Teaching with Delight in the Land of Hope By Betty Tope
Wives
of foreign evangelists, of necessity, play an important part in the teaching program of the newly established congregation.
All preconceived ideas of ideal age groups, classrooms and teaching materials are soon forgotten. Many of us have taught classes
while tending our infants in baby buggies or high chairs. The age of the children in one class may range from a few months
to 12 or 14 years of age. I handled that by teaching the lesson to the whole class using flannel material, sand box, shoe-box
dioramas or other means. Then the younger children were given story-related pictures to color while the older ones filled
in question sheets I had made up to reinforce the lesson. It worked well for me.
Suitable class material is often non-existent. Material brought from overseas may be inappropriate
for use in the foreign country, both because of the language problem and because of cultural differences. For example, books
on courtship and dating are of no use in a culture that frowns on dating and practices arranged marriages. Material full of
Americanisms is not good to use, either. We must remember we are trying to convert people to Christianity, not American ways
and customs. Teaching material may be too costly to buy anyway. Flannel material may be made out of pieces of felt and used
dryer sheets, if you live where you can use a clothes dryer. A variety of visuals can be made from cardboard toilet rolls
and paper towel inserts. If you want to send something useful to these teachers, construction paper is always welcome. We
learned to make visuals from pictures from magazines, adverts and food boxes. Ideas are all around you once you get used to
looking for them. Backing the pictures with construction paper not only increases the visual appeal, but it makes them more
durable, too. The best lessons are those made up by the teacher to fit the need of her students. (And isn’t that the
best lesson anywhere?)
Classes have been taught in bedrooms
and kitchens of our homes, while the adults studied in the living room. We have used store rooms in rented buildings, verandahs,
the shade of trees and even the interior of automobiles. One class our teenage-daughter Susan taught met in the courtyard
of an Indian family with the distractions of wandering neighborhood dogs, crowing roosters and the sounds of the neighbor
man throwing up after a drunken spree the night before.
One must
be adaptable, creative and possess a sense of humor. Things rarely go as planned. If you are teaching outside, using a flannel
board, a gust of wind may blow your whole teaching plan away. On one occasion we were holding classes in a rather rural area.
At that time Mt. Edgecombe was a tiny settlement for the sugar plantation workers. Our students came from the poorest of the
poor and consisted of Asians as well as Africans. We met outdoors next to a Hindu temple where sacrifices were left under
the palm trees for their gods and goddesses. Talk about ready-made visuals! Susan and I worked all one evening making name
tags to put on the children’s shirts and dresses so we could identify the children. After we started writing down the
unfamiliar names, we suddenly realized the process would take the whole class period and besides, most of the children had
no clothing to pin the tags to. Another brilliant idea come to nought!
But, Oh
the joy on those eager young faces as they would come to class ready to soak up God’s word like little sponges. What
a privilege to teach a class full of children who want to be there!
A Visit to
Mt. Edgecombe
Red-brick houses
nestled there
In the sea-salt laden air Dirt
track winding through the cane Swollen clouds that promise rain Chickens squawking Vendors hawking Children playing Old
men prayingWomen busy with their chores Washing
clothes and sweeping floors Wide eyes staring after us Wary, cautious and suspicious
Idol houses standing there Mocking us in our despair
Betty Tope
The Multi-Cultural Cuisine
Of South
Africa
by Betty Tope
One thing that has served me well during our years of living overseas has been my enthusiasm
for trying foods of different cultures. I credit my mother for that. She had a rule in our house that my sister and I had
to take one bite of everything on the table. Consequently, we learned to eat many different kinds of meats and vegetables,
including venison, rabbit, pheasant, horse meat (right after WWII), rutabagas, parsnips, various kinds of squashes, beets
and turnips. However, though I learned to eat it, I never did learn to like liver. Upon our arrival in Johannesburg South Africa in November of 1957, there were many new foods for me
to discover. An Asian Indian man came around once a week with his vegetable truck and we housewives would make our weekly
purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables from him. In the beginning, I would only buy those I was familiar with, but this
man was a very clever businessman. He would give us a bonsella (a free gift) each week in the form of a paw paw,
mango, avocado, litchi or some other fruit I knew little about. In time, we came to love all these fruits, too, and would
purchase them from him. In
the early days before super markets, shopping was rather time consuming as you went to the green grocers for all your fresh
fruits and vegetables, the meat market, the dairy, and the grocer for staples. You could always buy bread at the local café.
