ZAMBIA & SOUTH AFRICA

REPORT

 

     INTRODUCTION:  The is a report to The Urantia Book Fellowship International Committee on the outreach mission to Zambia and South Africa from February 23 – March 12, 2006 made by Buck & Arlene Weimer, Pueblo, Colorado, USA.  The primary purpose of the outreach was to establish and enhance a personal relationship with as many readers – and potential readers – as possible.  Secondary purposes included: delivery of books and to place them where appropriate, initiate new and support existing study groups, identify probable or actual leaders, elicit a networking of readers, provide information and answer questions.  When preparing this report we attempted to include as many facts where appropriate, collaborate on ideas when possible, and, with the help of our unseen friends, enhance spiritual ideals.  We are solely responsible for any shortcoming of this report. (If uninterested in background information, skip to parts II and IV.)

 

I.                    THE COUNTRY DESCRIPTION:  Zambia, a developing country in southern Africa, was formerly known as Northern Rhodesia until independence in October 1964.  It is a landlocked country just a little larger than Texas surrounded by the countries of:  Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.  The population was counted at slightly more than 11 million people (UN, 2005) with the largest percentage residing in the capital of Lusaka and using English as the second language, after a tribal language - primarily, Bemba (the largest), Lozi, Nyanja, and Tonge) – with 1.1% Europeans and 0.2% other.  The life expectancy is 39.43 years for men and 39.98 years for women (2005 est.).  HIV/AIDS continues to decimate the population with 16.5% of adults diagnosed, and 89,000 annual deaths (2003 est.).  Other infectious diseases include: food/water/airborne diseases (bacterial diarrhea, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever) and animal/insect carried diseases: which include plague, and especially malaria.  At 10 to 15 degrees below the equator, the rainy season runs from October to April, with occasional droughts. Politically, Zambia has a constitution with universal suffrage outlining the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, with the executive tending to be the strongest.  The politics have been comparatively stable for the last 12 years.  

 

A.     The Economy:  The monetary unit is the kwacha - 331,000 kwacha equals $100 USD (approx.).  The kwacha can fluctuate wildly, usually dependent on the world market price of copper – their main export accounting for most of Zambia’s foreign earnings.  Additionally, and in much smaller amounts, they export minerals (cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, and hydropower), and tobacco. At the time of independence, Zambia went from the world’s 3^rd largest miner of copper (after the U.S. and Russia) and being one of the Africa’s riches countries to currently being one of the poorest.  In 1974 the world copper prices collapsed, 27 years of one-party rule (multi-party system didn’t emerge until the 1990’s), the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, mismanagement, and high debt all added to the downward spiral.  In 2002 Anglo-American corporations withdrew from the copper and agriculture sectors, leaving over 2 million people insecure about food and thousands without jobs.  In April of 2005, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) have initiated debt relief from Zambia’s creditors.  In December 2005 the US government cancelled the Zambian government debt of USD 280 million dollars. And, the current president, Levy Mwanawasa, has a sincere and effective anti-corruption program in place – including bringing in outside auditors.  Still the Gross National Income is slightly above $400, with many living under the UN poverty level of $1.00 per day.  A complaint often heard was:  the government gives huge 5 years tax incentives to multi-national corporations who exploit their natural resources, ship the resources to South Africa, where in turn, the resources are made into retail goods, which are then imported to Zambia and sold at inflated prices.  The corporations pull out of Zambia after the 5 year incentive – usually returning months or years later under a new name – continuing the same pattern.  Zambia hosts thousands of refugees who have fled the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and, to a smaller degree, Angola. 

