On 6 May, in the night from Sunday to Monday, Rev Carel Affourtit died, aged 77. Deputies for Foreign Missions remember with great gratitude his love and dedication and great commitment during the years he and his wife were sent out as a missionary couple to the then homeland of Venda, in the north-east of South Africa.
Missionary minister
Rev Affourtit was commissioned by deputies for missions immediately after his theology studies in 1974 and, together with his wife, attended missionary training at the Hendrik Kraemer Institute in Oegstgeest that year. On 31 January 1975, he was confirmed as a missionary pastor in the Leiden church and, together with his wife Dana, he was sent to Venda. There he succeeded Rev M (Bob) Rebel, who left for the KwaNdebele homeland.
Iyani Bible School
From 1977, he was put in charge of the work at the Iyani Bible School. That school had been founded in 1969 near Sibasa, as a training place for evangelists who, as 'helpers' of the mission workers, had a task in the emerging churches. It is particularly to Rev Affourtit's credit that Iyani grew into a training institute for the churches. A programme was created for training Sunday school leaders, women's club leaders, training of church members on discipleship and all sorts of other tasks of church members and youth leaders. Youth camps for different age groups from 10 years onwards were also conducted and marriage courses offered. It was Rev Affourtit's view that the congregation has received enough gifts, but that those gifts need to be unfolded, to prevent the church from functioning only through paid workers.
Besides the work for Iyani, Rev Affourtit has also been heavily involved in the establishment of a Christian multicultural school, which started in 1986 under the name 'Tshikevha'.
In November 1987, the family returned to the Netherlands, where Rev Affourtit served the churches of Rozenburg and Amsterdam-de Bron until his retirement in 2011.
From our hearts we pray for God's comfort and nearness for Sr Dana Affourtit-Bouterse and for the children and grandchildren.
