Laughren Peter Fran 1998 SAfrica

7/27/2019 Laughren Peter Fran 1998 SAfrica

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The Laughrens,Pete, Fran & Denzil

Co n f e r e n c e 1 9 9 7

hor. For most ^ Idrive of some 500 d . r ^ n / j /-Pete, Fran & Denzi l ready forto 700 miles, but conference.there was a largeturnout even from places as far away as Upington,Kimberley and Cape Town. The theme this yearwas "The power of God for Salvation" and allspeakers developed the theme according to the

Pete, Fran & Denzi l ready forconference.

Pete preaching the Sunday morning of the 1997 conference.

0I^tpe 'Stixnes

Vol. 8, No.2

Members of the conferenceplanning committee.

subjects and scriptures that they were given. Franspoke for a ladies class and Ipreached the Sundaymorning service.

This conference isdevoted justto the preachingand teaching of the gospel. We do not have longmeetings discussing many problems of thechurches: we just have the building up of thechurch through God's Word. Along with the mainservices of preaching, there are always classes formen, women and even activities for the youth. Theyouth always have classes and then on Saturdayhave an organized activity where they go to a localresort, etc., to enjoy being together as just theyouth. Some of the older youth now head up thoseactivities and have put into practice what they havelearned over the years about being leaders. All inall, conference caters to everyone who wants to beinvolved and, when people participate, they can bebuilt up during their time together.

The planning committee for the conference iselected every two years and is mainly responsible


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for planning the conference every year. This yearIwasaskedtobethechairman onceagain andIwillserve forthe next twoyears. This isthe fourth two-year termthat Ihave served and Iam pleased tobeofservice tothe people in thisway. AndrewCalvert,the minister that we work with here in George, isagain serving as treasurer as he has since 1983.JerryKennedy served wellas chairman the last fouryears and we are thankful for his service.

Nextyear's conference is being planned forthetownofUpingtoninthe northern part ofthe country.We were the re in 1988 for the conference and t hechurch there planned the conference and made allofthe arrangements well. Twoyears from nowweare planning for conference to be here in George,and the people here are so excited that they aretalking about skipping next year's conference andjust planning for that one. Please pray for us as wemake future plans and help the people have anencouraging t ime in th e Lord.

Cape Bible SeminaryEvery year we tryto have a planningmeeting to

work on plans for Cape Bible Seminary. Thesemeetings a re an outgrowth of the times that SteveZimmerman and I would sit down and plan thefollowing year's sessionswhen just he and Iworkedwith Cape Bible Seminary in the late 80's. Thesemeetings now range from planning the school 'sseminar sessions, to working out guidelines underwhich we work. This year we met here in Georgeduring the weekend of August 22 to 24. The sixteachers who work with Cape Bible Seminary,Gordon Nelson, Ron Butler, Jerry Kennedy, PhilSmith, Steve Zimmerman and I, met together andaccomplished quite a bit, such as establishingpolicy as to qualifications offuture teachers and thepurpose of what we are doing with Cape BibleSeminary.

One of the great things that came out of themeeting is the use of TEE (Theological Educationby Extension) that will be used with Cape BibleSeminary seminars in th e future. Ron Butler,before moving to Cape Town in1996, worked withTEE for close to thirtyyears in Zaire. He has addeda lotto the program ofCape BibleSeminarythrough

Teachers ofCape Bible Seminary(Standing): Jerry Kennedy.Steve Zimmerman, Ron Butler, PeteLaughren and PhilSmith. (Seated): Gordon & Estelle Nelson.

the additionofTEE. Cape BibleSeminary, as youknow, is a school that takes the classes to whereth e churches are and teaches the leaders who arealready leading the churches. It has worked verywell and, to date, we have 379 students who havetaken at least one cour se .