 

B.     The Culture:  Zambians are a mild-mannered, soft-spoken people.  They are just emerging from tribalism to nationalism – as most of the rural and country people first identify themselves with their tribe.  They shake hands a lot, and men are often seen holding hands while walking down a city street.  Sidewalk vendors are omnipresent in most major city street, selling everything from leather goods, to books, and yes, cell phones. The art, sculpture, and craft industry is well developed.  We returned home with many pieces of wood, copper, painting, and jewelry art.  The music has a wonderful beat and rhythm to it that surely influenced the many Caribbean sounds, and is easily distinguishable from surrounding cultures, such as the Congo music.  The staple food in Zambia is nshima, a stiff porridge usually made from maize, but sometimes sorghum. Nshima is usually served in a communal dish and eaten with the right hand after rolling it into a ball and dipping it into a sauce of meat or vegetables.  Zambians are notoriously poor drivers (not their skills, but their tendency to drive with an offensive attitude, instead of a defensive approach).  We were witness to 2 serious accidents while there and read of many more in the daily newspapers.  President Nwanawasa himself was involved in a near-fatal road accident in 1992 leaving him with slurred speech, which opponents often take advantage of in his slips of the tongue.  Taxi cab drivers buy only small amount of gasoline at a time, usually returning to the pump several times daily, due to the fear of carjacking or of having gas siphoned off.  The hotel industry may leave you wanting.  However, Zambia is rich in game preserves with most of the famous wild animals associated with Africa.  And, of course, there is the incredible experience of Victoria Falls that everyone should see at least once in a lifetime.

 

C.     Religion:  The constitution declares Zambia to be a Christian nation.  Approximate figures vary greatly,  but these figures best reflect our experience:   Christians = 75% (Catholic 32%, Protestant 27%, Evangelical 12.5%, Other 20.2%), Traditional Animist = 23%, Muslim = 1%, African Indigenous = 8%, Non-religious = .5%.  Many Zambian continue to believe the spirit of their ancestor’s give them power in times of difficulty or need.  The belief that spirits indwell the natural elements and live in rivers and stones is especially strong with the Bemba.  The power of the village healer is unquestionable and the pervading belief is that this person can solve disputes and cure medical problems because of supernatural powers. (Please view Appendix #1 to read a newspaper article we cut from the Zambia Times, perhaps the most prominent newspapers in Zambia.)  However, the strong influence of the many and multifaceted missionaries in the countryside and the rural areas have diminished this influence in recent times.  Also, there may be a corollary between Zambia’s transition from tribalism to nationalism and their bridging from shamanism to a wise, all-powerful, and loving God (see Paper #70).

 

II.                 Fellowship Outreach Activities: In support of our outreach activities, we were supplied with the following:  2 cases of indexed Uversa Press Urantia Books, 1 case of “Jesus, A New Revelation” books, “A Description…” brochures, “Our Christian Heritage” brochures, Urantia Fellowship business cards, 3 dozen T-shirts (see Appendix 2 for logo), “Ascent to Paradise” and the recent “Time Line on the Life of Jesus” posters, copies of Ken Glasziou’s “Computer Analysis of Dates in the Urantia Book”, and a bag of Spiritual Vitamins.  In addition, we carried the following gifts to Chita and Namukale from various persons:  power point projector, an HP 700 printer, digital (world’s smallest) camera, electrical converter, 3 dictionary-type resource books, a radio/MP3/CD player, speaker & earphone for SKYPE communications, and other odds and ends too numerous to mention here (but must include David’s guitar strings).

 

A.     We arrived in the capitol of Lusaka from London early February 25^th, and through a fortuitous set of circumstances (seraphim assistance?) were able to catch the early flight to Ndola – the 2^nd largest city, where Chita and Namukale live (Namukale just recently graduated from Copperbelt University in business).  After resting, we met with C & N and prepared for the next days’ conference.

B.     “The Sunday Conference”:  We presume this to be a historic first = a Urantia Book Conference in Africa. (See Appendix 3 for schedule.)  We set up a registration booth in a hall provided by the Savoy Hotel, and presented incoming participants with a schedule, name stickers, and brochures.  The two posters were placed on a board, a 3 concentric circles flag hung, and the power point projector brought to life.  We met each person as they completed the registration line and made an effort to develop a relationship with each.  However, only 10 persons came – all men.   With C & N and the two of us, the total was 14 participants – about half of the 30 anticipated (and paid for refreshments and food).

 

1.      After the introductions and prayer, the power point presentations went extremely well, with much interaction, discussions, and readings.  During the lunch period there was much discussion about “renting a place for regular study group meetings” – an ongoing problem for them because of being ostracized by family members and others saying:  “It’s not the Bible, so it must be from the devil.”  We first were successful in separating the need for a permanent meeting place from having a business and a meeting place combined.  The next issue was renting a house versus an apartment.  They agreed on renting an apartment because security would be easiest.  There was also an eager discussion about forming a Fellowship Society.

