Visit to Groutville

(Wednesday, 30th May 2007)

Report letter to the Belchertown church:

Sanibona, Belchertown!

We were invited by Rev. Maluleka to meet Chris and Danielle when they stopped by Groutville yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon on their way back from the Hluhluwe game park area. By the time we arrived, they were already touring the Luthuli Museum, and after we left, they were to visit the AIDS project in which the church participates. We were able to be with them at the Groutville church for lunch, however! It was great to meet them both, as they and some of the good folks at Groutville -- including Faith Nyongo (prayer connection) and Moira Mzoneli (Sunday school), with Rev. Maluleka and several deacons -- got to know each other better. We'll not seek to preempt their own recountings of their time at Groutville, which we're sure they'll wish to share with you back home when they return, but we wanted to ship along two photos from yesterday that we thought you'd like to have presently, and which you might wish to share with the home folks.

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This first photo was taken outside the gate to the church, when Chris produced the envelope of pictures and letters they'd brought from Belchertown, and is showing them to Rev. Maluleka. Faith Nyongo is to the far left in this photo.

This second photo was taken in a Sunday school room where lunch had been served, showing Danielle and Chris in conversation with Moira; the conversation started with questions about some of the photos, and seemed to have moved on to comparing Sunday school practices. Wonderful stuff.

"For I long to see you ... that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine." -- Romans 1:12.

We very much hope that these few hours of meeting face to face will have recruited Chris and Danielle as 'missionaries' back at Belchertown for the mutual and reciprocal relationship of the people of your two churches, as family of and in the one church, and that this will help to energize the desire for ongoing contacts by phone, letter, and electronic means, to continue the conversation, and mutual encouragement, between your congregations. We stand ready to assist as either church feels appropriate, but as you know that's by no means required -- but we hope that you'll let us hear, from time to time, how things are going.

All good wishes to the folks at Belchertown.

-- Jan and Ruthann.