Heat waves danced above the burning sands. A tiny, black Bushman strode purposefully eastward across the vast Kalahari Desert, glancing frequently at a small gray cloud in the sky ahead. Sekoba was obeying instructions given to him in a dream. An angel had directed him to look for a man named William, who would teach him about the true God.

Image © John Baker from GoodSalt.com

As wise men once followed a star, so Sekoba followed the cloud until it stopped over a village. But when he told the inhabitants of the village about his dream they mocked and laughed at him. That night the angel appeared again and told him to continue his eastward journey. After traveling over the desert for nearly a month, Sekoba found Pastor William Moyo, who had been prepared for his coming through a dream.

For several weeks Pastor William taught Sekoba about God. In turn the Bushman told a marvelous story of God’s guidance. As a young man he had felt a strong impression that he must learn to read and write, so now he was able to read Pastor William’s Bible for himself. Several years earlier when hungry lions were killing many cattle, he felt impressed that a higher power controlled the lions. When he prayed to this power the lions left the area. When he heard of Christianity and began seeking God in earnest, an angel in a dream had led him to Pastor William.

After Sekoba had learned the good news of the gospel he took Pastor William back with him to tell the rest of his family and prepare them for baptism. And that is how, at a camp meeting in 1948, the first converts among the Bushmen were baptized.

The Bushmen are a short race, averaging about five feet in height, who traditionally wander in small groups, hunting and gathering wild fruit. They are a nomadic people who have learned to survive in the harsh desert region of Botswana.

Botswana’s climate is generally arid; the Kalahari Desert, which covers the southwestern part of the country, receives less than nine inches of rain a year. For many years they have had contact with Seventh-day Adventists through the dedicated doctors at Kanye Hospital. In the next Inside Story, Dr. K. Seligman tells of one encounter.

To be continued.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at www.adventistmission.org

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