2.      The afternoon portion of the program went equally as well, with much discussion on the Thought Adjuster, the Soul, and recognizing God’s will. We closed with a Remembrance Ceremony using the traditional Hindu Naan bread and South African red wine provided.

3.      Even after the closing remarks, most participants stayed for more questions and interaction.  Several men had planned to leave early, but were among the last to leave; especially Micky Saili, director of Ndola’s libraries and supervisor of Joseph Chanika, another leader in the area (apparently, Joseph had qualified for a scholarship to come to the Philadelphia Conference, but broke a leg in a motorcycle accident prior to leaving).  We donated an additional 5 books to Micky and Joseph for the branches of their library.

4.      Others were: Alfred Machilica, who at 49 was the oldest reader there (after Arlene & Buck, of course), but seemed to complain about not being able to read real well.  We hope to get him a “listening” version of the Book soon.  Goliath Kabwe asked very penetrating questions.  Leonard Phiri talked little but said a lot.  Paul Kamboler seemed to have a wisdom about him that was attractive.  Martin Chifita was bright and eager to learn, and had a good sense of humor.  Vance Chifwala was a no-nonsense person with a keen skill for listening.  Mortson Bwalya was interested in obtaining more high tech information on our presentation, the Urantia Book, etc.  Roy C. Mukupa was a loveable teddy bear type with an open mind. (See Appendix 4 for a complete list of readers – or potential readers - we met while in Zambia.)

5.      We donated 2 books and 5 coupons to individuals.

6.      C and N deserve a lot of credit for all their efforts in planning, organizing, and hard work toward making the Sunday Conference a success.

 

C.     The next day (February 27^th) we traveled to Kitwe, about 45 minutes by bus from Ndola, where we made a prearranged presentation at the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation at the Theology School.  With us were Chita, Namukale, and Joseph.  (Inexplicably, Buck forgot the power point projector, but we were able to show the presentation on a computer monitor.)   

1.      Present were 34 + (standing room only) students, teachers, and ordained ministers from various seminaries and schools of theology in the region of Central Africa (contact us for a complete list). 

2.      They grilled us good, sometimes laughing at our certain knowledge of the Father’s presence on Paradise, and of Christs’ home on Salvington.  Most important to them, as religionist of authority, was to know who wrote it and the origins of the Book.  After our initial resistance, a learned man in the back of the room convinced us of the importance of sharing what we know about this.  Which we did.  But, we concluded this part by sharing Ken Glasziou’s “Computer Analysis of Dates in the Urantia Book”, and this quieted them down and made them more receptive.  (This was also a valuable lesson for us:  when telling the story of the book’s origins – which usually sounds very far out –   concluded with some science and hard facts - the complete accuracy of the over 100 incidents of combining the date with the day in Part IV. )

3.      We were amazed at the number of students coming to us after closing and asking more questions and wanting a book.  We left 3 books each and brochures for their library and gave away 6 coupons. 

 

D.     The remainder of the day was filled with placing the book in libraries:

1.      The Copperbelt University Library, Jambo Drive, Riverside, P.O. Box 21692 , Kitwe, Zambia: presented a book to the assistant librarian, Nellie Chiinza.  A Foundation hard-bound book was already there and may have been the original book Chita found.  It looked well used.

2.      The Kitwe City Library, Kauna Square, P. O. Box 20070, Copperbelt Province, Zambia.  With the assistant librarian.

3.      Another book was placed at the Helen Kaunda Memorial Library, P.O. Box 90233 , Launshya, Zambia with the head librarian.  They also asked for Bible donations.

 

E.      February 28^th, Tuesday was a day of personal ministry:

1.      On our walk from the hotel to find taxi, we stopped and met another Urantia Book reader – Elijah Chilufya, working at Tyre King Enterprise in Ndola.  He was very happy to see us and apologized for not being able to attend the conference.  He seemed sincere and knowledgeable about the Book.

