Our current permits expire December 10, 2024. We applied for “pensioners’ permits” almost two months ago. We are hopeful, but we still do not have a response. Two years ago, when we had a “work permit” to renew, we were in limbo for about two months. They did not say, “Yes, you may stay.” They did not say, “You must go.” They just left us hanging. We do not think that will happen again. There have been some positive changes in that department. But we don’t have a response at this point and need one soon.
The Mhango family
Keep the Mhango family (Sydney, Misozi, and Mluleki) in your prayers. This family is critical to the work in Timbutini, and helpful to all the work in Eswatini. Both Sydney and Misozi had to leave their jobs due to circumstances beyond their control. While we are not happy about the circumstances, we will be glad to have them living in Timbutini. They did great work while having to commute. With them staying there fulltime, we expect all aspects of the work to improve. The process of getting the Mhangos moved, especially on short notice, has been very disruptive. But we trust that it will be for the best in the long run.
Recording work
The recording work is moving along nicely. Brother Maseko has translated and recorded two of the books (The Mission of Jesus and God-Centred Bible Study). These are the two that will be most useful to Swazi congregations wanting to develop church leaders. Still to come will be English recordings of all the books, and simple evangelistic messages.
We were delighted to learn that many people here will be able to download the recordings onto their phones. That will eliminate the expense of getting dozens (perhaps hundreds) of the audio devices we had thought would be needed. Some people will need those, but not as many as we had expected. Anyone with a “smart phone” should be able to download and listen to the recordings. We have not figured out the details of distribution. But we know it can be done. An experimental trial using one of the recordings worked very well. The sound quality was excellent.
Volume two delayed
We had hoped to publish the second volume of The Climax of God’s Mission by January, but that will not be possible. Several small delays have added up to a delay of about six months. Our new target is July. Even that may be optimistic.
There is an old saying about writing that goes something like this. “Hard writing makes for easy reading.” I have seen various versions of this statement attributed to different people. I haven’t the time to research who first said it, or exactly what words they used. But I can attest to the truth of the concept. I can also attest to the old saying, “the more I hurry, the further behind I get.”
Support update
We mentioned recently that two of our largest contributors were nearing the end of their commitments. We had not expected that they would be able to recommit. But one family was able to do so. In the other case, a congregational commitment, the church was not willing to continue, but a family has stepped in to take on that part of the load. So we are in good shape regarding monthly expenses.
We have also received some important lump sum gifts. Some have given help toward completing the building at Timbutini. We are also making preparations for power outages – which are expected to become more frequent in January. With the gifts that are currently on the way, we hope to complete the wiring of the church building and to be able to have a generator there and at our home. We also dream of putting a ceiling in the church building someday. This time of year, a concrete building with a sheet metal roof could almost serve as a solar oven.
Agriculture project
With all the disruption over the last several weeks, there has not been as much progress with the agriculture project as we had hoped. But the ploughing was done recently. Once the fences are up, our members at Timbutini can begin planting.
African Textbook Ministry, %Church of Christ, 5130 Flanders Road, Toledo, OH 43623
africantextbook.com