Hobo Revival-Meetings Poem by Gert Strydom

During the Bible study in the morning
during the Sabbath school of the senior church members
where the church members do talk about parts of scripture
in a church that hold Saturdays holy
the head elder (a certain doctor in the East Rand)
is seriously convinced
and do want to bring others to his view
that the holy day of the Lord God
is not meant to be a day of rest,
he also says that the Lord God did not rest on it.

That congregation begins with a weekly revival meeting
with a puppetry at times
at Butler Park
to bring hobos and street people and children
to the Lord God,
to provide them with food
and sometimes with blankets in winter.

The church members are continually earnestly requested
to prepare soup in the winter
and stew and rice in summer as an endowment.

Where the Bible studies has got evangelism as theme,
church members are continually made aware
that they are not doing their Christian duty
if they are not involved
in the Butler Park revival-service,

later other outreach programs
for old people and children
and at hospitals are launched

and I who work three days a week for free
at the Meals on Wheels community program,
where early in the morning I do peel pumpkins,
I do slice them into pieces,
do peel some carrots,
sometimes onions, or green beans

where the meals on wheels do provide food to old people,
to children in orphanages
and I do not want to be saddled with work
on a weekend as well

and before I do know it
my own wife who manages the Meals on Wheels
of Springs are involved with this
to prepare food on Fridays,
again to heat it up on a Saturday afternoon
at three o'clock,
to distribute the food
when the head elder
and his glory hallelujah click
stand at one side talking with each other

and there is nobody to help
to wash the dishes
after this commotion

and on a Thursday evening
a bolt of lightning bashes down
upon the big walk in refrigerator
at the Springs meals on wheels
and where I do come back
with a deposit book from the bank,
with a load of vegetables
that I had negotiated
from the market to grant
to meals on wheels

there is a big crisis
as it is past
thirty-three degrees Celsius
and the large walk in refrigerator is broken,
the food for Butler Park is spoiled

and there is waited upon people
to come and do the repair work,
the vegetables that I brought,
are used immediately
and at nine o'clock
that Friday night
my wife comes tired from work at home
after she had prepared huge amounts of potato, beetroot
and carrot salad.

At the communion service at the church,
my wife comes only to wash my feet,
but she is missing from the church service
as she is busy baking pies
for Butler Park
and do not even get the chance
to use wine and bread
as the Butler Park revival-service
is getting precedence.