The Gospel Call to a Bushman
D Mogegess

Life of the bush people that God sent His angel with the message of salvation. His name is Sekhuba, and the story I relate I heard from his own lips. One night during 1953, Sekhuba dreamed a dream in which he saw a man in glory descend from heaven who told him to go and seek for the church of God. In that same dream this illiterate Bushman who formerly knew no other people than his own, and no language but theirs, was taught the Tswana language, and not only to speak but read it. He was shown the Holy Scripture and taught its message from Genesis to Revelation. He was also shown the Spirit of Prophecy books and given a concept of their importance. All this took place in the night in a dream.

The spirit of God moved him to go without delay to look for God's church as revealed to him in his dream. He told his wife of the dream and then set out on his journey into the unknown, traveling 150 miles on foot from the thick bushes of his home country he began to search for this wonderful company of people he had dreamed of - the church of God. At last he came to a place where he found a minister of the Tribal Church of Bechuanaland known as the L. M. S. or London Missionary Society. He talked with the Serowe the capital to be tried before the Paramount Chief. Remember that the Bushmen are as wild as the lions and tigers. They still go naked; men, women and children putting on only a small piece of skin to cover their nakedness. If they meet strangers they do not hesitate to kill them at once by shooting their bows with poisonous tipped arrows. Know that when you meet such a creature like being, be sure of death. Either you die, or you kill him first. But now, thank god, for the Lord of Heaven and His angel to bring these beast like beings the message of redemption.

In Serowe he was taken for trial. He was cross-questioned, but was able to answer all the questions courteously and firmly. He told the chief that so long as he is alive he will declare the message of the Living God, even the message of the God of the Sabbath. The chief ordered him not to speak of the new teaching, but he refused to stop. The chief and his court then took him to the Native Commissioner for judgment. He witnessed before the magistrate, and though threatened with the stiffest penalties he still stood firm to the truth he had received from God. He announced to the court the true God of Heaven and His Sabbath. Finally of the black-covered book and the other brown books. The pastor showed him the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy volumes, which he recognized.

Sekhuba invited the pastor to visit his people and explain the message of salvation to them. This the pastor gladly did, using Sekhuba as his interpreter. His elder brother, his sister and his wife accepted the message and I personally baptized them. Later Sekhuba converted another ten Bushmen who were also baptized and Pastor Webster and I ordained the Bushman as the church elder, evangelist and pastor of the first SDA Bushman Church.