Christians for Truth

Private Bag 250 • Kranskop • 3268 • E-mail: mail@cft.org.za • Tel: (032) 481-5512 • Fax: (032) 481-5507 • Web: www.cft.org.za

In this issue:

• Talitha Home - fulfillment of a vision
• Marching in the rain for the human rights of the unborn
• Devotional Thought: Blessings Through His Ascension
• The Naked Truth Hits Home - A report back on TNT
• "True Love Waits" message hailed in Pretoria
• Christian Persecution - Chinese Go Underground to Study Bible
• UPCOMING EVENTS

Talitha Home - fulfillment of a vision

Since 1997 CFT Western Cape saw the need to start a home for abandoned babies. For nearly three years this vision was discussed, put aside, taken up and discussed again, until finally in May 2000 the first baby was taken in by Gerhard and Elmané le Roux.
One of the major obstacles in starting Talitha Home was the need for a married couple to act as foster father and mother for the babies. When Gerhard and Elmané got married in October 1998, this obstacle was overcome and they were ready to take in the first baby. Still another year and a half passed before Talitha arrived, the very first baby of the Home, which is also called after her.
Talitha, (originally called "baby Heather" and officially called "Baby Unknown" ), was found one cold April morning at 6:00 on the stoep of a home. Only two hours old, naked, covered in dirt from a nearby dustbin and with a plastic bag around her neck and the afterbirth in a plastic bag next to her, she was rushed to hospital. After three weeks she was put in the safety care and later in foster care with Gerhard and Elmané. Right from the start Talitha slept in their bedroom like one of their own children. Today she is a healthy baby, nearly 11 months old. Talitha is a blessing to everyone around her and an example of what can be accomplished through love. She is now called Talitha le Roux, and will be registered as such on her birth certificate.
More babies have since come to Talitha Home. Not all of them are abandoned babies, some come from families where they were mistreated and neglected. The Home also takes in babies orphaned by AIDS, and babies whose mothers would have aborted them but changed their minds. At the moment Talitha Home has two abandoned babies that are in foster care with Gerhard and Elmane and four babies that are in safety care. All the babies that come to the Home are treated as their own children, becoming part of their family, while full-time volunteer co-workers help in the daily responsibilities of feeding, changing diapers, bathing etc.
Young girls that are pregnant but unmarried are also accommodated by Talitha Home and are thus given an alternative to the option of abortion.
When older, the children of Talitha Home will attend a private pre-primary and primary school registered at the Western Cape Education Department and run by people directly or indirectly involved with Talitha Home.
The latest exciting news is that Talitha Home is moving to a farm about 50 km outside Cape Town, near a town called Malmesbury. This will offer the children a healthy farm atmosphere in which to grow up.
Although the Home also helps on a short term basis in crisis situations with safety care, it has a long-term vision for abandoned babies, helping them to grow into responsible adults who, in the future, can make a difference in their society.

MARCHING IN THE RAIN FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN
’LIFE NEWS’ PRESS RELEASE 21 March 2001