The Farmer’s Market in downtown Johannesburg
was an exciting experience, too, as you could buy everything from garden produce to raw honey or fresh fish. The meat market
carried beef, pork and lamb but the cuts were different to those I was used to buying in the United States. They also sent an African man around on a bicycle each week to take
orders from their customers. He carried a little book with him wherein the customer could write her order. I would read all
my neighbors’ orders to get ideas for my own meals. It was very helpful! The butchery itself had carcasses of sheep
and pigs hanging in the window, sawdust on the floor and flies buzzing around, so I really appreciated the service of being
able to order from my home and having the meat delivered. Visiting the butcher in person was a real turnoff! Chicken was
expensive and most people would only buy it for a special occasion like Christmas. As time went along, chicken farms sprang
up and the cost of chicken went down. However, for a period of time they were feeding the hens fish meal and they tasted like
fish. Ugh! Lamb was the meat of choice and an honored guest would be served leg of lamb, roasted potatoes and rice, pumpkin
and green beans. We came to love it! When I was growing up we usually ate meat only four times a week for economic reasons.
The meat in South Africa was so cheap by comparison
that we often ate it three times a day. Alas, times have changed there, too.
South African pumpkins are white skinned with orange flesh and are generally served
as a vegetable. I have never met anyone who baked pies with them.
English South Africans tended to cook differently from Afrikaans South Africans and
so did the Greeks, Portuguese and Jewish South Africans. However, rice was a staple in the diet of everyone. When we first
arrived in the country, it was necessary to pick through the rice before cooking it to remove the stones, pieces of hemp,
etc. Then we would rinse it with water to flush out the debris too tiny to pick out. One day I was visiting another American
family as the wife was preparing to cook oatmeal. When she discovered the oats were wormy, I asked her if she was going to
pick those out, too. I was very relieved when she laughed and told me no, she would cook it for the dogs. It was a happy day
when Tastic rice arrived on the market and we no longer had to clean our rice.
The African tribes ate more corn in the form of a stiff porridge called mealie meal
pap (corn meal) or phutu. Many people of all races eat phutu for breakfast with milk and sugar. For any other meal it is cooked
stiffer and eaten with the hands. South Africans are fond of braais (cook outs), where a typical meal would consist of boerewors
(farmers’ sausage made of lamb & beef), or lamb chops or sosaties (chicken or beef kebabs) grilled and served with
stiff phutu and a tomato and onion gravy. It is all delicious!
We spent the day with an Afrikaans family one Sunday who served cold meats and salads
for lunch. That night we had all the leftovers as sandwiches. I was surprised to discover how good leftover cold creamed corn,
beet salad, etc. is on a sandwich. One of our dear English-speaking friends, with whom we stayed many, many times, was fond
of serving the evening meal’s spaghetti for breakfast the next morning. It, too, was surprisingly tasty. The Asian
Indians curry everything including their vegetables and salads. We came to love their curries and breyanis, the sojees (semolina
pudding) and googalas (Indian donuts). The Indian community is fond of holding various Thanksgivings at their homes wherein
they invite friends, neighbors, brethren and relatives. These functions provide wonderful opportunities for preaching the
gospel to people who would not think of attending a regular worship service. Huge tent structures are erected alongside the
house over the driveway or the tiny yard. Trestle tables are covered with butcher paper and the curries, dahl and salad are
served on paper plates. Though spoons are usually provided for Westerners like us, I have been known to eat with my hand like
everyone else when the spoon was not forthcoming. That, of course, caused many amused stares among the other guests.