2.      We walked around the corner and got into a waiting taxi – the driver was Leonard Phiri who attended the Sunday Conference.  He first drove us to Natwange Chipulukusu rural school, just a few miles from the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was supervised by 2 Catholic Sisters from the Dominican order, and a small staff of Zambian volunteers. There were 570 students, mostly girls from 1^st grade to 6^th grade.  Students were using a ball of rags held together with mud to play soccer.  Many of the classrooms were shipping containers used by transoceanic freighters, with the front ends off and small windows cut from the sides.  The cooking was done in large pots on empty truck wheel rims filled with burning charcoal – crude, but ingenious and effective.  The children were bright and eager to learn.  They sang songs for us, practiced plays, did math problems on the chalk board, and had a debate.  The biggest problem the staff had was encouraging the children to stay home when sick.  We left them with 4 new soccer balls, over 100 pens, a stack of note books, and 2 chalk board erasers.  (Pictures and some video available upon request.)

3.      From there we drove to the Ndola Ecumenical Hospice Association Cicetekelo Home.   It was supervised by an Iris Catholic Nun and a Zambian nurse.  They showed us two wings of the hospice where we spoke privately to a half dozen patients about the Gospel and salvation.  Most patients could do little more than node their heads in approval.  But their eyes said it all!  Upon entering the second wing, one young girl of 14 or 15 years, with tears in her eyes, came up to us and said:  “Hi, my name is _______, and I’m HIV positive.”  Before leaving, we donated over 100 syringes, 3 boxes of rubber gloves, ½ box of alcohol swipes, 15 needle glides, and 4 disc filter tubs for transfusions all obtained from Parkview Medical Center in our hometown of Pueblo, Colorado, USA.

4.      After lunch, we continued our taxi excursion.  This time we went to the Dag Hammarskjold Crash Site Memorial.  For those of us old enough to remember Dag Hammarskjold, he was the Secretary General of the United Nations (historically, the 2^nd) who died when his plane crash just outside Ndola, Zambia on September 15, 1961.  He was on a peace mission attempting to stop the civil war in the Congo – which, ironically, continues.  But the controversy remains:  was the crashed caused by pilot error or was it intentionally shot down?  It was a very serene site, with tall trees, a gazebo on top of a 25’ mound, an actual bronze memorial where the plane first touched the earth, and a building with a bronze bust of him with lots of photographic memorabilia.

 

F.      The next day, Wednesday, Buck became ill with what was later diagnosed as a stomach flu/virus.  Arlene spent the evening hours talking with C & M about economics and appeared to clear up the misunderstanding between accountability and distrust.  After 12 hours of intermittent vomiting and 12 hours of recovery (too much information?), Buck was ready for the 10+ hours bus ride to Livingstone.  It was just the four of us.

 

G.     The first full day in Livingston (the very southern part of Zambia):

 

1.       We first placed 2 books in the Livingston District Council Library, Village Mukuni , Livingstone, Zambia, Mubia S. Chrispin, chief librarian.  It was a sorely stocked library, and several people we asked within earshot of it couldn’t tell us where it was located.

2.      A person Arlene met on the bus ride to Livingstone directed us to a rural health clinic where his mother worked – mostly with young children.  It was the Maramba Clinic – for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (Partially funded by the U.S. Presidential Initiative fund). We met the director, Greenford Sibusenga, and left him with the remaining medical supplies we had carried from home – about an equal amount as with the hospice clinic.

 

H.     The Reversion Directors take over:

1.      For the afternoon and the remainder of the day the four of us visited Victoria Falls – called “The Smoke That Thunders” by the indigenous people.  It was an absolutely incredibly wonderful and powerful experience.  Chita, having been there previously as a Boy Scout, led the way and showed us around – starting with “The Boiling Pot” at the bottom just downstream.  We then moved to the top, walking along the path facing the falls for as far as we could (half of the Falls is shared with Zimbabwe which was off limits due to civil strife).  It was fun getting soaked by the mist, walking through rainbows, and feeling the presence of God. (Pictures and some videos available upon request.)