Fran and Ienjoyed the time together as we gotto fellowship with other missionaries whom we dono t see too often as t he c lose st ones to us are inCape Town, four hours' drive away. All came tospend the weekend with us except for SteveZimmerman who drove in and out the same day.While here, the ones who spent the weekend tookpart in the two services on Sunday at the Georgechurch, which pleased the local people very much.Our goal in 1998 is to have at least one session(whether it be a week, a weekend, or successiveweekends) taught every month indifferent placesaround the country. We already have requestsfrom Humansdorp, Port Elizabeth, Graaff-Reinetand others inthe planning stages for the next year.Please prayforthe workofCape BibleSeminary aswe feel itis an effective tool of the kingdom to buildup leaders for the church.

4 8 S t a n d e r S t r e e tGeorge , South Africa

The above is our residential address as of July8,1997. When we moved to George last December, we were fortunate to be able to rent a furnished


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house. We hoped this was only for a couple ofmonths. God takes care of us in a mighty way. andwe a re convinced of that. W hen we came here inDecember last year, we wanted to rent a furnishedapartment and the real estate agent told us thatthatwould be impossible as itwas just getting into theholiday season and most apartments were takenwith holidaymakers. Atthe last minute she remembered a couple who had been trying to sell theirhouse with no success. She said that they might beinterested in renting itfurnished untiltheygot itsold.They had left their furniture in it to make it moreattractive to buyers to look at and so , therefore, itsuited our needs. They decided that they did wantto rent it out, but only on a monthly basis, and thatwas fine with us. Our things were in storage, wecould lookout after their place, and itwould all workwell.

While we were renting that house , we s tar tedlooking at houses to buy in January. After lookingat forty to fifty houses with many estate agents, wedecided on and signed the papers for the house at48 StanderStreet, hoping to move in byApril or Mayat the latest. The people living in the house wererenting from the previous owners and had a cont ract to stay until June 30 and decided that theywould stay until that t ime. Not getting in the houseearlier than July disappointed us, but we figuredthat there must be a reason for it. April 17 we gotthe reason when we got a call from Texas and wemade that quick trip back for Fran' s b ro ther

48 Stander Street, George, South Africa with GeorgeMountain in the background.

Jonathan's double lung transplant surgery. Ofcourse we were gone until June 4th and could nothave moved in May anyway.

After the people moved out on June 30, we tookownership on July 1. We then took a week inwhichwe painted the house , had an alarm system installed, and got ready for our belongings whichwould arrive from storage in Cape Town the nextweek. It only took us about two car loads to moveourthings thatwere already here inGeorge and ourfirst night inthe house was actually the 8th, the dayour belongings arrived. Coincidentally (that'swhatsome people would say), the house that we wererenting sold immediately after we moved out andpeople moved in there the first of August.

With the things arriving from Cape Town whichincluded all of our belongings fromCape Town andthe container load from furlough, you can justimagine the mess. It took us over a month tounpack andwe are now settled justfine. This househas four bedrooms, an adjacent apartment, a separate office and plenty of space for visitors. WhentheCape BibleSeminary co-workerscame, they allstayed here with no problem. We are very thankfulfor this house and pray that God would use itfor hisglory. The Sunday before we moved in, we invitedthe church in George over and we had a smalldedication service on the back patio to dedicate thehouse for God's glory. Please pray for us that wemay use it for his will and his glory. If you want tocome and visit and help with work, you are alwayswelcome.

Ou r belongings arrived on July 8.


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Fran ' s Feel ingsHi You All!!

We hope and pray that this letter finds you welland happily serving our Lord. There have beensome of you who have been injured, sick and lostloved ones since our re tu rn to South Africa. Pleaseknow that you are inour prayers and our hope is thatyou are recovered and have found peace andcomfort in your trying times. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers as well.

Itis so nice to be settled in our home inGeorge.We all love this house; it is so comfortable anduseful. At times I felt like we would never geteverything unpacked before we got busy, but wedid. It took us about six weeks to get everythingunpacked and put away. We are so grateful forsuch a nice and big house because we were able tofind a place for everything. Denzil was so good, too.He hardly ever got in the way, and he actuallyhelped occasionally. Itwas quite exciting for all ofus to go through everything because we forgotsome of what we had. Most of Denzil's thingsseemed like they were new to him. He would say,"Oh my goodness!" or "Surprise!"

