By Randal Dick
God is working a miracle in the African nation of Angola, where life is more difficult than any of us can imagine.
During more than 20 years of bloody civil war the people of Angola were closed off from the rest of the world and stripped of their wealth.
Their roadways and farmlands have been sown with millions of inexpensive land mines, which kill or maim an average of 300 people (especially children) every week. The land mines have rendered much farmland unusable for a generation.
The public health system has broken down, and previously eradicated diseases have erupted out of control once again.
In spite of these obstacles, Angola has the third largest number of WCG members of any nation (after the United States and Canada). This growth has taken place in slightly less than two years.
According to Carlos Tavares, pastor of the Lisbon, Portugal, church and regional pastor for Angola, the Worldwide Church of God has 45 congregations with a total of 4,615 members in Angola. This includes 15 ministers, 30 deacons and 24 deaconesses.
As soon as he is able, Mr. Tavares will return to Angola to train and ordain 30 new leaders, because he estimates that God is calling an additional 2,000 people. Most of them live in areas still unsafe for travel or congregational life. By this time next year, the Angolan church could be second in membership only to the church in the United States.
Our brethren there have much rejoicing and much sorrow in their lives. Yvonne Tavares, Carlos' wife, gives an account of their visit on the Sabbath of July 20.
"After an early start we arrived in Cacuaco to find a packed hall as more than 640 met us with great excitement. Three choirs of about 30 members each, sang beautiful songs of praise and worship before the service.
"The sermon focused on recognizing our identity as Christians, the example of Christ our leader and the power of healing through the forgiveness process.
"After several hymns, local news, plans and several prayers, services concluded with a women's choir led by a woman and a closing prayer by a minister's wife.
"After a break of about one hour to discuss church finances and the future of the church in Angola, we all went to the house of a member whose baby had died.
"Carlos was asked to conduct the funeral service. The little coffin was made from a few planks held together by white cloth beautifully draped around it. We walked about two kilometers to the cemetery through dirt and dust to find simple heaps of sand, mostly with just a baby's bottle or a nipple stuck in the sand as identification. In Angola, 292 out of 1,000 children die before the age of 5.
"Walking back through the dirt and decay, we could see and smell the reason for the disease and death. These people desperately need education in hygiene and preventative health care."
How did this happen so fast?
Over a period of several years, we accumulated about 50 letters from Angola beseeching us to send someone from headquarters to them. In the midst of an income that was beginning to decline, we didn't have the money budgeted to finance a work in Angola.
Besides, the trade language there is Portuguese, and we didn't have anyone fluent in Portuguese to send. We weren't even sure we could get anyone into the country. But the pleas of the Angolans began to burden me to the point of thinking about them while lying awake at night. It became a heavy burden in my heart and mind.
Carn Catherwood, who was then regional director for the French and Italian areas, and I made a commitment to try to find a way to respond to the Angolans.
Jacques Brunet, who hails from Quebec, Canada, had just been assigned to pastor the Brussels, Belgium, church. He had previously lived and traveled in many parts of Africa. After much trouble obtaining a visa, he was able to get into Angola after the Feast in 1994.
He was to be met by Bill Bentley, one of our ministers in Eastern Canada, who was in Zimbabwe visiting relatives. Bill also had problems getting a visa and was delayed.
Jacques, alone and not knowing Portuguese, decided to do the best he could in French. As he made his way at the appointed time down to the small meeting room, he had no idea how many people to expect. He wasn't even sure that his responses to the original 50 letters had even been received.
Jacques emerged from the elevator after being stranded between floors for 45 minutes to find a meeting room filled, and people spilling out into the hall and around a corner. Jacques gave two Bible studies that day for more than 400 people. We knew then that God was doing a work among the Angolans--we just didn't know how fast he intended to work.
Jacques and Bill, who arrived later, found that several loosely organized groups had grown up, formed leadership and had used what few Bibles they possessed, along with some Worldwide Church of God literature as their basis of instruction.
We knew this situation was not of our making, and that it was different than other situations we faced previously. We determined, with the late Pastor General Joseph W. Tkach's blessing, to work with existing leaders in these groups.
We felt that we should serve all who come to us without reservation and let Christ bring to us any whom he clearly intended to be part of our fellowship.
In the summer of 1995, Carlos and Yvonne Tavares began to serve Angola. Carlos, a lay minister, is self-employed and pastors the brethren in Portugal. Carlos lived in South Africa for years (Yvonne is South African), and had traveled for his company all over the southern part of the continent. He is familiar with Angola and speaks Portuguese fluently.
Carlos and Yvonne travel to Angola as often as they can. They, along with the small Lisbon church, have a special place in their hearts for the people of Angola and are dedicated to serving the members there.
No one ever told the Portuguese members that they are too small to do a big work. They volunteer their time and money to fund the Tavareses ministry in Angola. They also translate The Pastor General's Report and key articles from the PT to send to the Angolan brethren.
The harvest begins
From the time of the first contact in October 1994 until the Feast of Tabernacles 1995, we worked with a growing number of people. However, we did not have official congregations. We concentrated on teaching and serving those who desired, and were not sure exactly how Christ wanted us to proceed.
Just before the Feast of 1995 Mr. Tkach entered the hospital for what was to be the last time. At that time a letter from Angola arrived.
The letter, signed by seven elders on behalf of their people, was eloquent in its simplicity and sincerity. It was because of this letter that we first began to form congregations of the Worldwide Church of God in Angola.
The letter said they felt that they were intended to be part of a greater Christian community, and that they wished to become affiliated with the Worldwide Church of God. The elders wrote: "From now on, the name of the Evangelical Church of the Apostles of the Seventh Day has ceased to exist and we are all of the Worldwide Church of God.
"As a testimony, we send to the headquarters of the Worldwide Church of God in Pasadena a part of the registry of members of the Worldwide Church of God in Luanda....
"We officially send this letter to our loved Pastor General, Mr. Joseph W. Tkach, asking him to exercise administratively his authority over the church in Angola. May God our Father concede considerable growth in his ministry in benefit of those who will rule with Christ in the kingdom of God.
"We send greetings with Christian love to all the ministers of the Church of God, and to all the members who make up the church. We're fervently asking that you all pray for us in the new field of Angola, this new chapter in the Worldwide Church of God, and that it be success."--signed Aug. 28, 1995.
Mr. Tkach Sr. died a few days after receipt of the letter. He never knew of the incredible spiritual harvest taking place in Angola, although he had exercised great faith in approving our going into Angola in the face of a steep decline in income.
One of his son's first official acts as pastor general was to sign a letter welcoming the Angolan brethren into the fellowship of the Worldwide Church of God. We are now in the process of officially registering the Worldwide Church of God in Angola.
It is extremely encouraging to see Christ continuing to use the Worldwide Church of God to help fulfill his great commission. Angola is just one of many places where Christ will grant the peace and blessing of Christ's gospel of the kingdom, if we are willing to carry it to the people.
We can do nothing without God, yet he has chosen to work through his body, and therefore often chooses to not act without us.
We must prepare ourselves, our attitudes, our hearts and our resources to be at the forefront of what Christ wants done. What an encouraging realization this is.
We owe a lot to our struggling yet spiritually powerful brethren in Angola. May God bless them, and may we serve as agents of their blessing.
Sept. 17, 1996, Worldwide News, page one
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