The Seed will Sprout
When the early European settlers went to South Africa, they set up the Dutch Reformed Church, which basically dominated the landscape. The colonizers associated with the Dutch Reformed Church. Then the German Moravian church sent a missionary to South Africa. On July 9, 1737, a young Georg Smith arrived in Cape Town as a Moravian missionary to work with the indigenous Khoi people. He settled in the “Valley of Grace”. The clergy of the Dutch Reformed Church expressed disapproval with Moravian missionary. This forced Georg to abandon his work and depart from South Africa. He had been there for only a short time and had only one convert, a poor woman called Vehettge Magdalena, when he was driven from the country. Georg never returned to Africa; He returned to his homeland thinking he had been a failure. Georg died shortly after returning home. He died on his knees praying for Africa. From Georg’s diary, we learn that Magdalena was a bright and eager learner. The young missio...
