Fire and Violence

A massive fire has been raging around one of the townships we are working in, just minutes from where we live in Cape Town, and then last night one of the pastors was killed. The township is called Massipumelele. Last night when the fire was blazing, there were emergency vehicles coming......we thought it was for the fire, but they turned into Massaphumele.The pastor who was shot and killed - Pastor Phillip Mokson - is a very good man who has done much good for the community of 18,000 people. He was a real elder in the community. There was a man in the church that he had been counseling. He was struggling with depression. He came into a prayer meeting with a gun, and shot the pastor in front of his family He just lost it. The pastor's family, his grandson, daughters and others - were there and saw it. The pastor has daughters with young children - he was the family patriarch.

Word has spread and people are all gathering at the church from the community. Members of our project team are helping to serve tea and snacks to people gathering at the church from the community.

This kind of violence hasn't happened in the community in a quite a while, so it's really shaken people. Please pray for God to bring good for the community out of the loss of this dear man's life. With the fire burning for 2 days (it's still going this morning, but smaller), there has been an uneasy "spirit" here.

Please be in prayer for the pastor's family and the community.