Payne, David and Betty - A Rocha
Payne main pagePrayer Letter February 2005 (Acrobat pdf format also available - click here)
Dear Friends
“If it wasn’t for biodiversity, we couldn’t exist.” This signboard in the Pietermaritzburg Botanic Garden seemed to sum up what we learned during our visit to A Rocha South Africa in December. We enjoyed the beauty and fragrance of many of South Africa’s 20,000 different kinds of flowering plants. Plants are useful for treating disease, eating, drinking, clothing, hedging, crafting, sheltering… ‘How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.’ (Psalm 104:24) In his wisdom, God created all this amazing biodiversity; in folly we are destroying it. Among South Africa’s beautiful landscapes we saw the detrimental effects of urbanisation, of farms with large areas of a single crop and forests of fast-growing trees introduced from other countries. We were also encouraged by some inspiring examples of how A Rocha South Africa is making a difference. Allen and Joyann Goddard started this work two years ago, based at Pietermaritzburg.
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Allen, Joyann, Gabriel and Simeon Goddard with A Rocha team member Noluvuyo |
Church conservation area: As a keen naturalist, Allen is working with friends to create a conservation area on some unused land adjacent to St Matthews Church. This is helping the whole congregation to become aware of the importance of protecting indigenous plants. Compared to introduced species, they use less water, which is an increasingly scarce commodity; they also attract and provide homes for birds, butterflies and hundreds of other living things, which are not adapted to the introduced plants.
Transformed river banks: Where thirsty introduced species growing along river banks have been removed it has been observed that water levels have increased by as much as a metre. Introduced trees invariably grow taller than indigenous species and tend to starve them out. Working with the local authority and residents who share the river as their boundary, including school children and hospital staff, A Rocha is restoring the indigenous vegetation. This programme along the Msunduzi River began a few months ago with the clearance of huge Syringa trees (introduced from South America) and the planting of 30 species of indigenous seedlings, supplied free by a local nursery. One morning we joined boys from a local Prep. School planting these trees, supervised by Allen and two A Rocha volunteers. They were impressed by the boys’ enthusiasm and willingness to be involved.
Greening the Township: Residents in one of the townships had cut down many of the trees because of cranes nesting in them above people’s homes. The birds’ droppings, debris and noise had become a great nuisance! The A Rocha team has helped to relocate the cranes and has been working with the community leaders to plant indigenous trees, which will not be used as nesting sites. This opens up discussions about opportunities for renewal in other areas of township life….
Creation Stewardship Course for graduates: Allen works part-time with A Rocha and part-time with STEM - the ‘Short Term Experience in Ministry’ programme of the Students’ Christian Organisation. STEM provides the opportunity for graduates to give one year interacting with students in secondary schools or university campuses. STEM workers receive training and experience in sharing their faith, with the aim of seeing Christ’s love touch and transform the lives of South African students. The year includes six weeks of accredited classes at Pietermaritzburg’s Evangelical Seminary of Southern Africa (ESSA). One of the six modules is Creation Stewardship and Outdoor Leadership.
Creation Alive! – for high school students: This is an innovative 3 day camp for high school students that also offers practical leadership experience to STEM interns. The course brings together Bible and ecology studies. The young participants explore the ecology of two entirely different areas – grassland and forest – and study the Bible in the evenings. They have spoken enthusiastically about what they learned from spending time alone in the forest, which opened their minds to how God reveals himself through what he has made. Until 10 years ago few black South Africans were given the opportunity of studying science and ecology, so this is an important contribution to the growth of future leaders.
Allen and Joyann (and their children, Gabriel and Simeon) face big challenges as they seek to establish this new A Rocha organisation. We were grateful for the opportunity of listening, discussing ideas and encouraging them in following God’s leading as a family. Much has been achieved with very little money, because they are working through partnerships with other organisations and individuals. This gives them the opportunity of sharing the biblical message of hope with others, who are also concerned about what’s happening to the environment. But they face the major challenge of raising finance to cover the day-to-day running costs of the organisation.
These occasional visits by the International Team members to national A Rocha teams play a vital role in strengthening and encouraging national leaders in their work. While in South Africa, we were also grateful to be able to spend the Christmas holiday with our daughter Clare and Rob Miles, Hannah (4) and Zoe (2), where they lead the student outreach at Melville Union Church in Johannesburg - also with Crosslinks.
Thank you for your interest and support.
PLEASE PRAY
- for Allen and Joyann, that more volunteers will join the work, for wisdom in deciding priorities and for the funds to support their new team
- for us and other members of the International Team as we talk with national leaders – usually by phone/email, complemented by occasional visits – about the issues they are facing
- for much needed funding for the A Rocha International Team to enable this vital work to continue
David and Betty