Again, we say thank you to all of you who sentthings to put in the container, and a big thanks tothose who helped us pack up the container. Onlya few things got broken in the move and they werethe things that were already here in storage. Sowethank God fo r that .

August was a busy time for us in that we had alot of company all month. Our first guest was afriend of mine from Cape Town, Sharon Reed. Wethen had David Jantjies and his family (7 total)come and spend the weekend. The followingweekend we had ten missionaries here for a CapeBible Seminary meeting. It was a busy time, butgreat fun. We had a bed for everyone and fellowship was wonderful.

Iknow that many of you worry about Peter's dietwhen we have company and travel now that he hasdiabetes. I have some recipes that Imake specialfor Pete (especially things like cookies, sauces andeven brownies). He does very well resisting the"no-nos," but he still needs your prayers; it's notalways easy. Itis difficult to find things for himto eatand snack on here, unlike the States. So we do ou r

best towatch foranything inthe different places. Sofar he is controlling his diabetes with his diet, andwe pray itwill remain this way for a long time, Lordwilling of course.

This year's conference was in Queenstown.We had never been there before and they hadnever hosted a conference before. It all went verywell and Queens town is a nice little town. Considering the very hot weather, the turnout was good. Iw as a s ked to lead in one c l ass fo r the women. AletaKennedy did all of the children's classes; she lovesdoing it and the kids seem to like her a lot. Denzilenjoyed the classes and that is a first since we'vebeen back in South Africa. He usually won't leavemy side, so we were pleased to see this progress.The youth were expecting Pete and me to be withthem some, but it wasn't planned and we weren'table to. Next year, since Pete is chairman of th eplanning committee again, we will make a plan tobe with the youth.

Sunday evening and the Monday and Tuesdayafter conference, we were at Graaff-Reinet for a"missionary retreat." Itwas encouraging and a funtime for all of us who attended. We always enjoygetting together with the other missionaries because of the common bond in 1) being a Christian,2)working inSouth Africa, and 3) being Americans.Itwas encouraging and uplifting for us.

Septemberthrough November is a busy time fortraveling. We have Cape Bible Seminary weekends, other traveling to do, and a Vacation BibleSchool to plan. Please continue to pray for safetravels. Denzil still is a great little traveler. He isgrowing up fast and is getting to be an independent

Missionaries & kids gatheredfor the missionary retreat.


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Fran leaching missionary kidsat the missionaiy retreat.little fellow. So far, he does well interactingwith theAfrican kids. Hehas troublewith manyofthe youthand adults because they scare him by pulling athim, grabbingat him, and teasing him (ofcourse, alldone lovingly). But he islearning andisall right withit all most ofthe time as long as one of us is closeby. Denzil is learning to dance and sing like theAfricans and becoming quite a performer. He ispopular that is for sure.

We are looking fonward to our summer time andthe upcoming activities. We pray that you have awonderful warmand cozywinter. Keep safe and intouch.

Until next time, love and prayers,

E t c .After the annual conference,we met in the townofGraaff-Reinet fortwodays with several othermissionary families for a "missionary retreat."Earl Ferguson, from the Deer Creek ChristianChurch in Chicago, was with us to lead us inBible studies. It was a good time of fellowshipand encouragement.We have much traveling to do from nowto theend of the year. We will be in places such asGraaff-Reinet,East London, Barkley-West, andCape Town forCape Bible Seminary sessionsand other events .

The church here inGeorge is a pleasuretoworkwith. It is a small group, but there is a spirit ofcooperation that is refreshing to see.When we are in town, we try to have SundaySchool in our house (we pickthe children upand returnthem after services) as the place thatwe mee t in for services is too small for both thechurch services and Sunday School at thes ame t ime.We planon spending Christmas in CapeTownas Kevin and DebbieOakley(friendsfrom BereaChristian Church in Hampton, GA) are arrivingwith their children the day after Christmas at theairport in Cape Town fora visit here in George.While here, they will be helpingwitha VacationBibleSchool thatweare havingfromDecember29 to January 5.If your church is now using disposable communion cups, do you have any glass cups thatare not beingused? Would you like to put themtogood use? The churches here use any cupsthat they can get a hold of. When we haveplasticdisposablecups, theyare used until theyare broken, cracked and ofno use. Many ofthechurches prefer and ask for glass ones (because they last longer),butthey are veryexpensive. Can youhelp us inthis way? If so, itwouldbesincerely appreciated. If you cansendcups,please wrapcarefully. Afellow missionary heresaid that a church once sent 500 loose glasscups ina box ofwhich only 50 were not brokenupon arrival. Any cups will help, but especiallyglass ones. Thanks!