2.      The next day we, just the two of us, spent the entire day on a safari at the Chobe National Park in Botswana.  (We couldn’t afford to take C & N with our limited personal funds and didn’t feel comfortable using Fellowship funds for this purpose.  We also recognized the wisdom in having time for ourselves.)  It was breathtaking seeing so much wildlife, first on a flat-bottom boat water safari and then on high seats on the back of a Nissan jeep land safari in one day.  For lunch, we had a most delightful world-class luncheon buffet – with all the trimmings.  What a treat!  We returned to Zambia that evening.

3.      An interesting side story: was going back and forth between the two countries we had to literally step into a liquid-soaked sponge for a few seconds as a health inspector watched – to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease.  

 

I.        The four of us spent the day of Sunday March 5^th riding a bus from Livingstone to Lusaka, and checked into our hotel, Hotel Lusaka.  That evening, while having dinner in the hotel, we meet another Urantia Book reader – Godwin Mulawisha.  Godwin is a nursing student doing an internship in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at the main Lusaka Teaching Hospital.  He is very bright, energetic, and well versed in the Urantia Book – especially in the Life and Teaching of Jesus.  We loved his enthusiasm and identified him as a potential leader.

J.       Early the next day, we met two more readers – both women (finally).  Chilufya Mumbi and Sharon Kalenga, both students at University of Zambia (UNZA).  Actually, Chilufya is a strong reader, but Sharon is a potential reader.  She (Sharon) asked many good questions about the Book as we all had a Subway sandwich for brunch.

1.      The six of us walked to the nearby Lusaka City Council Library on Katondo Street, P.O. Box  31304, Lusaka, Zambia, and for reasons unclear we were unable to present a book.  C & M claimed the director was an interest person in the Urantia Book but when they telephoned him there was no response.  His secretary in the library said he was out and not available. 

2.      Next, we followed C & N in search of a real estate agent in an effort to locate an apartment for rent in Ndola.  This too, proved to be unfruitful.

3.      After Chilufya and Sharon returned to their classes at the  University, C & M  bused it with Buck to a local upscale mall to purchase electronic equipment needed by Chita.  Most goodies needed to operate electronic devices costs three or four times the cost in the U.S.  (Except for an income of 260,00 kwacha -about $80 US – which Chita receives working with a newspaper in Ndola, neither have a visible means of self-sufficiency.)

4.      In a cost-saving suggestion, C & N were asked to return to Ndola a day earlier than planned, and we would complete the unfinished business of placing a book in the UNZA library and getting information from the British Consulate on their annual book fair.  At dinner  they reluctantly agreed to return home.  We consequently had a heart-to-heart talk about economics and the importance of the “proposal, accountability, and frugality” methodology.  For the first time, C & N told us they were unable to follow through with a planned way to improve their economic situation by buying local bracelets and mailing them to Paula Thompson to sell at Urantia Book gatherings.  The also expressed their desire to translate the Urantia Book into their first language of Bemba.  (We perceived that C & N were conflicted regarding Urantia Book outreach and exposure.  On the one hand they spoke of the translation, starting a Urantia Book Society, and having a Urantia Book booth at the British Consulate book fair in May/June.  On the other hand, they appeared fear motivated as regards to having regular public study group meetings and talking openly about the Book because of some actual and potential ostracizing or of having the book banned.  We encouraged fearlessness.)

 

K.    We shared hugs and said our goodbyes early the next morning, then set about finishing the two unfinished pieces of work.

1.      We visited the British Consulate and obtained the name and email address of the person organizing the book fair (Belinda Mwale), and have since received an emailed promise from her for schedules - as they become available.

2.      A bus ride left us at the University of Zambia where we donated a book to Norah Mumba, Collection Development Librarian, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.  She promised to introduce the University’s religious department to the book.  We promised to send her 3 more books.

 

L.      Our time in Zambia was about over; except for the one last night in Lusaka on March 10^th when returning from South Africa and before our flight to London.  We were saddened but cheered by our many outreach experiences and the feelings of closeness to the spirit world around us. We achieved the following:

1.      Two formal introductory presentations of the Urantia Book.

2.      Presented books to 7 libraries.

3.      Gifted or left with C & N all but 5 of the 20 Urantia Books and all but 5 of 18 JANR books.

4.      Gave away dozens of Fellowship business cards, and pieces of secondary material.

5.      Including C & N, we met with and interacted with 16 readers, and identified 3 new potential leaders = Godwin Mulawisha, Joseph Chanika, and Alfred Machilica.

