CAMPING AT CONFERENCE TIME

Blog 20

During our early years in Kimberley, we went to conference gatherings in various host churches scattered over South Africa. At first a tent was sufficient for the family, or in some places where the town had a campground, we sometimes hired a "Rondavel" such as the one in the attached picture. I think this picture was taken at Graaff Reinet in the Karoo. Monkeys played in the trees and we could never leave anything accessible to them or they would carry it away. We were not used to this, as there were no wild monkeys at Kimberley.

As the mission printer we not only had to carry our camping supplies, but also the mission's printing, and the minister's supplies which were distributed there. We also made available Bibles, hymnals, and any tracts or study booklets that had been prepared that year so that they could be used to teach the members of the churches. At first I bought a small luggage trailer, which had a water-tight seal around the lid, to carry these things. It did not last long! First, it was not large enough as more and more items became available, but it also had to be disposed of as people used it as a seat at the gatherings and they caved in the lid. After that of course, it was no longer dust or water tight. The rain or dust damaged what ever was on the inside.

We made a series of changes as the family grew, and eventually when there came to be six of us, we either planned to hire a camp cottage, stay in a trailer camper, or as a last resort, to go to a hotel. Hotels were still affordable at that time. Eventually I bought a "kiosk" and mounted it on the back of a pick up truck. When I was traveling alone, I could sleep over the cab in the extention addition that I had added to it. Even though it was not adequate to display the 400 different publications that we eventually published and carried in stock in the bookstore. We never attempted to carry other publisher's materials with us other than Bibles from the Bible Society, and hymnbooks. At that time the Black churches normally used the Methodist Hymnal and we bought those from the Methodist Publishing House in whatever language we needed. All the Christians carried their own Bibles and Hymnbooks. None of the churches left those in the building for use in worship. We also stocked Bible and Hymnbook covers as they usually covered both. Even so, they suffered damage as most books were also used as an improvised "tambourine" since the people sang without any instrumental accompaniment of any sort. This was simply a practical choice, and not doctrinal. The churches could not afford instruments. Even if they could, they could not safely leave them in their buildings which were usually used as school classrooms during the week.