Praye r s~ Please pray for the Vacation Bible School thatwe plan to have the end of the year here in

George.- Please pray for us as we travel in the next three

months and try to build the kingdom here.~ Please continue to pray for Fran's brother

Jonathan. He continues to do well, but still hasa long road of recovery ahead of him.


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The Laughrens,Pete, Fran & Denzil

The last six months have been busy monthsand we praise the Lord for the work He has ledus to do here in South Africa. Fran. Denzil andI are well and hope for you the same. In thisnewsletter we will cover some of the highlightsthat have happened in this part of the Lord'skingdom.

Vac a t i o n Bib l e Sc i i o o i(F ran 's Fee lings, Par t 1)

Would you believe that this was the firstVacat ion Bible School we have been able todo in South Africa since July 1992?? Thereare many reasons for this, but the main reason is help. We have had to wait for helpfrom the States because the people herewere afraid to tackle it. This year we had thehonor and privilege of having the help andfellowship of the Kevin Oakley family fromthe Berea Christian Church in Hampton, GA.The da te s t ha t we held the first Vacat ionBible School forthe churches of George wasfrom January 5 to 9.

In preparation for the event, the folks herewere very helpful, but you could see hesitationbecause they really didn't know what in theworld we were trying to do. God blessed thetime in a big way. Our attendance was +/- 30the first day and every day it increased by 30more, ending the week at 146 on Friday. The

mifeOl^pe 'StirmsGEORGE, SOUTH AFRICA

Vol. 8, No. 3 & No. 4

kids were having so much fun that they askedfor anotherweek. We told them that they wouldhave to wait and, Lord willing, they will onlyhave to wait until June this year because wehave interns coming and we willput one on witht hem.

We met in the mornings in the church building in the African township of Thembalethu.The theme was "The King's Club" and it waseasy to work out the lessons and crafts to gowith the them e. W e used a book with t h e t hemeand lesso ns tha t ca me from Ross Wissmann(their family are missionaries in the Philippines). Kevin Oakley taught the lesson everyday using the flannelgraph. I had crafts in lineand the Oakleys helped us ge t it all ready andhelped the kids make them in the classes. We

The Oaklev FamilvKevin, Debbie, Matthew & Erin.


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Children during V.B.S. craft time.

used the felt, pom-poms, beads and feathersyou folk from the States have sent over theyears. The kids loved the swords, helmets,damsel hats, fla'gsTbeaded crossesrand-pom-pom pets they made. So, thank-you to all whohelped with the supplies!

Debbie Oakley taught the songs and togetherwedecided onthe songs that JeffMoodywrote and composed like "Celebrate," "I'veGotThe Joy. ."Romans 16:19," "Lord, ILiftYourNameOnHigh, "and others. The kidsjust lovedthem and did they ever sing them out!! Theysang at the top oftheir lungs and still rememberthem today.

The tough partwas working out the programwhen all we had was a one-room building tomeet in. But it did work ou t fine, because of theolder kids being with the younger kids. In fact,they helped withthe younger kids. So, itwas afun a nd b le ss ed t ime fo r all.

Thank-you, Oakleys, for coming and sharing in the great time and helping it to be asuccess. And thank you one and all for prayingfor it to go well. We feel that your prayers wereanswered greatly. We look forward to the nexton e in J u n e .

Cape Bible SeminaryDuring the time this newsletter covers, we

have been busy with Cape Bible Seminary inseveral different areas. In November I taught aclass in the Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet andwas really pleasedwith the results. Itaught theclass "The Guide To Christian Growth"ior fournights and had anywhere from 20 to 40 students each night. All in all, I had a total of 22students get a credit for the class and feltpleased with the success.