6.      Began the process of establishing a permanent meeting place for the Morontia Mota Study Group of Ndola.  

7.      (Whatever success we had could not have been possible without the prior unselfish and fearless work of Norman Ingram.)

 

III.               THE COUNTRY DESCRIPTION:  South Africa is nearly twice the size of Texas and at the very southern tip of the continent has the Indian Ocean on its east coast and the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast.  Originally inhabited by the San & Khoikhoin it was later settled by the Bantu tribes.  The European Dutch began colonizing in the mid-17^th century, and was passed to England in 1814, which created the Boer War (1899-1902).  England won the war (is that an oxymoron?) and went on to create the Union of South Africa in 1910.  South Africa declared itself a republic in 1961 and consolidated the apartheid system which was repealed in 1989.  White rule ended in 1993 and multiracial elections was held in 1994 making Pretoria the administrative capital, Cape Town the legislative capital (and largest city), and Bloemfontein the judicial capital.  The government is a republic with universal suffrage.  Currently the population is slightly more than 44,000,000 and life expectancy is about 43.47 for males and 43.06 for females. However, any estimates of population must take into account the excessive mortality rate resulting from HIV/AIDS, with 21.5% of the adult population, or 5.3 million, and 370,000 deaths – all 2003 estimates. 

 

A.     The Economy:  The monetary unit is the Rand, and $100 = 619.34 Rand.  South Africa is an emerging world market with plenty of natural resources: gold, chromium, coal, iron, manganese, nickel, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, tin and natural gas.  It has a well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors with a modern infrastructure to support the distribution of goods to population centers.   However, their economic system is not yet strong enough to lower the high unemployment rate (estimated at 25-31% in 2005) and the daunting economic problems remaining from the apartheid era. 50% of the population sustain themselves below the poverty line (2000 est.).  South Africa continues to have one of the world’s largest income disparities.  Women earn 55% less than men.   

B.     The Culture:  South Africans are a unique blend of ethnics groups:  blacks are 75.2%, whites 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, and Indian 2.6%.  And, like Zambia, English is nearly everyone’s second language with English being the first language of 8.2% of the population.  The remainder is:  IsiZulu at 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6% and Afrikaans (similar to Dutch) at 13.3%; with 4 or 5 additional tribal languages.  South Africa is without a major arterial river or large lakes and must rely on extensive water conservation, so water is discussed often and openly.  Over 86% of the population, both male and female, is literate.

C.     Religion:  South Africans are mostly Christians, with 75-80% identifying themselves in one denomination or another. Islam represents approximately 2% of religionist, and   Hindu about 1.5%.  The remainder is animist/indigenous, but a large percent of these remaining identified “none” as their category.  Many of the Afrikaans continue to follow the 17^th Century Calvinistic approach to God, while most of the animist and indigenous believers continue to participate in animal sacrifice during annual crop festivals. 

 

IV.              Fellowship Outreach Activities:

A.     We flew from Lusaka, Zambia to Johannesburg, South Africa, arriving at approximately 3:00 PM local time.  After clearing immigrations and customs, we headed for the main terminal.  As we walked out we saw this large placard with 3 hand-drawn blue concentric circles being waived in the air by an enthusiastic Afrikaans women.  Her name is Simone Cox, and after praying a lot, she had been somehow led to the Book, and knew immediately it was for her.  She drives around in a white van with the sign:  “Big Blue Book” painted on it.  We got her name from Doreen Heyne, who read Simone’s notice on Meetup.com for anyone wishing to join a Urantia Book Study Group in Johannesburg. 

1.      We had coffee and tea with Simone and she told us of her many activities.  She has a website in development:  www.Bluebook.co.za, is interested in placing the books in stores in Johannesburg, and travels around to many spiritual fairs promoting the Book.  She is also interested in a booth for large book fairs in the Johannesburg area.

