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8/15/2019 Elerick Ron Cynthia 1983 SouthAfrica
1/4
AFRICA
VISION
Vol. No.1
Ron Elerick
Family
May 1983
VICTORY AT NOLETSHENI
I n
mid-February, Dave Colleen Brown came
to
spend the weekend with us in Eshowe. Dave went
w ith
me
to
preach at N d l e t s h e n i ,
w hich
i s an
area
n ear Hlu h lu e. Just a mile o r-two from the
k r a a l w h e r e
t h e
m e e t i n g w a s b e i n g
h e l d , t h e
t i m i n g c h a i n
g e a r b r o k e .
W e h a d
b e e n f o l l o w i n g B r o . .
J o h n s t o n e G u m e d e w h o
h a d
a
v a n l o a d of
p e o p l e . K n o w i n g
h e w o u l d
r e t u r n t o h e l p
u s ,
w e
just
prayed and committed
the
problem to God. Johnstone returned and towed us
into
Hluhlue where
we
c o u l d s a f e l y l e a v e
t h e
t r u c k , a n d t h e n
w e
w e n t t o
t h e
s e r v i c e . O n
e n t e r i n g
t h e s t i c k a n d m u d
shelter,
we
sang
one
song
then Bro, J o h a n M k w a n a z i stood u p
and
t o l d
u s
not t o worr y about what
h a d
j u s t
h a p p e n e d . H e s a i d
t h a t
w e c o u l d h a v e h i s n e w D a t s u n p i c k u p
t o
u s e
t o g e t
h o m e .
H i s
t r u c k
h a d
o n l y 5 , 0 0 0 K m
o n
t h e
c l o c k . W e w e r e v e r y m o v e d b y t h i s e x p r e s s i o n of b r o t h e r l y l o v e .
The L o r d
continued to
bless t h e
service and
b o t h Dave
and I were
able to
minister.
A s
the
i n v i
t a t i o n w a s g i v e n , s e v e r a l
p e o p l e c a m e a n d
k n e l t d o w n i n f r o n t
of
t h e c o n g r e g a t i o n . T h r e e
p e o p l e
a c c e p t e d C h r i s t a n d t h e o t h e r s w a n t e d s p e c i a l
p r a y e r .
O n e o f t h e w o m e n w h o c a m e t o a c c e p t
C h r i s t
h a d n y a n g a ( c o l o r e d s t r i n g s
t i e d t o
b o t h
a r m s
w h i c h s h e
h a d p u r c h a s e d
f r o m t h e
w i t c h
d o c t o r ) .
I
t a u g h t h e r
t h a t
t o
r e c e i v e J e s u s m e a n t g i v i n g
u
h e r
f a i t h
i n
t h e s e t h i n g s.
S o
s h e
t o o k t h e m o f f . A f t e r
t h e
m e e t i n g
w a s c l o s e d i n p r a y e r ,
a n d
b e f o r e t h e b a p t i s m a l s e r v i c e , w e
w e n t
o u t s i d e w h e r e
a f t e r
t e a c h i n g
t h e
p e o p l e t h e r e a s o n s , I p r a y e d
o v e r
t h e
n y a n g a
a n d b u r n e d
it a s a
testimony
to t h e
power o f
t h e
Lord,
We t h e n a l l
traveled
a few
kilometers wh ere
there
w a s a
p l a c e
w i t h
e n o u g h
w a t e r ,
a n d
a f t e r D a v e
r e a d
f r o m t h e B i b l e a n d p r a y e d , B r o .
G u m e d e
b a p
t i z e d
F l o r e n c e
N t s h a n g a s e , P h i l i s w e K h u m a l o ,
a n d
H l e n - g i w e Z u n g u .