From the 16th to the 20th of March 1taughtthe books of 1, 2, and 3 John to the church thatmeets in Gelvandale, Port Elizabeth . Attendance was again good there and we had 27students gain full credits for the class that washeld .

In February, we again had a meeting ofthe missionaries involved with Cape BibleSeminary here inGeorge to work out some ofthe finer details of the teaching program. Inat tendance were Gordon-Nelson, Phil Smith,-Jerry Kennedy, Ron Butlerand myself. (SteveZimmerman did not attend.) We did a lot ofwork on forms of teaching and organizationand I am now in charge {once again) of therecord-keeping for the school and its students. At last report, we have had close to400 students who have taken a t least oneclass and many with many credits for classesattended. Our next meeting will be inAugust in the Karoo town of Cradock. Wehave completed a constitution for the schoolthat will help if anything legal is required(such as government registration) down theroad .

Ourphilosophy inCape Bible Seminary isto take the c lasses to where the s tuden ts a r ebecause the idea of a r es iden t schoo l doesnot always work in every circumstance. Weare pleased with most of the results of whatis happening and further sessions are plannedin the different areas around the countrywhere we have teachers located. Please


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ray for the work of Cape Bible Seminaryd for th e individual teachers who are in

i s i to r s

One ofthe thingsthat we most likeabout ourove to George is the house that we are ableuse. With a house that has an apa rtmentwe are able to accommodate visitorsryeasily and feel that this has added to theinistry here. During the last six months wed several visitors, bu t none more importantan the Oakley family from Berea Christianurch in Hampton. GA. While Debbie and

children, Matthew and Erin, were ablebe here for month, Kevin had to go back aftero weeks because of his work at Delta Air

ines. They arrived on the 28th of Decembernd after Kevin left on th e 13th of January,

and the kids stayed until the 29th.While they were here, they helped with the

Bible School thatwas described above,eached and taught at the two local churches,nd made a trip with us to Barkly-West on the

Cape for a weekend of teaching,eaching and weddings. They were well reived bythe church here inGeorge and Barkly-

Kevin Oakleypr eaching in Conville, George.

"The long &jhe short ofit." Pete with Rankin Melalcitor inDarkly- IVest.

West and the people are still talking about theirvisit to this day.

Alongwith many enjoyable times together,one extra funny thing that happened was on ou rtrip to Barkly-West. During the morning worship, as the youth group choir was singing aspecial, I leaned over to the leader and mentioned to him that Debbie and the children areleaving the country in 4 days and would theyouth like to sing farewell to her and the kids.He said, "Yes, that would be nice." As th e choiris sitting down, he stands up and says, "SisterDebbie and the children ar e leaving soon to goback to America and they would liketo stand up

Debbie Oakleysinging impromptuin Barkly-West.


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help, we have been well looked after. May Hebless you for your faithfulness and thoughtful-ness. If you get a chance, we'd love to hearfrom you.

Love, Fran

E t c .During November we were able to be partof the Northern Cape Preaching Rally.Fran taught several flannelgraph lessonsand I t aught the youth.We have had over 10 baptisms here inGeorge since our last newsletterfor whichwe praise the Lord.Since th e las t newsle t t e r w e have madethree trips to Cape Town, two trips to EastLondon, three to Port E li zabe th , two toGraaff-Reinet, two to Barkly-West all forvar ious t imes of teaching and o ther r easons.

I w as a ble to a tte n d th e Minister 's Weekfor the Church of Chris t Mission t ha t washeld in Margate Natal during March.Also in March I w a s a ble to hold weekendclasses in a town call ed Humansdorp.This w as a chu r ch t ha t we had not visi tedbe for e .

We are holding both the Sunday Schoolclasses and youth group classes at ourhouse on Sundays when we are in townand this is working out very well.We are hosting three in te rn s and theirhost, Stacy Garner, in June and July.They will help with the local VacationBib le S ch oo l a n d t he n we will t r ave l to th eNorthern Cape Youth Camp and then theywill go on to Johannesburg to conduct a

JVe rejoice with the baptisms here in George.