2.      We gave her a JANR books, a poster, a 3 circles pin, and some of each of the brochures.

3.      She has unbridles energy for promoting the revelation, but we loved her and identified her as a leader in the Johannesburg region.

4.      There was another reader, Neville Pallatt, who planned to meet us at the airport, but told Simone he thought we were coming the next day - Thursday, March 9^th.

 

B.     Our time with Simone was much too short, and our flight left on time.  We were picked up at the Cape Town Airport by Elizabeth Peterson, director of St. Anne Homes for pregnant, abused and homeless women with children. (More on this below.)  She dropped us off at the St. Mark Anglican Church where Rev. John Oliver effortlessly placed us each in one of the several Bible Study Groups discussing the Lent season, Jesus, and his momentous decisions.  On the front pew, was a well-used JANR.  In closing, Rev. John read a passage from JANR, introduced us, and invited Buck to speak on what the Urantia Book had to say about the subject matter.  (Rev. John is also chairperson of the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative, and an involved member of the all-African Interfaith Initiative.)  He then drove us to the District Six Guest House where we checked-in at a reduced price because of our affiliation with Rev. John.  There was a 24 hours security guard opening and closing the entrance gate and bars on all the windows.

1.      After a great breakfast overlooking the Cape Town bay, Rev. John drove us to his Rectory where a “gathering” of Urantia Book readers, or potential readers, was to be held.  We spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon trying to make telephone or email contact with as many of the 29 names given to us by Paula Thompson, Christilyn Biek, Saskia, and others.  (The decision to go to Cape Town was made after our arrangements had already been made for Zambia.  It was the right decision without doubt.  Unfortunately, it left us very little time to organize the event – which could have resulted in 2 or 3 times the number of participants.  Many people got a book or heard about it during the Parliament of the World’s Religions conference held there in 1999 at the Urantia Book booth.)

2.      We spent the afternoon visiting with Elizabeth Peterson at the St. Anne Homes, touring, and meeting guests and staff.  It was a wonderful experience to see this service in action = many volunteers working with small children unselfishly doing the fun work as well as the dirty work.

3.      We went to the harbor shopping area to buy food for snacks for the event.

4.      We laid out the Books on the window sill, with brochures, spiritual vitamins = all that remained.  Six people attended = Rev. John Oliver, who stands as an important “bridge” between organized Christianity the Urantia teachings;  Marthe Muller, who is emerging as the real leader in the area;  Jen Goebel,  a young American working with a Christian Missionary group called:  “Bridges of Hope” and whose father, Rick Goebel, is a long time reader living in Castle Rock, CO;  Peter Minnar, who gave up the last night with his departing son to attend, and has a deep understanding of the Book; Elizabeth Peterson, who is just beginning to investigate the Book because of her interactions with Rev. John; and Juliet Gosling, attended as a result of hearing of the Urantia Book at the Bible Study groups the previous night.

5.      After a prayer, we used a flip chart to do an overview of Parts I, II, & III.  Then had a detailed interactive discussion on Part IV.  We were surprised and delighted at their depth of knowledge and curiosity.  Finally, Rev. John had to whisk everyone out the door due to the lateness of the hour (10:30 PM).

 

C.     As we prepared to leave, we left Rev. John a $100 donation for his great unifying effort and the use of the Rectory.  He and Marthe Muller agreed to again have regular Urantia Book study group meetings.  Marthe, as she drove us to the airport, said she would use a library book placement program to help unit the readers. 

D.     On our flight back to Lusaka, Zambia we reflected on all that had been accomplished in South Africa in such a very short period of time at Johannesburg and Cape Town.  We felt energized and uplifted by it all.

 

V. RETURN TO LUSAKA FOR ONE NIGHT AND COMING HOME:   Upon checking into the Lusaka Hotel, Buck discovered he left the camera in the taxi on the ride from the airport and with it all the pictures from the second half of our trip. (Oh, well.) Later that evening, we again met with Godwin Mulawisha to give him a conference T-shirt and a pin as suggested by Chita.  We had a great discussion about education, the Urantia Book, of trying to get a study group started in Lusaka, and partnering with a US hospital to send outdated medical supplies to the Lusaka Hospital.  The flights to London and Denver were uneventful – except, of course, for the incredible people we met and spoke with.

