Laughren Peter Fran 1993 SAfrica

7/27/2019 Laughren Peter Fran 1993 SAfrica

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Pete & Fran Laughren

I n t e r n s h i p sWe as missionaries are naturally concernedwith the evangelization of the world. We leaveourhomesof birth, our family and friends behind,and go to places that are sometimes not as niceas home. Why do we do this? It is not becausewe are people of superior faith as some wouldhave you think. The reason is that we see a needthat is not being met and that need happens tobe ou ts id e th e borders o f t he U.S. There is a lotof work that needs to be done in the U.S. to besure, but there is a greater need overseas withfewer people trying to meet that need.

While we are overseas serving the Lord, westill feel a need to encourage people to tryoverseas work so that this need o f workers will bemet. One of the ways that we try to accomplishthis is through internships. Internships givepeople an opportunity to experience missionwork firsthand without first committing one's lifeto it. Many people' s first trip overseas is whenthey arrive on the mission field and they do notfullyknowwhat to expect. Not knowing what toexpect {except what they might have heard) theworld iscompletely foreign to them inevery way.Many do no t last very long because the adaptation process is too difficult. Internships let aperson go overseas, experience a different cul

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Vol. 3, No. 3 Winter 1993

ture and see what mission work is like workingwith missionaries already on the field. It almostprovides a sense of security so to speak. Our goalis to expose people to a different way of life in acasual sense before they decide completely for oragainstmission work. Some people who say theywould never even consider leaving the U.S.gooninternships and have avenues open to them as tohow the Lord could use them in different ways.It reveals possibilities to them that they had notconsidered before .

Is everybody supposed to do mission workoverseas? I hardly think so. But internships area way to help you make that decision based onevidence that you have tried. While some makethe decision against overseas mission work basedupon subjective evidence, it isbetter to make thedecision (for or against) based on objective evidence .

Internships are notviewed byall missionariesas a viable way of introducing the mission field.Some see it as an interruption to work and familylife and want nothing to do with them. We mustlook a t God's w or k a s a wh ol e and ask ourselvesif interruptions in our schedules are worth th efurtherance of God's kingdom. I think they are.Ifwe have several interns visit the field and just afew become missionaries, it isworth the troublein th e long run because work will be carried on


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elsewhere that might not have been given thechancehadthat personnot beenexposedthroughan internship.Are you interested in seeing what is overseas? Internships of 1-2months can help. Franand Iare open to hosting students who want toseewhat mission work is all about. Plans are nowbeing made here for our next internshipinJune-July1994. Ifyou are interested, contact usat ourSouth African address or Outreach Internationalat P.O. Box2665, Gillette, Wyoming 82717.

F r an ' s Fee l i n g s1992 has been a good year. Pete and Ihave

been blessedwith fairly good health and allof ourneeds have been met. Th e work o f t he churchhere in South Africa carries on. There were t imesof discouragement, but something always happens to encourage us again. So, as usual, Godhas been taking care of us and He continues tolove us when we aren't so lovable. Our mainpurpose for being here in South Africa is forleadership training. We have noticed though,that the youth have been neglected and need alot of teaching and encouragement. Therefore,Peteand Ispend asmuchtime teaching the youthas possible. Working with the youth is just asfrustrating as it is rewarding.

When we first arrived in South Africa, wefound outthatyoung people were not allowed tobe baptized until they were adults and "provedthemselves" serious in the faith. There are goodpointsto that idea, but alsobad ones. There aremanyyoung people that learnaboutGodand Hisloveand theywant to be obedient to the gospeland be sure of salvation through baptism. Theyare held back because they are young. Then, inmost cases, they lose the desire and never comearound to making a decision for Christ as theirLord and Savior. I know that there are timeswhen a young person is baptized and after notfully committing themselves to Jesus, they fall

away. But Ido not know how we can take thechance of turning away or discouraging a youngperson from making a decision for Christ. Inshort, convincing the adults in this area issomething that we always will have to deal with.Another major problem with the youth is

