Het Anker in Lelystad is involved in missionary work in Limpopo, the former homeland of Venda, in South Africa. Tom and Emmy van der Wekken went there this summer to strengthen ties and came home with a trip report and photos.
There were several reasons for our visit. Over the last few years, we as Anchorage church conducted some major actions for Takalani Children's Home. The new director, Rinah Mudau, would like to meet us in person. Rev Mawedzha had asked us in January, when he was in Lelystad, if we would like to visit again. And, last but not least, our good friend Salomé Netshitangani (86) would love to have us as guests again. We have known each other for 37 years.
Reunion
From O.R. Tambo airport near Johannesburg, we travelled to Polokwane, where Rev Patrick Makhuvha welcomed us hospitably. We know him because he was in the Netherlands a few years ago at the invitation of the CGK and was then a guest in Lelystad. In the evening, there was a short introductory meeting cum service with reflection and prayer with a number of church members in the church.
The next day, we were given a tour of the various pulpits of the Reformed Church of Polokwane/Seshego. They are all simple little churches, where elders preside over Sunday services, because one pastor simply cannot be in five places at once. The distances are too great and the transport options too limited to meet centrally.
Farewell
We then travelled on to Venda. After being warmly greeted by Salomé Nethsitangani, we went straight to the memorial service for Margret Maphugi. We had known her since 1996, when she looked after the secretariat of the Soutpansberg Synod of the Reformed Church. She was seriously ill and we had hoped to visit her in hospital, but unfortunately it was not to be. On the day of departure, we heard that she had passed away. Funeral rites in Venda are very different from ours. To allow the family, who often have to come from far away, to be present, a memorial service is held on Friday afternoon. This can last as long as four to five hours. First come representatives on behalf of the family: siblings, children, cousins. Then relations such as neighbours, friends and others. On behalf of the Lelystad church, we were also 'rostered in'.
Emmy recalled some memories of Margret in her 'in memoriam'. After the farewell service, which included singing, preaching and prayers, everyone made their way to the mortuary to say goodbye to the deceased. The next day, on Saturday at six in the morning, the funeral took place. Margret was buried in Ngudza, where in 1999 young people from (among others) Leiden built the foundation of the church.
Meetings
On Sunday, we attended the church service in Bunzhe. In 2016, Wilanka, Sjane, Celine and Ruth from Lelystad laid the foundation of this church. The church looks good. The grounds have been enclosed with a fence, a ceiling has been made in the church to temper the temperature somewhat in summer and the walls have been painted. The tapestry Jetty had made still hangs beautifully, with pictures of our ladies on either side.
In the days that followed, we had several lovely encounters. We visited Mr Mufhege, a blind man who, as always, greeted us enthusiastically. Despite his severe disability, he manages to earn a living by growing cabbages, onions and sugar beans. Pretty special when you consider that unemployment in Venda is very high and he runs his field with a lot of perseverance.
In Bunzhe, we met Gudani and his mother and stepfather. Gudani had been born with his right arm turned all the way in, so he could not use it and was condemned to a life without any prospects. Mark worked to achieve that he could have surgery. After going through a lot of bumps and a lot of interference from Salome and Rev Mawedzha, he finally succeeded. In our congregation, we prayed for this repeatedly. And those prayers have been answered.
After surgery, he can use his arm, albeit with limitations. At the age of 11, he was able to go to school for the first time. He is now in grade 9, say class 3 (of 6) adapted secondary school. He was very happy to see us and was already waiting for us at the roadside to show us the way to the house where he now lives. Gudani is now 20 years old.
Church building
A week later, we attended the service at Muledane, the church for which Birgit, Davey, Elsa, Hanneke, Marco, Paul and Yvette laid the foundation in 2012. It was a nice reunion with the church members there. Unfortunately, copper is not safe from theft there either: all the electricity cables had been knocked out, despite iron fencing in front of door and windows.
The congregation is still growing and is active in establishing new preaching sites in the rural area south of Thohoyandou. We looked at a church under construction, where services had already been held for three weeks, and a plot elsewhere, which had been set aside for future church construction.
In and after the service in Muledane and at the Iyani Bible School, we met a group of young people from Opperdoes who were a working holiday had (interior and exterior painting) at the Iyani Bible School.
Children
All in all, very nice experiences. Without discounting any of them, the best was our visit to Takalani's Children Home. Two years ago, we were able to donate the new washing machine and dryer for this, and last year we gave money for thirty (out of eighty) new mattresses. And these were really needed. The old ones were still in storage because they are so broken that they have nowhere to go with them. The washer and dryer are on full blast day in and day out. They should be, with eighty children taken care of there.
Irma had made a big soft toy (the little ones), a regular soft toy (the middle group) and a key ring (the oldest group) for all of them. How happy they were with it. The children there have so little. They are very well looked after but the amount of money per child is not very high, so anything extra than clothes, care and school is out of the question. All the children sleep in rooms with five or six beds; there is not much privacy. Tetske had made quite a few beautiful bookmarks and bags for the Takalani staff and others, which did great as 'business gifts'.
Kruger Park
And yes, if you are in Venda, of course you do not leave out the Kruger Park. That too resulted in some nice encounters, but of a very different nature.
Mission Committee
The last Sunday was a big joint service in the conference hall at Iyani that brought together people from all the pulpits of the Reformed churches in Venda. What was special was that we started with a financial report on missionary activities and the presentation of a recently formed joint missionary committee. This was followed by the sermon summarising 'a church that is not missional is not a church'. As if we were in Lelystad.
With gratitude, we look back on the fine meetings. We would like to convey warm greetings from the congregations there.