My most memorable experience was when we were served breyani on a banana leaf . . . we felt truly honored! One of my most unusual experiences
occurred after a ladies’ Bible class. I didn’t know these women very well at that time, and the usual custom was
to serve the guests in the parlor, while the people of the house stayed in the kitchen. Consequently, my friend Judy and I
were alone in the parlor and enjoying a delicious sandwich of grated cheese on whole wheat bread when Judy asked me if my
sandwich tasted like Vicks. I took another bite and realized I could taste Vicks. That cooled my enthusiasm
for my sandwich somewhat as I tried to envision how the Vicks got on the sandwich. Not a pleasant thought! We still laugh
about our Vicks sandwiches. My
worst experience was being invited to eat lunch after a worship service in a brother’s home. As usual, Gene and I were
eating alone. We were dismayed when the man of the house left on some errand and left us alone to enjoy his wife’s hospitality.
The meal was not the best, but we valiantly tried to do justice to it so as not to offend our hostess. The dessert was a dish
of red paw paw, which should have been delicious. However, I soon discovered a worm in mine, which I discreetly spooned out
and set on the table. The worm promptly started crawling away. I then discovered the bottom of the dish was full of these
little white worms. I’m sure our hostess would have been mortified to learn of it, and I didn’t have the heart
to tell her. One
of my happier experiences was when one of our dear Zulu sisters invited the women of the church to her house in the African
township outside Richards Bay. At the time Lindiwe was living in a one room dwelling with her seven children.
There was no way we could all fit in her home, so she set up a table under the trees and borrowed chairs from her neighbors.
We sisters spent one of the most pleasant mornings I have ever spent anywhere. She had made bread on top of a primus stove
(kerosene) and served us a wonderful lunch. I was humbled by her generosity and ingenuity. Where there is a will, God will
provide a way. Throughout
the country we were privileged to break bread with all races of people and share in their daily lives and culture, as well
as special occasions like weddings, funerals, teas, birthday parties, and other celebrations. South Africans are a very generous
and hospitable people and we are so thankful for the opportunities we have had to share our daily bread with them as well
as the gospel of Jesus Christ.
NATAL
Monkeys playing in the trees
Jasmine scents upon the breeze Pine trees swaying in the wind Sandy
running round the bend Verdant hills and waterfalls Paw
paw trees and mousebird calls
That’s what I like about
Natal!
The ocean liner’s dazzling white The gentle rain all through the night The sparkling sand and ocean’s
blue The Tibouchina’s exotic hue The
gently floating mysterious mist Enveloping all with a silent kiss
That’s what I like about Natal!
The proud Zulus in native dress The white-clad Nannies off to rest The Hindu with his friendly smile Begging, “Sit with me and chat a while. Sip my tea and eat my curry. The night is young, so what’s the hurry?”
That’s what I like about Natal!
The English with his tie and “brolly” Van
der Merwe and good ol’ Solly Cricket fields and baseball bats Tennis
courts and Sunday hats Rolling fields of sugar cane Safari
suits and rain, rain, rain
That's what I like about Natal!
Betty Tope
I would like for you to put yourself in the picture that I describe
in this section. It won’t be difficult because if you are reading this, you likely have a computer
in your home, and electricity to use it.
Anyone who has ever visited the Woodland church of Christ here in Sumter, South Carolina
knows that we have a small basement building. It’s not fancy but it is fairly comfortable.
We have carpet on the floor, pads on the benches, air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.
Oh! And there are flushing toilets, and sinks with running water, and windows to keep out mosquitoes.
When I was baptized in Ocoee, Florida, back in the 50’s, we walked to a lake a few blocks away from the church
building and where the baptisms took place. But now most congregations have built in baptistries, some
are even heated.