fornication. We teach them about the sinfulnessof it and the consequences. Still, there are manybabies born as a result of this immorality. Thisreallygets frustrating. They just do not seem tosee the importance of being pure. But, like Isaidabove, something always happens to encourageus. There have been a few (what they term here)"white" weddings.Pete just recently married a fine young Chris

tian couple in Upington. It was an interestingwedding in that they mixed black African culturewith colored/modern ways. Iwas asked to helpdress the bride,which isa great honor. Theyhadto lead me by the hand, because Idid not knowwhat I was supposed to do. The bride alwayswalks on three family blankets. Her feet nevertouch the ground - from the house with herfather to th e car, from the car to th e churchbuilding, down the aisle with her fiance, downthe aisle with her husband and to and from thereception. There isa ladyincharge of moving theblanket that she just walked on to the front ofher. At the reception, there are speeches fromfamily, friends, teachers and ministers. A friendwho isthe "MC" during the reception opens allofthe gifts and makes stories about them. After thewedding (five hours later), they prepare a bigtraditional cookout. We did no t attend - this partof the activities is usually insisted upon by therelatives that are not Christians. They serve tripeand home-made beer. Another thing that isverytraditional and insisted upon by relatives that arenot Christians is "lobolo," or the "bride price"(money and/or cattle) inexchange for the bride.Manyyoung peopleherecannot afford lobolo, sothey live in sin, or elope.Please pray for our young people, that theywillcommit themselves to our Lordand try to liveinobedience to Hiswilland teaching. Please also


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pray for the parents to see the need of lettingtheir children come to Jesus. Until next time, mayGod bless.

Love,Fran

Cap e Bib l e S em i n a r y1992 was a good year for the leadership training classes ofCapeBible Seminary. Wehada totalof six sessions with about 50 students attendingenough classes to gain credits. To me, the mostrewarding sessionthat Iwas a part of took placein

Graaff-Reinet in November. Gordon Nelson and Itaught between 20 and 40 people in every classsession overthe weeks time. Itaught from Sundayuntil Wednesdayand Gordontaught fromWednesdayuntil Saturday. This systemworkedout very wellwith good participation from the people there.Plans are underwayalreadyfor the sessions of1993. Steve Zimmerman isback from furlough andour first session willbe inMfuleni in February. Plans

are for at least eight sessions thisyear in places suchas Port Elizabeth, Kimberley, Graaff-Reinet and ofcourse,CapeTown. Pleaseprayfor usaswe strivetotrain leaders in South Africafor a strong church here.

Etc.

- The Steve Zimmerman family arrived back inSouth Africa on December 6 after a 17-monthfurlough.- The Jerry Kennedy family left for their shortfurloughon November27 and will be in Louisville, Kentucky.Pete's mother, FloBlackmarr, and her husband,Collins,arrived December 12 for a 6-weekvisit.While here, we visited the Jim Conley family inBophuthatswana and various tourist attractions here in Cape Town.DuringOctober, November and December wemade trips to Aston, Graaff-Reinet {forCBS),and Upington.- Thank-you so much to everyone who remem-

Whilein Graaff-Reinet, Pete got to visita nature reserve during the day.


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bered us at Christmas with cards, letters andgifts. It helps us with the homesickness thatsomet imes attacks.Do you want to come and visit and see thework here? South African Airways now hasflights once a week from Miami to Cape Town,non-stop. We would love to have you!Please pray for the trips that we will make inJanuary-March; we have a couple of weddingsto do and Planning Committee Meeting inMarch to attend. Cape BibleSeminary sessionswill be held in Port Elizabeth and Kimberley inApril and May.We are sorry that there are not more picturesthis tim e. The film that we sent to the U.S. toget developed with relevant pictures took awrong turn somewhere and has not beenreturned yet.

