New Moon 010631120

Dear Friends,

What is God doing in Africa?

This message is dedicated to the work God is doing in Africa. It has taken a long time to deal with the issues In Africa. However, it appears that things are now moving.

The Church of God has established a church in Africa over the years and with the WCG it split into many sub-groups. The WCG in Kenya split into UCG and LCG. Due to problems in LCG, the church split again when their Deacon joined RCG.

ue to problems in appointments by whites from America that did not recognise the problems peculiar to Africa, polygamists were appointed to many of the offshoots and that resulted in many leaving the Churches of God. According to reports provided to us, one of the LCG officers ended up being poisoned by members of the church and, allegedly, one of his wives, when he went into RCG.

Many of the Churches of God dwindled, through dishonesty, into virtual shells that rented people to go to Feasts when whites were to turn up to Feasts so they thought that they had larger numbers. I have seen people report on exactly how many members one of the churches had when the “expert” running the well-known unofficial blog knew nothing about what was happening there.

There is a UCG remnant at Migori and in Nairobi. We are unsure of the rest. There is an LCG remnant in Nairobi. RCG has reportedly gone completely.

We were roped into this nightmare some years ago. We were not sucked in by the polygamists, but we did get burned by the odd dishonest person. We ruthlessly culled to the point that we were prepared to have no one rather than work with dishonesty.

Whilst we reacted in this way one would have thought that it would have left us with no one. Quite the contrary occurred. After a while, the word got around East Africa that we would not stand nonsense and God then began to call people after testing us. People who could not possibly have known each other were made aware of the message and began to contact us. We went from the barest roots to a large-scale organisation there in a matter of months.

The Church of God (Seventh Day) in Tanzania contacted us and asked to join us in its entirety. They have agreed with the doctrines, and their board will now teach their people systematically. Many will recall that in 2005 we gave a seminar in Musoma and that was a basis for some of their understanding. We have set them up and the Chairman or Chief Coordinator in Tanzania is now going from village to village explaining the doctrines and sorting out the brethren. They too have been given many new groups and villages all over Tanzania that have contacted CCG to become members. This is the first union of COG (7D) with any of the other Churches of God since the WCG had them join it in Chile some 50 years ago.

Some evangelical groups have had to be refused admittance. In spite of that fact the workload is massive.

CCG does not number its brethren as it is a sin for which David was rebuked and Israel punished. We shall merely say that the groups that have joined us are very large with churches all over East and Central Africa. Remember Gideon’s Force was reduced from its initial figures and then 32,000 were taken out and 22,000 were sent home. Of the 10,000 left it was reduced systematically by Gideon to 300 picked men. These attacked at night and the enemy was reduced from 120,000 to 15,000, and then three tribes, including Manasseh, were asked to assist which they did and then the men from the Mountains of Ephraim were called. That sequence will give you an idea of what is happening there (see the paper Gideon’s Force and the Last Days (No. 22)).

It will take our Coordinator in Tanzania two weeks to get around the churches in Northern Tanzania alone. There are groups in the South East that he will have to reach also. At present, Churches in Tanzania are in Musoma, Mwanza, Irugwa, Ukerewe Islands, towards Shinyanga and Northeast to the Kenyan border and around Lake Victoria to the Ugandan border area. Study groups extend all the way to the south to the Mozambique border.

Our Coordinators in Kenya have been very busy. The National Coordinator has been setting up churches all over Kenya. The Assistant Coordinator has been working in what, for the Churches of God, is the most intensive area in Kenya, which is Nyanza province. The Kenyan Headquarters of CCG is in the old LCG/UCG area of Rongo in Nyanza, which is on the Kisii-Migori Road (not in Rift Valley Province as LCG claimed). The problem was that Rongo was left off the modern maps and so Rongai in the Rift was confused with Rongo in Nyanza. Rongo has a hospital and high schools etc. and is a substantial centre. The ex-groups from Dhiwa also re-formed with CCG. There are also churches in Mbita and in Sindo towns of Nyanza.

Churches and two orphanages have joined us from the Kisii area at Ogembo and at Kilogoris. Churches (and an orphanage) are also in the Trans Mara to the south. The Sindo Highlands are near Lake Victoria. There are other churches in Nyanza at Homa Bay and at Kisumu. Some of these people came from the Seventh-Day Adventists and were baptised last week. Our Coordinators tell us that there is a large church being formed now in the Rift Valley Province.

Churches were established in Eastern Kenya, also at Embu and at Runyenjes, and in two areas of Nairobi. The Statement of Beliefs was done in Kikuyu by the Embu translators two weeks ago.