 

VI. FUTURE OUTREACH IN AFRICA AND GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

 

1. As Philip Jenkins says in “The Next Christendom: The Coming of World Christianity”:  “Over the past century, however, the center of gravity in the Christian world has shifted inexorably southward, to Africa, Asia , and Latin American.  Already today, the largest Christian communities on the planet are to be found in Africa and Latin America.  If we want to visualize a “typical” contemporary Christian, we should think of a woman living in a village in Nigeria or in a Brazilian favela.”

1.            Jenkins goes on to identify the 4 emerging “megacities” in Africa as Lusaka, Zambia; Lagos, Nigeria; Kinshasa, Democratic of Congo; and Kampala, Uganda; and goes on to say, barring a catastrophe, nothing will stop these cities from becoming “goliaths”.

2.            We simple cannot wait for readers or potential readers to emerge.  We must go there.  We must talk with religionists; give public presentations, place books; then return, again, and again in a model of consistency.

3.            An all-African leadership conference is needed to show support, give direction, and develop skills for outreach, study group building, and finding “Bridges” in the interfaith community.

4.            Develop an on-line African newsletter, by Africans and for Africans to improve and increase the networking between readers from different regions and languages.

2. Recommendations:

1. As an organization, the Fellowship must be willing to devote more money, time, and energy toward developing and training a large “Outreach Corps” to go out into the world whenever needed.  China will be opening its doors to the world on 8-8-08 hosting the Summer Olympics.  This could represent a golden opportunity for outreaching the Revelation.
2. As the Pipeline of Light is doing so wonderfully with books, a similar project of “Outreach Response Kits” needs to be in place to send to readers and potential readers after the initial contact is made.  Kits could be on several levels = potential readers, committed readers, and leadership kits (to include things like: brochures, posters, business cards, and stickers identifying local readers and international websites. to place inside Books on public shelves).
3. Scholarships for international conventions need to have more discussion.
4. Some form of joint statement signaling a united effort of the Fellowship and the Foundation on international outreach would be very helpful.
5. Encourage African countries to have an internal conference to bring readers from remote areas into closer affiliation with the majority.
6. Eventually have an all-African Urantia Book conference.

 

VII. SOME PERSONAL REFLECTIONS.

1. Without doubt, the most impressive experience of the entire mission was observing (and in some small hopeful way, contributing) to the enormous amount of truly unselfish service going on in that part of the world – by Westerners and Africans alike.  Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of volunteers of every age provide service in the material, intellectual, and spiritual arenas from levels of government to ordinary people in need.  There, service is more than a sentiment, more than an ideal, service is in action.  It is easy for us now to better understand why people become missionaries and why they devote a large part of their adult lives committed to serving the needy in 3^rd world countries.  Sharing the Gospel and doing service is energizing, allowing the way to self-forgetfulness.
2. The ease with which ordinary citizens – clerks, taxi drivers, people standing in a line, bus passengers, nearly everyone – were willing to talk about God.  It’s as if it is a second nature to them.  And because we had a new book about God, the vast majority was inquisitive.  It was refreshing!  No political correctness.  No inhibitions.  Just straight forward talk about the goodness of God.  This lessened as we got closer to larger and more advanced cities that reflected the secular and the material concerns.
3. One of the biggest lessons we learned from our personal ministries is giving things as a one-time gift, such as medical supplies, makes the giver feel good but it’s not what the receiver needs.  What they need is to have a reliable and dependable source of supplies – regardless of the quantity, quality, or time frame.  Another lesson is to avoid going into a country with our solutions.  More important to partner and encourage them toward their own solutions.  Even when giving Urantia Books, follow up and consistent interaction in filling their needs in crucial.
4. The Revelation is alive and well in Zambia and South Africa.

 

 

Appendix 1: Flying Witch story from the Zambia Times.

Appendix 2: Morontia Mota Study Group T-shirt Logo.

Appendix 3: Sunday Convention Schedule of Events.

Appendix 4: List of Readers at the Sunday Convention, and others Zambians.

Appendix 5: List of Readers at the Cape Town Gathering.