Addreasea:

Pe t e & Fran Lauah ren

P .O . Box 165Kraaifontein, 7559Republic of South Africaphone: (011-27-21-98&0682)fax: On-27-21-988-7563

Forwarding Agerits:Mark & Annet te Tutt le3416 Sunset HollowCanal Winchester, OH 43110phor>e: (614) 837-5356

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y or toplan ondoing a wedding and having threeto do.d bythe SouthAfricangovermentto doddingsand the people use mea lot for this. Travellings gr ea t fun. and with the beauty of South Africa itcomes a pleasiu^ble part of our work here.

Peie Teaching

e several otherthings thatweare involvedin. Weave a program of training young preachers at a local

Oceans" where 12brotherstake turnseaching and I critique their sermons. We continue toint and distribute booklets left byAl and Jean Zimmern when theyleftin 1986. Alsosince they left,we havenned theyearly conference forall of thechurches. Allthis combined wilh ourother workkeeps usquite busy.oy the work here and feel likewe are being usedf th e Lord in His service.

Spiritual Prayeron our behalfand on behalfof thePeople and work of South Africa. Prayer for our forwarding agents, Markand Annet t eTu t t le

Financia l Additional Monthly support One time gifts tohelp with new vehiclecosts and transportation costs to SouthAfrica after furlough

Forwarding AgentsMark and Annet te Tuttle3416 Sunse t Hollow

Canal Winchester, Ohio 43110(614) 837-5356

MISS IONARIESTO SOUTH AFRICA

VPETER AND FRAN LAUGHREN

South Africa:P.O. Box165, Kraaifontein7570, Soulh AfricaTelephone: (Direct Dial) 011-27-21-988-0682

U.S. Furlough:P.O.Box 206,Hampton, Ga 30228

(404)946-8947

K n lANNi '",111 me .Klmberley SOUTHAFRICA .

Upington

Port Elizabeth


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Fran and I have been working in South Africa sinceSeptemberl, 1985. The firstsix months inSouth Africawe lived in the suburb ofWynberg, but since March 1,1986 we have been in Kraaifontein, which is about 20miles from downtownCape Town.Our work in south Africa deals primarily with Leadership Training and is carried out through the followingmeans:

Cape Bible SeminaryCape Bible Seminary (CBS) was started byA1 Zimmerman in t he m id 1970'sas a tool to t r ain local leaders to bestronger leaders in the church herein South Africa. Thelong range goal ofCBS isto train leaders ina permanentsetting. When we arrived in 1985 the plan was to haveclasses in a vacant church building but because of theunrestproblemsat that time, itnevercameto pass. WhenAl's son Steve came into mission work inApril 1987, hean d I s at d own t o discuss how CBS cou ld be used to it sfull potential . After looking at resident school ideasversus other ideas wedecided that the best way for us inou r situation wa s t he i de a of a "extens ion school" inwhich we would t r ave l t o wher e t he students were instead of them coming to us. In this way the studentscouldreceiveeducation but would not haveto leavejobsand homes for long periodsof time. The maindrawbackwith this was thatit would take a longer period oftimefora studentto gain his education, but it would alleviate theproblem of money tolive on after he graduated. Manyt imes a minis te r had to work a second job anyway to

Men in Cape Bible Seminaryat Kimberley

support his family and with this plan of not having toleave his home, he could be educated and cont inue hispayingjob. The planhas worked well so far. In 1987-89,we have held four differentseminars a year, one in Kimberley, two here inCapeTown andone inPortElizabeth.Because of the different work schedules of the people,and the travel schedules of Steve and I, we operate onaWednesday through Saturday (full day) schedule, aMonday through Saturday (evening through Friday, fullday Saturday) schedule, and a full day Saturday (three ina row) schedule. We follow the curriculum of educationthat was drawn up byBillWeber of Johannesburg. Bill,a fellow missionary in Johannesburg does leadershiptraining with the Center for Christian Education. Thecreditsthat wegive for classesare fully u-ansferablewithThe Cen te r for Christ ian Educa ti on and a l so UmzumbeBible Institute which is the U-aining institution of theChurch of Christ Mission. So f ar w e h av eh ad a total offifty students take at least one class and many of themhave taken more. We are very pleased with the successso far and are looking forward U) greater things in thefuture.