Are you still with me? We live
in homes that are sturdy and protect us from dangers of weather extremes, and keep the creepy-crawly things outside. The
doors have locks to keep the bad guys out while we sleep. We have several sets of clothes, shoes, coats,
and comfortable beds and furniture, electricity, hot water and privacy for bathing, refrigerators to keep our food cold, and
freezers that allow us to buy more than just one day’s food. Oh! And treats like
ice cream! We have stoves and microwave ovens to prepare the food we were able to buy with the money from
our jobs. All of us live several miles from the church building but that’s not a problem because
all of us have our own cars and are able to get to services with very little difficulty. Not all of us
have air conditioning in our vehicles, and some of us have to baby our cars to keep them running, but we can drive to services,
grocery stores, doctor’s appointments, or get a ride from another member of the congregation. Did
I mention that those stores are brightly lit, have heat and air conditioning, and we feel safe inside them? I
could go on for a good while and most of you would be able to identify with me, counting the blessings we have where we live.
Let’s
take it a step further. In America, as in other countries where some of you live, we feel quite safe to
gather for worship services without fear of persecution or harm. In many countries, such as parts
of Africa and Asia that is not the case. That is the reason we wanted to add the Sojourning in Distant
Lands page to Our Hope. In America we often complain: The price of gas is up; grocery prices
are up; our economy is down. But you know what? Whether or not we like our government,
we get to elect our leaders. We are free to speak out about such things as abortion, same sex marriages,
and to work to try changing unfair laws. As you read the letter below, written by our brother in Christ, Les Maydell about conditions
in Zimbabwe, please pray for those who are suffering in that country, and then thank our Lord for the blessings that we have
where we live.
 Dear brethren
As many of you know, the country of Zimbabwe (where my wife and I and many others have labored much in the past few
years) is in turmoil at this moment and is desperately in need of our prayers. The people live in fear because President Mugabe’s
political party (Zanu-PF) is beating, torturing and imprisoning alleged MDC supporters and their families – even children.
They are forcing entire villages to watch people being beaten and tortured, simply because the village as a whole did not
vote for Mugabe last month. Hundreds of huts have been burnt to the ground and thousands forced to flee their homes in various
parts of Zimbabwe . I have spoken to four Zimbabwean preachers who say they do not know any brethren who have been directly
affected by the violence, but all live in fear, not knowing where Mugabe will strike next. In the past he has committed terrible
crimes against humanity all over Zimbabwe. We know the brethren would so much appreciate your prayers for their safety during
this time.
Besides this, the economy is on the verge of collapse. There is
very little food in the shops, money is virtually worthless, and brethren are struggling to get enough to eat. There has also
been a drought that has destroyed the crops of many of our brethren. Aid is being sent by many brethren, which is much appreciated,
but I sincerely ask you to pray that the doors allowing this aid to reach the brethren will remain open.
Sadly, the brethren are also restricted in being able to hold gospel meetings, particularly in the rural areas. They
are able to have their ordinary Sunday worship services, but the meetings we have been doing in the past are now too apt to
be construed as political gatherings and are not advisable or allowed. The four Zimbabwean preachers that I spoke to (who
live in different parts of Zimbabwe) were all adamant that visitors should not come at this time because it puts the visitor,
the brethren, and the work in danger. Please fervently pray that this situation will soon be normalized so that the gospel
can be freely taught in an atmosphere of peace. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
We have come to love our brethren very much, and our hearts are sore
and burdened by their suffering. Perhaps if we humbly cry to the Lord, He will hear and heal their land. Your brother in Christ, Les Maydell , South Africa
1 Tim. 2:1-4 Therefore I exhort first of
all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and
all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth.
Update from May 17th:
The violence in Zimbabwe continues to escalate, and the hope of a peaceful political solution becomes ever more distant and
less possible. We do know however, that with God all things are possible, and so we continue to pray that our brethren will
be the “leaven” that will spare their land from further violence, hunger, disease, etc. Those displaced are now
in the tens of thousands, and those tortured in the thousands, including at least one good brother who spent two days in the
hospital after being severely beaten. Botswana has banned the export of bulk fuel to Zimbabwe, making petrol scarcer than
ever. (Petrol is needed to deliver relief to the brethren.) So we do continue to ask for your earnest prayers.
