Christophers - South Africa - 9/5/08

Greetings from the ends of the earth! We just wanted to share a few quick prayer requests with you before next week.

Next week is a crucial week for South Africa, one in which the whole of South Africa needs your prayers. For there will be a high court ruling on whether or not proceed with prosecuting the new president of the African National Congress Jacob Zuma. As president of the ANC, Zuma is the heir apparent to the current South African president Thabo Mbeki, next year. But Zuma is facing several counts of fraud and corruption. Zuma’s supporters are threatening violence and chaos if he goes to court.

This whole incident is one big catch-22 for the judge issuing the verdict. If they decide to prosecute Zuma, which they should, then they risk anarchy by the ANC Youth League, the South African Communist Party, and The Consolidated South African Trade Unions. But if they scrap the charges against Zuma for the sake of peace, then they send the message that the judiciary can be bought and is not truly independent. In a country that leads the world in unflattering crime statistics, you don’t want to send the message that justice can be bartered by the corrupt.

My own humble opinion is that they must prosecute this guy regardless of the potential consequences. He is as dirty rotten as they come. He is just to the left of Stalin, and if he becomes president there are many who think a Zuma presidency will signal the final nail in South Africa’s coffin. As Job reminds us “Can he who hates justice govern?” So please be in prayer about this pivotal issue.

On another front, a church in Pretoria was sued by their former music minister because he got fired when they discovered he was gay. It went to court and the church lost this watershed case. This landmark case has now signaled that it is open season on Bible-believing churches. This, of course, has emboldened the gay community even more. We are now praying that the church in question will appeal all the way to the constitutional court (South Africa’s version of the Supreme Court). If the church wins there, then at least a precedent is set. Our religious freedom is riding on this. Sadly, the USA isn’t far behind us on this one.

Finally, as I mentioned in our last prayer letter, we have a number people out of work. One of those men, Andrew Gill, is quickly reaching critical mass. Our church has done all we can, but now his vehicles are about to be repossessed. He is just on the verge of getting work, but it seems to be a case of oh-so-close-but-yet-so-far. Andrew has tendered on several jobs as a contactor, please pray that one of these contracts comes through soon.

Thank you for seeking our Father’s throne on our behalf. We are truly grateful for every prayer that is offered for us the ministry here!