Cape Bible Correspondence SchoolCorrespondencecourses were started in 1985 by A1Zimmerman when we felt that CBS would be delayed instarting. These courses have been well received in thepastcoupled ofyears with a totalof 30students taking atleast one of the five courses and 5 students havingcompleted a full coursein orderto recievea certificateofcompletion. These have proved verybeneficial for thosepeople who could not come to CBS classes or whowanted to study on their own time schedule.Local ChurchesThere ar e tw o ma in chu r ch e s t ha t we wo rk w it h in th eCapeTown area located in the townshipsofMfuleni (anAfrican location) andBishop Lavis(a ColoredLocation).While Steve an d Pa tZ immerman are a t o n e church fo r aperiod of three months, we are at the other church andvice versa. During this time, we are responsible for theSunday Schoolat thatplace andwhile atBishopLavis,allof the teaching onSunday. The local brothers atMfulenihave a rotating preaching schedulewith Steveor myselfgettingthechanceto preacheveryso often. BishopLavisis the weaker of the twochurches in that it isa younger

church. The family which isat BishopLavis tends tothere to do teaching on a more regular basis thafamily that isat Mfuleni. With the local brothers dthe bulk of the preaching work at Mfuleni, it letfami ly that is there be able to make local trips tchurches that are within a couple of hours drive.provides teaching for the churches in places sucWorcester, Robertson, Hermanns, Orchard, DeDoSwellendam, and Ashton that they would not norget. The plan isfora triptobemade toone oftheseponcea month while atMfuleni. This gives these chuencouragement tocarry on in their work where the

Fran withChildren in Upinglon

TravellingWith the vast distances of thechurches from Cape Twe tend todoa lot of long trips. Steve, Franand I usare the ones to uavel to such places as Transkeimiles), Kimberley (600 miles), Upington (500 mPortElizabeth (500miles), and places in between.ally these trips start on a Friday, have teaching on Sday and Sundayandfinishwiththetrip home onMoOn these trips weencourage the localchurches, teaccorrect teaching, help if theremay be problems. Mthe churches here carry on quite well by themselvemay at times need encouragement. It is not unuscome home on a Monday exhausted because to kewith someof these localbrothers is like running ameet. Theylakeadvantageofhaving usthereto helpgo preparedto doanything from weddingsto funerawould not be the first time that we would go somewan d a local brother would tell us about a funeral the


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Pete & Fran Laughren

Due to unforeseen circumstances,w e ha d to miss a newsletter that was supposed to come out in July. We apologize.Therefore, this newsletter will cover April through September1993. We hope to ge t back on track by putting ou t anothernewsletter just after t he n ew year inJanuary.

SixMonths ofActJvftleawhilewe will letthe enclosedpicturesdomost ofour talkinginthis newsletter, we would liketo let you knowwhatwe have

been up to.In April, Fran and Iwere asked to be a part of th e Eastermeetings that are always held In Upington. We alwaysenjoy

going to that area because th e people there are always sodedicated arid hard-working. Thiswasnodifferentthistime. Wearrived on Thursday and taught several classes on Friday andSaturday. Whenwe go to these gatherings, Franalwaysteachesthe ladiesand children,and Iteach the men and preach. One

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Vol. 4, No. 1 & 2 Fall 1993

thing thatwas a change from the usualwas that th e leaderhadFrange tupand singwith th e childrenduring th e Sundaymorningsen/ice. I d o n t know w h o ha d m o r e fu n - Fran or th e children.Itwas a great weekend, except for the food poisoningthat wegot, resulting inour having to stay an extra day.

May sa w the annual Leadership Seminar being held onceagaininKimberley. Bill Weber and Ididthe firstone ofthese In1987, and ithas grovwicontinuallyever since. When Steve, Jerryand Iplan everyyear's Cape Bible Seminaryschedule, one of usgoes to Kimberley. Iwas pleased to be able to go and teachPreachingfromthe Parab/esthisyear. AlsoteachingwasGordonNelson who taught Homiietics and did a greatjob. ItookBrotherThompsonNtobiefromCapeTownwith jneforth eweekand he,along with 40 other studente, attended the sessions. Wewereverypleased with th e results. Other missionaries in attendancewere Floyd Stamm from Durban, Michael Stanley from PorShepstone and JimConleyand Phil Smith from Boputhatswana.Itisalwaysfun to bewith other missionaries and fellowshipwiththem. Franhad to stay behind thistime and itisnever fun totravelw i t h o u t her.