T w o
w e e k s l a t e r ,
I w a s a s k e d
t o
c o m e a n d p r e a c h
a g a i n
a t
t h i s
s a m e
k r a a l . A g a i n , t h e p o w e r
o f G o d w a s p r e s e n t a n d t h i r t e e n p e o p l e c a m e f o r w a r d a t t h e i n v i t a t i o n . S e v e n r e q u e s t e d s p e c i a l
p r a y e r a n d s i x a c c e p t e d C h r i s t a s
L o r d . T h e
S p i r i t o f G o d i s m o v i n g a m o n g t h e s e p e o p l e a n d
w e
t h a n k G o d for
t h e r e s p o n s e s w e h a v e w i t n e s s e d i n t h e
p a s t
f e w w e e k s i n n o r t h e r n
Z u l u l a n d ,
T h i s
h a s b e e n t h e v e r y first time
that anyone
h a s
b e e n w i l l i n g t o p u b l i c l y
g i v e
u p t h e i r n y a n g a
r e c e i v e d
from t h e witchdoctor.
T h i s
has had
a very stro n g impact
upon all the
Zulu
w h o
h a v e heard about it. Please continue to p r a y
that
more will receiv e Jesus, and that the
po wer
satan has
on
the peop le
will
be
b ro ken .
Pray for me a s I travel among these people,
that t h e L o r d w i l l c'ontinue to s h o w
me
th e
spi r itual ne e d s and
h o w
H e
w o u l d
have me
mi n
ister to them.
H.
- 4 ^ 3 1 ? ^
Rhonda
Nathan
Susan W e n c l y
Summer
Bro, G u m e d e B a p t i z i n g
Our c h i l d r e n are
growing
u p
quite
fasti W e
left Ainerica almost
seven
year s ago w i t h
little
girls
and are returning
w i t h 3 young
women plus a
little
sister and
brother.
All
of
the children in
school
are doing
very well now. Rhonda and Susan are in speech
and drama this term and Rhonda had her first
netball
game
recently.
Summer has started
preschool
and
is
enjoy
ing
it very much. All are looking forward
to
seeing America and visiting with you.
8/15/2019 Elerick Ron Cynthia 1983 SouthAfrica
2/4
D e a r C o - L a b o r e r ' s i n C h r i s t
T h e
f i r s t f o u r
m o n t h s o f
t h i s
y e a r
h a v e n e a r l y p a s s e d ,
a n d t h e s e m o n t h s
h a v e
e e n u s y o n e s
f o r u s i n
Z u l u l a n d .
W e
c o n t i n u e t o m i n i s t e r d u r i n g
t h e w e e k a t E n t u m e n i ,
w i t h
m o s t w e e k e n d s
f i n d i n g m e
out
a m o n g t h e
Z u l u .
I h a v e b e e n p r e a c h i n g m a i n l y i n a n a r e a
b e t w e e n
M t u b a t u b a t o
H l u h l u e .
W e
h a v e
s e v e r a l
p r e a c h i n g
p o i n t s
i n t h i s d i s t r i c t . C i n d i w e n t
w i t h
m e t o a k r a a l out
s i d e
o f M t u b a t u b a t h e
s e c o n d
w e e k o f J a n u a r y a n d s a n g a n d
t e s t i f i e d .
I t w a s r e a l l y g o o d
b e i n g
a b l e
t o t r a v e l t o g e t h e r a g a i n .
R a i s i n g
a
b u s y a n d
g r o w i n g f a m i l y
k e e p s
h e r q u i t e
b u s y .
The
third Sunday,
Caiphas
Ncanana, along with three men, Johan, Dladla, a n d Johan went w i t h
m e
t o o l d
S h a n d u ' s
p l a c e
n e a r M t u b a t u b a .
H e
w a s
a w a y o n h o l i d a y , b u t w e
s t i l l h a d a v e r y g o o d
s e r v i c e
w i t h n e a r l y
1 0 0 i n a t t e n d a n c e . I
h a d
b e e n p r e a c h i n g a b o u t
b e i n g f a i t h f u l
t o o u r c o m
m i t m e n t t o C h r i s t , i n s t e a d of c a l l i n g o n t h e w i t c h d o c t o r a n d t h e p o w e r o f s a t a n .
O n
l e a v i n g
S h a n d u ' s kraal, just
a
h u n d r e d
y a r d s
away,
w e
s a w
a w i t c h d o c t o r
d a n c i n g
at a n o t h e r m a n ' s h o u s e
d o i n g t h e t h i n g s w e s p o k e a b o u t i n c h u r c h . T h e p o w e r o f t h e w i t c h d o c t o r i s e x t r e m e l y s t r o n g ,
y e t i t i s
e n c o u r a g i n g
t o
s e e
t h e v i c t o r i e s
t h a t
h av e
r e s u l t e d f r o m o u r m e e t i n g s .
