A blessed occasion at Rookdale Baptist

ROOKDALE BAPTIST CHURCH

This church is situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal.

About 18 years ago, a partnership in ministry was established between Macedonian Ministries and Rookdale Baptist Church, for the purpose of church growth, evangelism and church planting in this region.

Pastor Thomas Hlongwane and his wife Lina were very instrumental in achieving all of these objectives.

The people living here have suffered economically, jobs have been few and the AIDS pandemic left many single-parent and sibling families in its wake.

Last Sunday's worship service was a blessed occasion for various reasons.

Firstly, a single-parent mum shared a heartwarming testimony of how, some 15 years ago, a short-term international missions team had been used by God to bring her four young daughters to Salvation at some evangelistic school meetings. They, in turn, persuaded her to worship at the Rookdale Baptist Church where she was converted and is now a member. She went on to thank God for his providence, which had enabled her three eldest daughters to complete university degrees and the fourth is soon to follow. All four are still walking with the Lord. PG.

Secondly, I was clearly persuaded to preach from John 3:1- 8. Nicodemus and his search for Gospel clarity. The service ended with two young men responding to the invitation given to those who wished to be Born Again.

Pastor Thomas and Pastor Richard Hlope, the current senior pastor of Rookdale, led these men in the Way of Salvation. PG.

Thirdly, after worship, I was introduced to the Lesotho Foreign Nationals. During COVID, as life became untenable, numerous Sotho single-parent mums and their children climbed down the Drakensberg Mountains with whatever earthly possessions they were able to carry and arrived at Rookdale Baptist Church seeking shelter and care.

Macedonian Ministries, with assistance from BUSA and others, has been helping with gifts of food and clothing. It was encouraging to hear of their journey and how it led to their Salvation and becoming members of the church. PG.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for future teams to visit Rookdale.

• Pray for donors to respond to the desperate needs in the Rookdale community.

• Pray for the Gospel to be heard and that the whole community will be convinced of the need to find their lasting satisfaction in Christ alone.

Special thanks to all who have donated resources over the past years for the people of Rookdale.

Trevor and Mally Eayrs