In J u n e w e h ad a furnfilled w e e k with fellow missionaries

Students at Kimberley Seminarin May.


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iGordon Nelson, Jim Conleyand PhilSmith at the KimbeileySeminarin May.

Pi

David and Linda Giles

(and good friends)David and Linda Giles. Theyhad to leavetheirkidsbehind in Kenyawith other missionaries. We missed them,but we had a great time with David and Linda. While they werehere, David was able to preach and teach at Macassar. Thepeople there thoroughly enjoyed them. We even took Linda toTwo Oceans for th e service there. Thanks, Davidand Linda, forthe fun, fellowship, laughs, boils, and encouragement. Andthank-you so much to the people at LoneOakChristian Churchin Johnson City,Tennessee who made it possible for them tocome and visit. Itwas an encouragement to both them and us.Pleasepray for the Gilesfamilyas they are now on furlough intheU.S. in Johnson City.

Bedford Christian Church in Bedford, Texas sent David andCarolBledsoe to us inJulyfor twoweeks. Theyare likefamilytoFran, so it was especially good to have them here. Theyaccompanied us to the youth camp in Griekwastad and bothhelped in the teaching and preadiing. The camp inGriekwastadwas the third annual "In the Footsteps of Jesus" camp that hasbeen heldinthe northern Cape. Asin the past inUpingtonandKuruman, the local brothers, sisters and youth do all of theplanningand they just invitemissionaries(thisyear, ourselvesandMichaelStanley) to help with the teaching. Lastyear, we were

David Bledsoe teaching at the youth camp in Julyin Griekwastad.

able totake the interns with usand thisyear we wereverypleasedto beableto take David and Carolwith us. Theyouth inthe arestill ask usabout themand wonderhow brotherDavid and his"bivoice" are. They always appreciate anybody special who cancome. Therewere about 300 youth In attendance in this littltown inthe middleof nowhere. Plansare alreadybeingmade fothe next camp to be held inKimberley. We and the youth reallenjoyed the Bledsoe's company.After we leftthe camp, wewent to Kimberley for the nighand David preached at the church in Homevale where RolanJoseph preaches and did a verygood job. There was a big meain their honor af te r the sen/ice.

When we got back to Cape Town (out of ti etwo weeksthey wereonlyinCape town for a total of4 days),we wereablto show them some sights of the area and theywere ableto goto Macassarwith us. Thanks, David and Carol, for your helpencouragement, trip to the hospital, laughsand love. We hopthat alliswellwithyou and the church. Also, thank-youone andall at the church inBedford; you help us inso manyways.

One of the manycooks for the youth camp.


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Youthsinging during an outing during the youth camp. Pete preaching at youth camp.

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Fran and Carol Bledsoe teaching Sunday School teachersat the campinGriekwastad. DavidBledsoeandRolandJoseph at the HomevaleChurchinKimberleyin July.

July through Septembersaw a differenttype of CapeBibleSeminary taking place here. Weusually havethe school sessionsinMfuleni, butwiththe violence evenaffecting thatarea,weheldthis one in Macassar with great results. We usually teachonecourse each,worthone credit apiece. But inthis session, Jerry,Steve and I each taught a thirdof Romans. We taught threeweeks each for a total of nineweeks. My three weekswereontheSaturdays in August andwehadatotalof6studentsgettingcredit for the 3-hourcourse. Wenow have a student inMacassarwhohasnearly twentyhours' credit andismaking goodprogress.