At 1 pm (Human Rights Day, 21 March 2001), about 250 people belonging to the National Alliance for Life marched enthusiastically along Marine Parade in Durban to demand the recognition of the human rights of the unborn. Pouring rain during part of the march and eggs thrown from a nearby building did not discourage the demonstrators. A 4.7 meter trailer with a picture of an unborn baby and information on life in the womb accompanied the procession. This is the first time the trailer has been used in Durban. One banner read, "Abortion: One killed, One wounded, One paid" referring to the emotional and physical suffering inflicted on women and their babies for abortionists’ money.
One of the protesters, Lindiwe Buthelezi, said, "Standing in the rain shows how serious we are about abortion. Apartheid was also legal - but wrong". One of the protest organisers, Myrna King, said that the beautiful rainbow that appeared at the end of the march symbolised their hope that one day South Africans would be able to really celebrate Human Rights Day - when the human rights of unborn babies are also protected.
Myrna King can be contacted on (083) 686-4326.
Many of the women wore ’We care’ badges and handed out cards with contact telephone numbers for anyone considering an abortion who wanted help. Fatima Chavoosa of Radio Good News said, "We wear ’We care’ badges because we want to help women".
At the same time in Port Elizabeth about fifty people from Christians for Truth celebrated Human Rights Day by demonstrating along the intersection of CJ Langenhoven Drive and Ring Road. They handed out pamphlets to passing motorists.
In a media statement Christians for Truth said, "The abortion laws of South Africa remain a constant contradiction of the culture of human rights. All opinion polls show that the vast majority of the public is pro-life."
In another media statement marking Human Rights Day, Doctors for Life chairman, Dr Albu van Eeden, said, "As we predicted over the years, abortion on demand is the beginning of the downward slide towards other forms of gross violations of human rights. Active euthanasia is on the table and the government seems to lack the moral will to withstand its legalisation. It is very likely that we will soon hear arguments by the pro-death camp that ‘euthanasia is a form of compassion’ and that ‘patients have the right to die with dignity’. A cash-strapped government will realise how cheap it is to extinguish lives instead of caring for patients until natural death. As we celebrate Human Rights Day, let us remember that it is an unfortunate reality that nations find it easier to go down the road of incremental laws against the weak, the unborn and the aged. Each piece of legislation which does not strengthen the rights of the weakest members of society will create an atmosphere for further anti-human laws".
Dr van Eeden can be contacted at (082) 781-7130.
(LIFE NEWS is an independent news service bringing you the best in South African and international news on Right to Life issues.)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT…
BLESSINGS THROUGH HIS ASCENSION

"...and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." (Lk 24:50,51)
Forty days after Christ broke death's prison bars, He ascended into heaven. As He went up his hands were outstretched in blessing over the disciples. Many years before this, Moses, a type of Christ, looked upon Israel from the hilltop. As he saw Israel doing battle with the Amalekites he lifted up his hands (Ex 17: 11, 12) "that Israel prevailed."
So long as the child of God and the church are under the raised hands of Christ, under His blessing, the gates of hell shall not prevail. Through the Cross, the resurrection and ascension, Christ has earned full and continuous blessings for his people. The ascended Christ is not gone - he is continually with his children. Therefore live in the consciousness of that blessing. Stay in the shadow of His wings and blessings are yours forevermore!

THE NAKED TRUTH HITS HOME – A REPORT BACK ON TNT

The Lord has blessed the two TNT trips in the first quarter of this year tremendously. Reactions to the truth normally come in two forms: very negative or very positive. In an incident in Vereeniging where the team spoke about virginity they were attacked by an angry mother with the words "Mr Gert, when last were you in school? How can you speak about virginity in this day and age?" On the other hand, at another school in the same area the teacher pleaded on behalf of the children that the team return the next day during break time. Between 300 and 400 children attended and many stayed for counselling after break, continuing until the last period. One girl of 17 said she could not sleep at night because she kept dreaming of babies; she had had three abortions.
TNT has virtually become a ministry in prisons. In the Eastern Cape Gert and David spoke to a large group of young prisoners awaiting trial. They were between the ages of 13 and18 years. Some were in for murder, rape or armed robbery, drugs and alcohol having played a major role in many of these crimes. After the team spoke, some of the inmates were in tears, some gave their lives to Jesus, others said they wanted to change their lives and prove to their parents that they were serious about reforming.
Another rare priviledge was a meeting with about 150 parents of learners at a prestigious school. This meeting went very well and the parents responded with many questions. TNT believes that the root of the substance abuse problem actually lies with the parents.
Overall the response was very positive. TNT was invited to return to prisons and schools, our handicap being, however, that the "labourers are few".

