Lekoa Tour - Day 3 and 4

Good Friends in Christ

On Friday morning, I drove from Klerksdorp to Vryburg at the edge of the North West Province (and indeed, the Presbytery of Lekoa). The journey took two and a half hours and took me through farming country (Delarayville etc). I arrived mid morning and was welcomed by one of our ministers, the Rev Tony Bartlett.  The rest of the morning was spent on a tour around Vryburg in Tony's company.  Tony told me about the United Church that he serves in.  Vryburg was originally a congregational congregation (probably planted by the London Missionary Society missionaries) but became a united Church some forty years ago.  The Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist churches are partners in the union and Tony, the fourth minister since union, has served Vryburg for the last 15 years. There are three 'outstations' in the district and Tony preaches in each of these once a month. Tony is supported by three other preachers in his work.

Tony also took me to see Tiger Kloof, a mission station of the LMS which has since become a school and has been beautifully renovated.  We ended off the morning at the weekly cattle auction (my first ever experience of one of these). The auction seems to be a weekly meeting place for local farmers.

In the afternoon, I met with members of the Council of Vryburg United. I was warmly received. Questions raised by members of Council ranged from the purpose of paying assessments and what the denomination used the money for, why the Church did not 'speak out' against the State and what the Church has to say about farm killings.  One councilor suggested that 6 000 people had been killed in recent months on farms.

I want to express my thanks to the people of Vryburg for their hospitality expressed toward me.

On Saturday morning, I travelled South west to Kuruman.  We have one small congregation in the township called St David's. The minister, the Rev. Malefetsane Matli is minister to Kuruman and also Mafeking.  He spends a month in one before travelling more than 300 km by taxis to the other.  A conference was going on in Kuruman and I addressed them on the subject of dependence on God and seeking God's wisdom.

After enjoying a lunch with the Kuruman people, I travelled back to Vryburg for the night.

Dr Moshe Rajuili

Sadly, on my journey from Kuruman to Vryburg, I received the tragic news of the death, on Saturday morning, of the Rev. Dr Moshe Rajuili, minister of St Giles Presbyterian Church, Orchards.  The information we have is that Dr Rajuili was knocked down by a taxi in the streets of Pietermaritzburg.  We mourn the loss of this wonderful, humble, servant of the Church who spent most of his working life teaching students for the ministry and these last few years as a minister of the Gospel in a congregation.
Our thoughts go out to Eunice, his widow, and to Dr Rajuili's family.


The funeral will be held in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday 12th March. The service will begin at 7am (the same time as Dr Rajuili's father's funeral began) and the burial will follow thereafter.  The venue will be determined soon.  A Presbytery service will be held at St Giles' in due course. I will travel down on Friday afternoon to participate in the funeral and return on Saturday to resume my tour of the Presbytery of Lekoa.

Grace and peace to all who read this blog