Also inAugust, all missionarieswho are involvedin Leadership Training in South Africa met for an informal weekendmeeting in Riverton, north of Kimberley. At thismeeting wediscussedhow LeadershipTraining inSouthAfrica couldbemoreeffectively done between the resident school in South Africa,Umzumbe Bible institute, and those of us involved inCapeBibleSeminary. Iwas verypleasedwith the resultsthat will see morejoint efforts and communication between missionaries. Steve,Jerry and Itraveled together from Cape Town. While1was inKimberley, I made one final check on preparations for the upcoming conference that would take place in September. The

planswere all handled verywell bythe brothersand Iwas realpleased. For a full report onthat conference, seethe next CapeTimes.

InSeptember,amidgetting readyforourannualconference,Iwas asked to preachat the ChurchofChristMission conference

Petepreachingat Churchof ChristMissionConference,Port Elizabeth, inSeptemt>er.


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in Port Elizabeth. Thiswas th e first time that Iha d been invited and Iwa sreal pleased to go. This wasa large gathering of over 600 people andIwas amazedat what i saw. Ipreachedon Friday morning on "Peaceinthe Church," and was ableto meet manybrothersand sisters that Ihad never seen before.Acoupleofotherbitsand piecesneed to beadded: Fran hasagainstarted a ladies class that meets every other Wednesday with goodresults. Thechurchat Bishop Lavis Isstill alive and carrying on, meetingina member'shouse. Theyrecently ordainedan elder,and SteveandIrecently startedaweekly Bible studythere (weteacheveryotherweek)that isgoingwell. Mfuleni hasalsoordainedtwo eldersrecently aswellas the church in Hermanus. Macassarcontinues to grow with somerecent baptisms. Theyare now looking to ordainsome deacons. AndIn Cape Bible Seminary, Jerry and Iare working a type of home studysystem for those students who want to learn faster and more thoroughly. Pleaseprayfor us inallof these things. Asyou can see, we aretrying to dothe Lord'swork Inmanydifferentways. Wecontinueto seeHis hand inall ofthe work. We praiseHim for all that Isdone here.

Praises

- For th e safe travel of the Giles an d Bledsoes to come here and visit.- Forthe churches that made their trips possible.- For our safety intravelto the differentareas of SouthAfrica.- For alt of oursupporters whohave remained so faithful throughout

1993.- For Mark and Annette for being great forwarding agents! Thanks,

guys!

P r a y e r s- Please prayfor the safetyof the Christians here who sometimes live

in adverse conditions, ^olence flairs up all over South Africa, andmany times thisyear, areasthat havebeenquiethavebeenbad. Onsome Fridays, Fran has had to cancelher SundaySchool at Mfulenibecauseoffires, etc. Wedo not gowherewe are indanger, butmanyChristians haveto live inthe situationdayinand dayout. Please prayfo r them.

- Pray for the churches at Bishop Lavis, Macassar, Mfuleni and TwoOceans that theywould continue to go forward.- Prayfor the 1994programofCapeBible Seminary aswe trynew anddifferent things to be more effective inLeadership Training.- Pray for South Africa as a countryas it goes through trying timesleading up to the first inter-rada! electionson April 27,1994.Etc.- Thank-you to all ofyouwho havesent uscare packagesthisyear!- Ourvanwill be paid offinfull inDecember. Thanks to allwho havehelped inthisventure. Itsurehelps us inourwork.- This maybe trivial, butthankssomuch to all ofyou whohavehelpedkeep me informed one way or another on the plight of the Bravesduring the last baseball season. If you think itwas tough being aBraves fan living inAtlanta, you should ty itfrom 10,000miles awaywithlittle orno local info! Thanks especially toDonDorris,Marsha Coxand Mom and Collins. Youhelped me out a lot. You are great!

A recent baptism in Macassar.

AddresMB:

P .O . Box 16 5Kraaifontein, 7569Republic of South Africaphone: (011-27-21-98a0682)fax: 011-27-21-988-7563

Forwarding Agents:Mark & Anne t t e Tutt le3416 Sunset HollowCanal Winchester, OH 43110phone: (614)837-5356

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Laughren Peter Fran 1993 SAfrica

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