The Coordinator for Kenya went to Uganda last week and established churches in Uganda from Kampala to the west on the Congo border at Kasese, where there is also an orphanage. There is another group in the Southern Sudan. Some have converted from Islam. Others have come in from Paganism, all in a matter of weeks and with no contact from us. As you all know we do not proselytise.

The Coordinator went on to Rwanda at Kigali and met the leaders there including the leader of the Burundi and Western Congo Churches.

Arrangements were made to attend Burundi this New Moon and Sabbath weekend and later, and baptise the members there. Jacques Guérard has been dealing with the groups there for a while now as part of the French work and they are now ready to join us and be baptised. They also speak KiSwahili so communication with the eastern nations of Tanzania and Kenya is not a problem. There are three church groups in Bujumbura and another four in the districts of Burundi. There are a number of churches in Western Congo DR. Hopefully we will get these done next week or so if it is possible to process so many people.

There is a church and translation group also at Kinshasa. Their task is to translate to Lingala. We will not identify the Congo churches until registration is complete to comply with Congo law.

The Congo has a number of languages but the western groups use Lingala and the eastern groups use another dialect entirely. Burundi speaks Rundi, French and Kiswahili and they are commencing work on that and the East Congo work now. Rwanda speaks Kinyawandan. The first tasks are The Statement of Beliefs (A1) and the Children’s Bible Studies in all the dialects, including Ekegusi of the Kisii and Dholuo of the Luo people. That will help educate the children and start simply for those that are not highly educated or familiar with the doctrines. KiSwahili and English are the main languages there so the Children’s Bible Studies are being done in KiSwahili first. French is the main language in Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo, although we are blessed there in that our coordinator in Kinshasa is an English teacher.

The troubles in Kenya saw a massive dislocation of subsistence farmers. There were some 350,000 families displaced and that accounted for 75% of the maize crop. The other problem is that the Africans eat white maize and not the yellow maize that the West is now putting into its fuel supplements. Food costs have almost doubled.

The orphans need clothing also. Those of you that have children that have grown out of clothes please send them to the national coordinators or secretaries for on-forwarding to Africa. The Deaconess, Diane Flanagan, of the US in Arizona has taken the responsibility for handling the matters in North America.

In all these matters where we are growing at such an exciting rate and God has added so many people to us let us not forget our responsibilities. We are to tithe correctly and look after the people in our own nations.

Africans are to look after their own people by tithing and making sure that their own people can eat and attend Feasts. This year is the Third Year of the cycle and the Second Tithe goes into the Church treasury. Each person is to be given the paper Tithing (No. 161) in their language and is to study it. No one is to ask for funds from anywhere except through their own coordinators. God did not call us to be Horseleeches daughters asking others for money incessantly.
Think of what you can do for others and God will bless you. You have nothing because you ask improperly and do not obey God’s Laws. Give and it shall be given unto you heaped up and given bountifully.

Read the Book of Malachi. Turn to the Lord and tithe, which is the test of repentance, and He will bless you.

Obey God and your lives will be turned around. Expect nothing of anyone and God will open the heavens and bless you and those who depend on you. If you are genuine then God will understand. If you are not He will also know that and you will be dealt with. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.

Prepare now for the Feast of Tabernacles.

We have had people come to us and then, after a while, try to milk money out of other churches while pretending to be part of CCG. One person was baptised by CCG and worked for us for two years. He then approached UCG and was baptised by them and then LCG and then COG (AF) and two Sunday-worshipping organisations and who knows where else. He was removed from CCG and then UCG. LCG tried to use him against us and God dealt with them, as they so richly deserved. Once you destroy your reputation it is harder to be restored than a citadel. There is no negotiation with God and the Body of Christ. Repentance must be clear and without equivocation.

Any one that behaves in that way will have their baptism revoked and will be given to the Adversary so that they may be dealt with in the Last Days in the Second Resurrection. They will forfeit their place in the First Resurrection.

Such a matter is no small loss. You will not recover it and those who lose their place will weep and gnash their teeth indeed.

Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit and was killed as an example to the Church; so was his wife.

God deals with people who lie to the Holy Spirit.

Ask your coordinators what you can do for the Church. Translations are the first priority. Women can teach children through recording the Children’s Bible Studies. You never know how far and wide God will spread your small seed.
You now have the opportunity to convert all of Africa and restore the power of the Abyssinian Church of the early centuries. Remember Archbishop Mueses of Abyssinia planted the Faith in China in the fifth century (see the General Distribution of the Sabbath-keeping Churches (No. 122).

It is now your turn to spread the true Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God in Africa. Rejoice that you have the opportunity to do the work of God.

This message is to be translated into KiSwahili and Rundi and distributed to the brethren so they have a personal copy.

Wade Cox
Coordinator General