October 5, 2003
Reflections on the Mission of the Church
Linda A. Knieriemen

Reflections of South Africa:

Let me tell you about Bonisile Mdyesha whose picture is on the front of the cover sheet.  He is the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Guguletu.  It’s a small black church in the middle of the township of Guguletu, outside Cape Town, South Africa.  Your Vision 2000 dollars allowed this church to rebuild after it was destroyed by a tornado three years ago.  Guguletu is one of the settlement districts where black South Africans were moved as a result of apartheid.  Conditions are depressing there.  Unemployment is high, HIV/AIDS is a crisis, and crime runs rampant.  In the midst of his surroundings, Pastor Bonisile preaches and ministers to his congregation and the community on a daily basis with a kind smile.

The Sunday we worshiped with Bonisile and his congregation, he started his sermon in English but about two thirds of the way through (in the midst of his enthusiasm) he switched to his native language without even realizing what he had done.  His intensity is catching.

When we reflect on our Biblical mandate regarding missions, we are told to encourage one another and help bear another’s burdens.  A group of ten (eight from this congregation) left Grand Rapids on March 6 for Cape Town to do just that.  We encouraged, worshiped, prayed, and had fellowship with Christians in South Africa.

However, seven days after we left for South Africa, I lay in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Cape Town.  No, this was not on the agenda.  When I arrived at the hospital, my blood pressure was at a critical low and efforts of doctors to raise it were not working.  My life was threatened and I was also told that I stood the chance of loosing my kidneys.  The cause is still unknown.

But God is so good.  I was given his love and peace.  I claimed God’s promise of never leaving or forsaking.  He gave me peace and assurance that if my life was over, it was going to be for his good and Heaven is a wonderful place.

One of my strongest memories during my illness was having three very close friends – Pastor Linda, Desire (a friend and PC/USA missionary in Cape Town), and Pastor Bonisile.  They surrounded my bed holding hands (with tears in their eyes) and Pastor Bonisile prayed for life, recovery, and peace.  A white woman, a brown woman, and a black man joined in common purpose, modeling cooperation of the races hand-in-hand.  It was Nelson Mandela’s dream of a new South Africa.

Our relationship with the Presbyterian Church in Guguletu started with money to construct a building, but is has become so much more.  We shared in fellowship, in worship, in prayer, and in encouragement -- all in a spirit of learning together and learning from each other.  This is the mortar that holds the bricks of the worldwide church.

We went to minister and encourage, but I was ministered to.  We went to pray and I was prayed for.  We went to visit and fellowship, and I was visited and encouraged.

It is in giving that we receive and it is in blessing that we are blessed.  We shared our mutual woes and sympathizing tears.

Bob Driesenga

Reflections of Nicaragua:

Traveling North to Matagalpa, which is about 3 hours from Managua (the capitol city and 100 meters into the cloud-covered mountains), Don Wilfredo and his family struggle to survive in order to produce certified organically grown coffee.  Organic farming recognizes the critical role of the farmer in managing soil, plants, animals, and other elements in a sustainable agricultural system which avoids the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.  This type of certification is achieved only after the land has been free of these chemicals for 5 years.  The coffee is still picked by hand and it takes a worker 1 day to produce 2-to-4 pounds of café-oro or “gold coffee” which will ultimately yield a higher price in the international market.  The rest of the coffee that does not meet certain standards is sold in the various markets within Nicaragua and yields little profit.

Don Wilfredo and his family will make just enough to survive so that each family member can have just enough to eat.  In addition, through their hard labors, Don Wilfredo has been fortunate to have been able to build a house with two bedrooms, have a kitchen with running water, and an outhouse with a cement plat.  I met Don Wilfredo, his brother Juan, their sons, and their daughters.  They were kind enough to let a group of us spend a few days in a nearby house within Don Wilfredo’s property.  This property has a few bunk beds, a kitchen where the main source of energy is wood, a small porch to keep you dry, and abundant hospitality.  Compared to where we eat and sleep, this place in the department of Matagalpa can be compared to camping in Northern Michigan in a rustic area -- but only more rustic.

Don Wilfredo will provide you with three meals a day -- almost all of them consisting of rice, beans, a few fruits, and vegetables if they are in season.  His daughters and daughters-in-law will wake up around 3:00-or-4:00 in the morning and start making the tortillas so that the breakfasts or lunches can be more substantial.  This family, (even though they struggle and begin work before the sun comes up and work until well after sundown) will make enough to survive if their coffee plants yield a good crop.

By belonging to a cooperative Don Wilfredo is guaranteed the following:

§         A fair price for his pound of “gold coffee” (the current price is about $1.41 for certified organic coffee or 15 cents above the market price).

§         Access to credit.  When requested by producers, importers must provide pre-harvest financing or credit up to 60 percent of each order.

§         A democratic organization where the co-ops are truly controlled by their members.

§         And lastly, direct trade and long-term relationships with importers.

After the service we will be providing fair traded coffee in the Dining Room.  Part of our calling is to justice and this can be achieved through programs like “Equal Exchange” to ensure farmers in the mountains of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia, Mexico, Tanzania, and Indonesia get a fair price for their coffee beans.

Francisco Calderon

More Reflections of Nicaragua:

I would like to tell you about Carlos, one of our brothers of faith I met last February in Nicaragua on the Lake Michigan Presbytery Partnership trip.  He is one of the workers at Rancho Ebenezer, located one hour out of Managua which is Nicaragua’s largest city.  Carlos is married with a wife and two small children.  He works long and hard to provide for his family.  Last February he was given the opportunity to demonstrate the “living patio” system design by Rancho Ebenezer.  The land he will live on is just up the road from the ranch.  What is the “living patio” system you may ask?  It is a way that rural families can provide for themselves on very small and underdeveloped plots of land -- in most cases less than an acre.  The system consists of vegetables, fruits, grains, grasses, shrubs, and small fast-growing trees.  Each patio system has 4-to-5 goats, several rabbits, and chickens.  The goats provide milk for drinking and the milk can be made into cheese.  It is really good!  The goats are kept in a 10 x 12 raised shed building which allows the goat’s droppings to be collected and used in the worm beds.  By adding it with poor soil, food, and garden waste; the worms make it into rich soil that can be reused in the garden area.  The rabbits are also kept in cages for the same reason and are used to provide protein in the family’s diet.  The chickens are kept in a small pen-like area.  They provide eggs and meat for the family.

Now, back to Carlos.  He and his family will work hard on their land demonstrating that the living patio can work.  Each family member will have their task to do in different areas of the patio.  This helps to provide self-esteem and worth to each of them.  Once Carlos and his family have mastered their “living patio”, it is required of them to teach others in their community.  However, they will return to Rancho Ebenezer for updates.  Mark Hare, a PC/USA mission volunteer, and his crew do the original training and updates for people wanting to learn the “living patio” system.

Each day before starting their work Mark and his crew do a bible study.  They invite any mission groups who are at the ranch to join them.  This was a very spiritual and up-lifting way to start our day.

The “living patio” system has not only taught the poor to feed themselves but has built strong community, self-esteem, and land stewardship.

The Nicaragua Partnership trip not only provided us the opportunity to see the roof on the new classroom/dormitory building at Rancho Ebenezer that some of your Vision 200 funds provided -- it also taught us that what is really important to the Nicaraguans is that we be in solidarity with them.  It is important to know that we are all God’s children and should pray for each other knowing that we are of one spirit, one baptism, and one Lord.

Vickey Parker

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