Greetings to all the summer residents. Yes, Cape Town is cold, wet and rainy, our usual wintery weather!
RADIO
Since February this year, Bro Aubrey has invited me to teach short Cape Bible Seminary classes over the radio. At first, it was just a one-off over a small community radio station in Franschoek (about 40 mins near the Hottentot-Holland Mountains to the east). Although there are no official figures for the listenership because the station is so now, Bro Aubrey estimates the broadcasts reaches approx. 15,000 homes.
There was a good response from the first two sessions. I taught the Model Prayer and The Psalms. At first, it was a little strange because there is no audience. When I normally teach classes, I can gauge the level and pace of the lessons to ensure the students are able to understand. On the radio, there is no such response. Bro Aubrey, the producer of the religious broadcasts, and even the mixer behind the glass panel, both enjoyed the classes.
Since then, I have been asked to return if I can obtain sponsorship. The SA Mission Board responded immediately and I am now a regular monthly feature. The broadcasts are an hour long, punctuated by gospel music. Now that I am sponsored, I am allowed to advertise the Cape Bible Seminary classes and an address. Bro Aubrey has also arranged that my classes be recorded onto a blank CD so that I can distribute these, too.
Radio is a powerful tool in South Africa because there are relatively few stations on the air. Many poorer folk don’t have televisions and rely on radio. Also, those who are elderly and sick and are unable to go to church, can now hear the Word in their homes.
PRISON
This is an area in which I thought I’d never become involved. Previously, I have supplied Bibles and Christians books to other pastors and leaders who regularly teach within prison walls to the inmates. All this changed since I returned on furlough in December last year.
One of my son’s friends, Ray Miller, is serving time behind bars. Kyle (my middle son now living and working in LA) befriended Ray who is an orphan. At Christmas or special occasions, Ray came to our home and enjoyed good food and a hearty welcome. Last year, he tried to steal a car and was sentenced to three years. I was surprised when he called me from prison.
He had no one to visit him. All his friends had abandoned him and he had no family. He asked if I could visit and bring him a little homemade food and reading material. It was a wild ride getting through the gates. A long line snaked out of the doors and into the street. Each visitor was fingerprinted and photographed. Swipe cards were issued for the visit. It took two hours in various waiting rooms to get to the window where Ray sat. He was so grateful to see a friendly face. He said that he had nothing to read and was scared. I left him food and a few books – a religious novel, Christian study materials and a Bible.
Since then, I have visited Ray several times. He has asked that as soon as he gets out on parole that he wants to be baptized. He has accepted the Lord but has learned that he needs to be immersed. Ray is attending Bible classes run by a local pastor and has made a few Christian friends. One of them, Rodney, has asked me for a Bible and more study books! I have visited Rodney a few times, too. They have a mutual friend with whom they have been sharing their teaching and who is now wanting to be baptized, too.
Through Ray, I was contacted by a prison warden in charge of the library. He was desperate for reading materials because the Dept of Prisons has cut back on all expenditures to save money. I had forty boxes of books from a defunct library in America, wondering what to do with them. I called Callum Rogers, a good friend, and he helped me load and unload the heavy boxes inside the prison under guard. The warden was so grateful.
I don’t know what will become of these new contacts. All I know is that they, too, need the gospel in order to have any kind of peace in their lives and a hope beyond the future. Please pray for them as I work.
PERSONAL
Many have asked via e-mail and card about my mother, Mrs Jean Zimmerman. She is cleaning out her apartment after my father died and finding it difficult at times. They had been married for 63 years and she still wears her wedding band. My sister, Sara, and I have suggested that she relocate to Grand Rapids, where Sara and her husband, Vic, live and work. Mom will be 91 in a few months time and is in fairly good health.
This is always a problem for missionaries serving in foreign lands. We cannot celebrate Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, anniversaries or birthdays with our families. Two of my sons and their wives recently had their first babies. Brice and Louise welcomed Paxton Reed into their lives and Kent and Jen were blessed with Kyan James. I was not there for either birth. It is difficult at these times because missionaries are separated by great distances. This is why we appreciate your prayers, cards, e-mails and encouragement.
May God continue to bless each one of you,
Steve Zimmerman
S.A. Christian Mission, Cape Town
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