Vaca t i on Bible Schoo l with th e chu r c h e sthere. They will be here from June 12 toJuly 30.

Praye r s-- Please pray for me (Pete) as I am in

charge of the yearly conference again. Itwill be held in Upington from September30 to October 4, 1998.

Please pray for the two churches inGeorge(Conville and Thembalethu) as they continue to grow spiritually.

Please pray for the four people who arecoming for their internship in June andJuly. Pray for us as we host and for thechurch in Johannesburg as they do thesame.

-- Please pray that Cape Bible Seminarywillbe u se d of the Lord to train strong leadersfo r th e chu r c h e s he r e .

Please pray for Fran as she leads the


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and sing a special to us to say good-bye!"Debbie's eyes were as huge as saucers, butshe was a good sport and got up and sangsomething impromptu. The people really enjoyed it and she did well.

All in all, we really enjoyed their time hereand will remember their visit for a long time tocome. We are very thankful for their visit andtheir help in the work here. We are also verythankful to the Berea Christian Church in Hampton, GAwho helped to make their trip possible.Thank-you, Kevin, Debbie, Matthew and Erin,and we hope you come again sometime.

Fran ' s Fee l ings (Part 2)Hi Folks!!

I trust that all is well with you. We are allwell and keeping busy. As I write this, Peteis ending his two-week "teaching tour." That'swhat I call it, but he was in Natal and EastLondon for a week. He did not do muchteaching that week, but his week was allteaching in Port Elizabeth and Humansdorp.I told Pete that he better hurry home nowbecause Denzil is getting used to him beinggone .

For the first week that Pete was gone, itwasa continuous barrage ofquestions about Daddy."Where's Daddy?" "I miss my Daddy." "IsDaddy coming home?" All of these questionswere usually accompanied with tears and hewould call Daddy on the phone. I'm afraid tosee our phone bill this month. Nothing majorwent wrong while Pete was gone, praise God.Ionly had to take the dog to the vet due to an earInfection. Denzil has been sleeping with me,but will not go to sleep until very late. And then,I had to call a locksmith because I used thewrong key in the security gate, thus getting itstuck. I also spent a lot of money, but it couldhave been worse . Hal

This year we have started working with theyouth group here in George. So far we have

approximately 15 young people who attend.They are a lot of fun and very eager to learn anddo more in the church .

Also, something that is very new/differentfor me is tha t I h av e b ee n a sk ed to work on achurch choir. They are keen to learn the oldhymns and some choruses. I sang in thechurch choir when I was in high school andan ensemble. But o th er th an that, I havehad no training. But the folks here don't mindand they (25 to 30 of them) are having asmuch fun as I am and they are very encouraging.

The attendance for Sunday School averages between 20-30 everyweek, and itis goingwell. The Sunday School and youth meet at ourhouse on Sundays. I drop off Pete in the a.m.for the services and I carry the kids back to thehouse for Sunday School, than an hour latertake them back, hopefully in time for the communion service. At 3:45, we pick up the youth .and bring them to the house for an hour. At5:00, we all head back for choir practice, thenevening service starts"at 6:00 p.mT, althougtracouple of timeswe have sung for two hours andnot had the evening services. They just do notwant to stop. Ha!

Inthe past six monthswe have been blessedwith a lot of company. We've had missionariesin and out (six adults and two kids all at once)a couple of times, a visiting family from theStates and some South African fr iends a t different times. It works out so well here in this bighouse. Everyone is comfortable without beingon top of each other. We continually thank andpraise God for our home here inGeorge. SinceIhave alreadywritten about the Vacation BibleSchool Iwillclose with best wishes to all of youfor a sa fe and fun-filled summer. We had agood summer here and look fonward to goodthings this winter which is just around the corner.

Please continue to pray for us and the workhere. Thanks to allwho sent Christmas parcelsand special "no occasion" parcels. With God's

Laughren Peter Fran 1998 SAfrica

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