F e b r u a r y f o u n d
me
n e a r e r Hl u h l u e ,
a n d
i n
Ma rc h
I p r e a c h e d o n c e n e a r t h e U m f o l o zi River
a n d
m o s t r e c e n t l y
a t
En t u m e n i .
Ou r
w e e k s a r e
f u l l l
M o n d a y m o r n i n g s
C i n d i
t e a c h e s a Bibl e
s t u d y
a t
En t u me n i
f o r
t h e
w o m e n . T u e s d a y n i g h t s I h a v e o n e f o r t h e me n
and o n
W e d n e s d a y n i g h t s
w e have
Bib l e
s t u d y
f o r e v e r yo n e .
F l o y d S t a m m h a d
a h e a r t
a t t a c k
a n d w a s u n
abl e
t o t e a c h
t h i s
p a s t
t e r m
a t
Umzumbe Bib l e
I n s t i t u t e n e a r P o r t
S h e p s t o n e . Lynn S t a n l e y
a s k e d
m e t o f i l l i n ,
s o I
s p e n t
T h u r s d a y s
and
F r i d a y s t h e r e
u n t i l
a f t e r E a s t e r . I t a u g h t
the Life of Christ.
C i n d i
and
I
attend Zulu
c l a s s e s
o n
F r i d ay a f t e r n o o n s o n
a
f a r m n e a r
Am a t i k h u l u , a n d t h e n a f t e r w a r d s w e h o l d B i bl e
s t u d i e s w i t h Paul and
T r i s h
B e r g h
w h o
w e r e
b a p t i z e d
a f e w
m o n t h s
a g o .
We
d e e p l y a p p r e c i a t e
e ac h o n e o f
y o u w h o
h a s
prayed
f o r u s a n d s u p p o rt e d
o u r Lord s
w o r k
b o t h i n M a l a w i and n o w continuing i n
Z u l u l a n d . P l e a s e c o n t i n u e t o k e e p u s i n -y o u r
prayers.
B e c a u s e
J e s u s
C a r e s , Ro n
The E l e r i c k s w i l l
r e t u r n
to
the
States some
t i m e i n A u g u s t for a long o v e r d u e a n d
much
n e e d e d f u r l o u g h . Pla n s a r e
n o t
i n a l i z e d y e t a s
t o t h e
l e n g t h
o f
their
stay,
b u t
we ll
k e e p
y o u
i n f o r m e d .We i l l n e e d t o
r a i s e a p p r o xi ma t e l y
13,000 f o r
round-trip
a i r
fa r e
and we r e
attempting
t o h av e supporting
congregations
a d o p t t h e
u l l e x p e n s e for
a
p a r t i c u l a r
family
m e m b e r .
Eastern
Heig hts of
Po nc a
City
w i l l
u n d e r w r i t e
Ron
and F i r s t
C h r i s t i an
a t Med-
f or d , where
C i nd i s d a d . B i l l Bu s h n e l l m i n i s
ters, i l l a d o p t
N a t h a n .
See
f y o u r c o n g r e g a -
t i o n
w i l l
h e l p
C o n gr e ga t i o n
a t
Shand u s
Johan
Dladla
Johan
AFRICA
VISION
Field Address:
Ronand Cindi
Elerick
P.O.
Box
377
Eshowe, u l u l a n d ,
3815
R e p u b l i c o f South Africa
F o r w a r d i n g A d d r e s s
Zululand C h r i s t i a n Mission
c / o Eastern H e i g h t s Christian C h u r c h
Route2—Box88
Ponca i t y , OK
4601
ADDRESS
CORRECTION
REQUESTED
N o n p r o f i t
O r g.
U.S.
POSTAGE
P ID
permit No. 32
S h a r l o t t e Ra y
Mission Services
A s s n .
Box
2427
K n o x v i l l e , T N
37901
8/15/2019 Elerick Ron Cynthia 1983 SouthAfrica
3/4
AFRICA
VISION
Vol
9 No.
2
■ dMMm
Ron
Elerick Family
July 1983
A l t e r
7
V e e r s
I h e l i e r i c k ' s l l e l u r n t o i l i e
I I .