"TRUE LOVE WAITS" MESSAGE HAILED IN PRETORIA

During the first week of March a team of ‘True Love Waiters’ (including an Australian) shared the abstinence message with their peers in Pretoria. Another 4028 youths committed themselves to sexual purity and abstinence until marriage.
The TLW team was greatly encouraged by the success stories of the young people who had joined TLW previously. One group of university students told them how they had put up their TLW cards on a notice board outside their front door. "This way," they said, "the guys can know our stand before they can even think of proposing sex to us. It’s worked fantastically."
At one university residence a man walked in after the TLW presentation, requesting a pledge card. He said, "I made the decision to stay sexually pure when I was fourteen. I’ve kept that promise. Now I want to sign that card. It’s my stand, anyway."
TLW also brought the message of renewal through Christ’s blood to heart-broken teens who had lost their virginity, and hope to those who had been robbed of it. The team says, "Once again, we’ve seen how the youth is tired of the ‘free love’ message - the cost is just too high. More and more young people want to associate themselves with the positive TLW message - there are no risks, no strings attached."

THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
CHINESE GO UNDERGROUND TO STUDY BIBLE

Rev. Wolfgang Baake, chairman of the German branch of Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), visited a clandestine Bible College in the Chinese countryside at the end of February. The school forms part of VOM’s clientele, training pastors for China’s burgeoning illegal house churches. In a report to United Press International, Baake explained how a pair of dank tubes burrowed into clay, housed three instructors, two housekeepers and 37 students from all over China, 16 women and 21 men, aged 17 to 27. It took hours of travel by train, car and foot through fields and forests to reach the place.
Risking Torture and Death
Baake said that the road to house church ministry is a short but extremely hard one in China. "The students spend 10 months underground, then do a two-month internship in their home congregations, and return for another 10 months to the college. "Then they are pastors, earning perhaps 20 dollars a month and risking arrest, torture and even death". Baake told UPI that the students were well aware of the distinct possibility of martyrdom. "The chance that this might happen has brought us together."
"While at school, these young people never get out of their clothes. They work and sleep in them. It’s cold and damp in those tunnels. There’s no heating. Only body temperature provides a modicum of warmth." According to Baake, the young men and women sleep in separate dormitories alongside the main classroom. "They have roughly hewn bunk beds without mattresses because they would be soggy within seconds due to the high humidity. ‘Neon tubes light the underground school. Over these tubes the students dry their towels. They wash at an outside well, but only after their own sentries have given an ’All clear,’ " the German pastor reported.
A washing machine that "seemed of pre-World War II vintage", is used. The school’s one luxury is a $10,000 gasoline-driven generator that kicks in when there is a power outage. It’s a gift from the German VOM branch, which also feeds students and faculty. The daily allowance is $1.50 a person. The college however, lacks a kitchen where the housekeepers, an elderly couple, could prepare the meals. At present they cook over a pit in the cave. A library would also be helpful. Baake said he only saw "the Bible and a couple of other books" in front of the students huddled together behind 18 tables.
Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, founder of VOM, was a firm believer in St. Augustine’s dictum that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of our Christian faith." According to Baake, ‘illegal’ congregations often dread persecution and denouncement from the officially recognized Protestant church more than persecution from the state. Nevertheless "the house churches are growing and growing, and Bible colleges like the one I visited can’t churn out ministers quickly enough," says Baake. Almost 16 centuries after his death a group of dedicated young men and women are preparing to prove St. Augustine right operating in cold, dark and humid tunnels. (Realworldnews - March 2001)

Upcoming Events:

* 24 May - Ascension Day
* 16 June - Youth Day (True Love Waits actions suggested)
* 6-13 July - KwaSizabantu Youth Conference. Please remember bedding and eating utensils. For further information contact: (032) 481-5500.
* 9 August - National Women’s Day
* 31 August - 2 September - CFT Annual General Meeting (PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATES!!)
* 1 October - International Life Chain Day (For KZN 7 October)
* 5-6 October - NAL Conference. For information contact: (031) 903-7359.

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