Greetings in the name of our Lord! We are all well and fine, despite the flu scare.
Last year in November, I met Rusty Draper from Chancey Rd Christian Church in Florida. I am usually hosted by Walt and Bea Mielke who live south of Zephyrhills and they introduced me to many other Christians. Rusty was one of them. He made it known that he was a mission-minded man and wanted to visit the work in South Africa. I have usually had such requests and told Rusty that if he could make it across two oceans, he would be more than welcome.
I met Rusty again at the Cape Town International Airport.
He had flown from Brazil back to London and then to South Africa – a giant right hook that kept him awake for over fifty hours! He had an afternoon to shower and relax. The next day was Sunday and I introduced Rusty to the African refugee church. Most of these Christians are Congolese but a few come from Burundi and Ruwanda. Pastor Kiku is their minister and I have taught there many times. One of Rusty’s ministries is southern gospel music and he sang one of these songs to the congregation, listening to the music on his CD player as he sang. They were astounded, having never heard music like this! For the next two Sundays, Rusty used his talent so well.
Rusty is a working man, a retired pipe-fitter. His skills were sorely needed at Bavumeleni, the children’s center in an African township. Marty Wallace, a fellow American from Colorado, has been helping there for the past year and welcomed Rusty’s skills. They installed a bathroom outtake fan, made urgent repairs to a large carport to stabilize it and other jobs, which used up most of Rusty’s time.
The next Sunday, we worshipped with our Portuguese brethren in Goodwood. Pastor Cleber and his wife, Glacie, are Brazilians and have been serving this congregation with verve and enthusiasm. There are many African Christians from Angola and Mozambique who are Portuguese speaking and need teaching and encouragement. Rusty had just finished a three week work effort in Brazil prior to flying to Cape Town and he was able to greet people in Portuguese! He sang one song in English and another in Portuguese, which was appreciated so much by the Christians. After the service, we had a number of requests for his songs!
Rusty’s final Sunday was spent with the Elsies River church.
Pastor Samuel Jacobs has been their leader and the church has had a lot of difficulties in recent years. Usually, I teach a Cape Bible Seminary class on one Sunday morning every month – this time, the congregation had a treat. Rusty sang a few songs, which prompted so much response that everyone asked him to sing extra! He also used a rock he had found in Brazil to teach them about the Christian life. The rock is a crystal quartz and one side is smooth and regular, the other rough and opaque. (Rusty’s lesson was translated into French for a few of the Congolese brothers who attend Elsies River.) It illustrated how God worked in each Christian’s life, chipping and smoothing away the rough to make way for the crystal, through which Christ would shine as the light of the world.
It had been a hectic few weeks for Rusty. The final few days he was here, I did the tourist program for him. The weather hadn’t been great when Marty and Rusty worked at Bavumeleni but for these two days Rusty had left, God had provided glorious mid-winter weather! There was hardly a breath of wind, the clear blue African skies were devoid of clouds and the temperature had warmed considerably. Although we tried to get up the cableway to the top of Table Mountain, the times we tried to use it, we found it closed!
Rusty’s ideas and suggestions have really made an impact. Bavumeleni needed extra space for the kids and places to store things, Reinaldo Rutter, one of the trustees, had managed to get a 40′ Container donated free of charge and it was set close to an ancient 20′ that had been there for a long time. Rusty suggested getting another 40′ and 20′ to form a complex with a square in the center and 12 foot walkways between each Container. A serving kitchen could be installed in one Container with a serving hatch.
Everyone at Bavumeleni and the Christians who have met Rusty have been encouraged and enthused with his hard work and ideas. Thanks, Rusty, and may God bless you richly for your contributions.
My thanks again for your prayers, e-mails and help,
Steve Zimmerman
S.A. Christian Mission, Cape Town
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