S .
If
all
continues a s planned, o n Wednesday,
August
10, 1983, w h e n American Airlines Flight
32 9
touches down at Tulsa International
Airport, the
R o n Elerick
family
will have returned to
the
States after
nearly
seven
years on
African
soil. Ron
and
Cindi
(his
bride
of four months) to
gether
with Rhonda, Susan, and Wendy
left
Oklahoma on October
18,
the country
that
had claimed the
life
of Ron's first wife and the
continued in Malawi
until
continued health problems forced a move
and service with Stu and Marilyn Cook
and
the Aletheia Ministry,
have
lived
in
Eshowe
and ministered
primarily
with the Zulus. The
due furlough
until the four-year
residency
requirement was
fulfilled
Permanent Resident Visa status.
S u m m e r and Nathan, the
two youngest
children, will
accompany
their parents
to the
States,
but
the three older girls will remain in Eshowe until
the end
of
November
when the
current school
year
will
end. Rhonda
and Susan
are being boarded at a hostel
and
Wendy is staying with Frank
and Allison Blair, friends viho
minister
in Eshowe. The
family
will be
reunited
the last of
November and
then
all
will
return
to South Africa before
the
first of
the
year because of
Visa
requirements.
The four
and one-half
months will provide a
time
to
renew
relationships with
many friends
and
congregations but will of necessity be a working furlough . All major supporting congregations
must
receive
a report on ministry past and be challenged for
ministry future . Additional
Service
Link
must be raised i he v/ork is to continue and
additional
needed to purchase a new
four-wheel
drive pickup and to equip itwith a
tor
and
amplifier
can
be
used. Ron has
an
aggressive new approach to
1976, to
return
to
Malawi and
girls mother.
The
ministry
to
Johannesburg,
South Africa
For
the
past three
years
they
family postponed a long over-
so they
could
acquire the
one-time offerings are
generator
so a projec-
evangelizinq the Zulu
and this
will
be implemented when he returns. The emphasis of the work will be to
no
man's
foundation ,
but
rather
to
be to build
upon
evange
lize, nurture, and mature new converts into
strong disciples and to
establish
strong
N e w
Testament congregations. Government recogni
tion
is now being obtained
and another m is
sionary has been added to the
Living
Link of
Eastern Heights
Christian
Church,
Ponca
City,
as a co-worker with Ron, (A future newsletter
will
introduce
this n e w family
to
you.)
A s
R o n
reports to the churches,
h e
will explain
in detail
the
future plans and how you can be
a
vital
part of
this
outreach
ministry.
During furlough, the
Elerick's
will make
Ponca
City
their
h o m e
base.
A
house
has been
rented
and preparations
are underv/ay to
m a k e
their ^ ' h o m e
away
f rom h o m e livable and
e n
joyable. The Elerick's will m a k e
their
visits
in a
Pontiac
station wagon that the Central
Christian Church
of
Dodge City, Kansas, is
making available. (Our
thanks to
Clyde
Goff,
minister
of
the
fine
people there.)
If
you're
within
driving .distance of Tulsa,
you
might plan to
be
part of the welcoming
committee
on the
evening of August 10.
Bring
a banner and join
the crowd for
a
personal
welcome
home
touch.
(You
might
call
Ponca
City that day just to see i
o n
is
o n
sched
ule. C all 405/765-3956
(church) or
762-5166
(Hap
Prough) or
765-7761
(forwarding agents,
George and
Hazel O'Mealey.)
8/15/2019 Elerick Ron Cynthia 1983 SouthAfrica
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i r l i f t
n e e d s
i f t S p e a k i n g
DaU>
It's
not
only
thousands
of
miles
from
South
Africa
to
America, it is
also
thousands of
dollars. Thirteen thousand dollars at least.
Thirteen
thousand
that
the General Fund
does
not
have.
