist Church. Zanele has recently been diagnosed with tuberculosis (usually an inevitable indicator of HIV/AIDS) and she therefore needs the attention of a qualified person. Joyce is a real answer to our prayers. Little Zanele however, is undeterred by all the obstacles facing her, and is happily setting off to pre-school each day with Joyce. This little girl is such an inspiration to us at Anathoth! Please join with us in praying for her health to improve and for her being accepted by her little classmates.
• Due to circumstances seemingly beyond our control, we have had no option but to change our distributor of the daily devotional guide after five years. This has been a somewhat difficult transition for us to make, but we are indeed thankful that the Bevan Group has been able to step into the breach. (Yet another minor miracle.) Whilst we have taken every precaution to make for a seamless changeover, if any glitches in the delivery of your copies of the magazine do occur, please do not hesitate to call us immediately.
• We are delighted to have Mrs. Renny Stoltz on the staff at long last. We are certain that Renny will be a gift to AURM. Renny will be assuming the role of financial manager for aurm and has had many years experience in the stressful field of church finance and budgeting. Renny is also the past Lay Director of Emmaus in Southern Africa.
• Whilst visiting in the USA in April/May, we will be meeting with people who are passionate about AURM and our calling to serve Africans. We will meet as a group for an overnight retreat. The objective of the retreat will be to discern the way ahead for the multiple AURM and Anathoth projects that need our attention. The continued discipline and tradition of listening to God is central to all we ultimately do. The retreat will be led by Stephen Bryant and takes place on the 28-29th April. Please keep us in your prayers during this important time of listening.

The riotous uninhibited flowering cosmos create tall corridors of vivid colour through which we drive at this time of the year. Purple for the passion; red for the blood; white for the folded linen within the dank empty tomb. A time to remember. A time to be reborn. May Jesus Christ be born again within each of you this Eastertide. This is our prayer.

We go forward
Roland Rink