Les’ letter certainly needs no
additional comments from me, but I do want to add a bit of information that I gleaned from the Zimbabwe newspapers in the
past few days.
This horror in
Zimbabwe began in earnest after longtime President Robert Mugabe lost the presidential election this past March. Mugabe
refuses to step down and there is to be a runoff on June 27th. To make sure he wins the runoff, he and his henchmen
have resorted to a reign of terror. His
military police and intelligence officers are now running Zimbabwe. Their intention is to intimidate the supporters
of the opposition so that they either cannot, or are too afraid to, vote in the run-off elections. Their methods include
torture, beating, burning the crops and homes of those who may have voted for a new president, and other violent tactics. They obtained a list of all the polling agents
and all those who are a part of the new MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), and they've been systematically going from
village to village, on a quest to eradicate them all. The methods of torture are so gruesome that I could not sleep
the night after I had read about them. I cried and prayed for hours for all of those who are having to endure these
things and see their loved ones being so cruelly treated, but especially for Christians who are
caught up as victims of some of the violence. I won't describe
the horrors because it's too upsetting, but if you want to read about it, the information I've included here comes
from The Zimbabwean newspaper. In the May 30, 2008 online edition, they printed an article called "Zimbabwean
Crisis At A Glance." I'm not sure how long the link to that article will be valid, but at the time of this
writing, it is working. http://tinyurl.com/5jg53k
This article is not about politics. It's about
Christians in Zimbabwe who are in desperate need of fervent prayer. They
have lived in deprivation and famine, and have suffered so much from a collapsing economy, only to see some of their own family
members now unjustly being beaten, arrested and jailed. All of the Christians there live in fear for
their lives.
This horror in Zimbabwe began in earnest after longtime President Robert Mugabe lost the presidential
election this past March. Mugabe refuses to step down and there is to be a runoff on June 27th. To make sure he
wins the runoff, he and his henchmen have resorted to a
reign of terror. His military police and intelligence officers are now running Zimbabwe. Their intention
is to intimidate the supporters of the opposition so that they either cannot, or are too afraid to, vote in the run-off elections.
Their methods include torture, beating, burning the crops and homes of those who may have
voted for a new president, and other violent tactics. They obtained a list of
all the polling agents and all those who are a part of the new MDC (Movement for Democratic Change), and they've been
systematically going from village to village, on a quest to eradicate them all. The methods of torture are so gruesome
that I could not sleep the night after I had read about them. I cried and prayed for hours for all of those who are
having to endure these things and see their loved ones being so cruelly treated, but especially
for Christians who are caught up as victims of some of the violence. I won't
describe the horrors because it's too upsetting, but if you want to read about it, the information I've included here
comes from The Zimbabwean newspaper. In the May 30, 2008 online edition, they printed an article called "Zimbabwean
Crisis At A Glance." I'm not sure how long the link to that article will be valid, but at the time of this
writing, it is working. http://tinyurl.com/5jg53k
This article is not about politics. It's about
Christians in Zimbabwe who are in desperate need of fervent prayer. They
have lived in deprivation and famine, and have suffered so much from a collapsing economy, only to see some of their own family
members now unjustly being beaten, arrested and jailed. All of the Christians there live in fear for
their lives.
This article
is not about politics. It's about Christians in Zimbabwe who are in desperate need of fervent prayer. They have lived in deprivation and famine, and have suffered so much from a collapsing economy, only
to see some of their own family members now unjustly being beaten, arrested and jailed. All of the
Christians there live in fear for their lives.
Some of our readers
know Christians living in Zimbabwe personally. I've
been in touch with several brethren who live in South Africa, or have lived there and spent a lot of time working with churches in Zimbabwe, and I'm told that phone calls and emails going in and out of that country are likely
monitored. Any calls or emails to them could place them in danger. For that reason and after much prayer and thought,
I've decided not to mention the names of specific members of the Lord's church who have been beaten, imprisoned, or
harmed. When we pray for the Christians who are suffering at the hands of these cruel men, the Lord
knows who those people are. cg
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