Therefore,
we have asked some
of
our supporting congregations
to
airlift a
family member home to t h e States. The approx
imate ticket
cost per
adult is $2,200, with
the two younger children coming for half
fare. Only Ron,
Cindi, Sunmer
and Nathan
will
b e
returning in
August
and
their tickets
have
been underwritten by
these churches:
Ron's
fare was underwritten
by the
EASTERN
HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN CHURCH of PONCA
CITY,
the
Elerick's Living Link Church.
Cindi's and Sunmer's fares were covered b v
the
DAVIS PARK CHRISTIAN CHURCH of
ENID,
home church
for
Cindi.
Nathan's ticket was
paid for by the FIRST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH of
MEDFORD where
Bill
and
Phyllis
Bushnell, Cindi's parents
minister.
Since
Rhonda,
Susan,
and
Wendy
will not be
ab le to fly home
until
November, we have a
little
more time to raise their fares. The
situation a t the
present
is this:
Rhonda s ticket: The SANDUSKY AVENUE CHRIS
TIAN
CHURCH
of TULSA
will
receive
a
special
offering for this.
Susan's fare
has been
underwritten
by
the
HIGHLAND PARK CHRISTIAN CHURCH
of
TULSA.
Wendy's
travel
fund
has
received
gifts from
PARKVIEW CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF CHICKASAW,
$400, JON ES CHRISTIAN CHURCH of JONES,
$405
a n d M R . & M R S ^ B I L L B U S H N E L L o f
E N I D ,
1 0 0 .
his means
thafwe
still need $1,300 on
Wendy's
ticket and
possibly
additional
help
on Rhonda
(pending
the results
of
the special
offering).
We are now
making
an appeal
to any
congre
gations
or individuals to share in meeting
this
need. Any
funds
in
excess of
the
needed
t o t a l w i l l be
used
for
the
purchase of
the
new four-wheel drive pickup.
We are
most
encouraged by the ab ove re
sponse to our
AIRLIFT
needs.
Let's
lift
it over
the
topi
Due to
Visa
requirements,•
the
Elerick^s
must be back in South Africa before the first
of
the year. This schedule permits less than
five months
to
report to the churches
and
to
visit family
and
friends. Since
they
have
been in Africa for
seven
years without
a
fur
lough, we anticipate
that
the requests for
speaking engagements
will
exceed the avail
able time, especially in light
of
Sundays
available.
Therefore,
a schedule must
be
de
termined immediately.
Of necessity,
prefer
ence must b e given to those congregations
that
h ave
faithfully supported Ron
the past
seven years. These
churches
should
contact
Eas tern Heights Christian Church immedia tely
and schedule
their
preferred date. A Friday
night, Saturday
night
and Sunday Mission em
phasis
would
certainly
give ample
time for
both the
congregations
and
the
Elerick s
to
get
reqcquainted .
The next
preference in scheduling must
b e
given
to those
congregations
who
have not
supported regularly in the past, but
who de
sire to be
a
regular giving
partner in
this
ministry in the future.
We
will schedule
as
many
of these
as
time permits.
We understand that there
will
be
many con
gregations
whose mission
giving
is already
committed
on a
regular
basis
but
who would
still like the opportunity
to
hear
a
report
from the Elerick s and to share in a one-time
offering
to assist in the purchase of the
specially equipped (for
visual evangelism)
four-wheel
drive
vehicle.
We
may
have a lim^
ited number
of Sundays available, but
cer
tainly meetings during the week
can
be sched
uled.
We
are sorry
that we must
establish
a pri
ority in
scheduling,
as Ron feels strongly
that he
has a
mission
in
the States to
chal
lenge churches to
see
the need
and
to
catch
the Vision of African Evangelism. A normal
furlough of
one year
would permit
Ron
to
share with all interested congregations
on a
Lord's
D ay , b ut this cannot be done in less
than
five months.
e
AFRICA
VISION
Field Address;
Ron
and Cindi Elerick
P.O. Box377
Eshowe,
ululand,3815
Republic of South Africa
Forwarding Address
Zululand
Christian Mission
c/o
Eastern Heights Christian Church
Route —Box88
Ponca i t y , OK 74601
ADDRESS
CORRECTtON
REQUESTED
Sharlotte
Ray
Mission Services
Assn
Box 2427
Knoxville, TN
37901
Nonprofit
Or|.
U.S.POSTAGE
P I
Pormit
No. 32
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