Not far from the station was a beautiful amphitheatre built out of the grey mountain stone. Because of this, the locals named the church, Church from the Hill. It was built in an oval shape – to represent eternity or completeness, had six high windows, a tin roof and a big steel cross that pointed out from the roof. The cross was quite a sight. It was shiny and beautifully crafted and at dusk, it seemed as though there was illumination coming from the inside of it reflecting outwardly. Some believed the glow was the light of God fighting off the darkness in Kasilami. Others took the practical view, that there must have been a light bulbs installed on the inside of the cross to cause it to give that reflection when the sky is dark.

The shiny steel cross was a donation to the church. It was donated to the church when the locals were finished building this house of the Lord, by the local town mayor. He did it because he saw the church as an aid to his ministry. He believed that the church would stabilize the people – turn them from just people into responsible citizens, furthermore, groom them into a functional community and finally group them into families. The locals receiving the cross at face value, they were very excited when they received the cross – its size and its design made a lasting impression on them.

Those few that were knowledgeable from working with minerals in the mines, made rough estimates about its monetary worth. Others guessed how long it must have taken to make. And so the excitement swept this town. And still today, the uniqueness of the cross is still a conversation-piece for all tourists and visitors that see this eye pleaser for the first time.

The cross is not the only unique feature about the church. The door of the church was no ordinary sight either. It was built in an arch shape; it was double-sided and abnormally big in size. It was carved out of the wood found in the local forest. The door handles were made out of pure gold. The bar of gold was given as a peace-offering gift from the Pirates to the local Bishop.

Church from the Hill was run under the leadership of The Bishop. He was a short little man, but a gentleman, a real leader in the church and the community and very charismatic. He was known much around town for his controversial sermons. As a result, the practise of going to church was not popular amongst most men in this town.

I guess some men did not like to be rebuked in front of their spouses. He preached easily on men who left their families. Men who sought after the ladies of the night. Men who attacked their wives physically and emotionally. He spoke also to women who did not submit to their husbands. Women who neglected their duties as care givers. He spoke to children who were disrespectful to their parents. I guess people did not want to hear the truth or they do not like to hear the truth from the man of the cloth. Coming from his mouth, they felt judged and condemned, therefore decided the kingdom of God is only for saints.

Off the pulpit he was a real philanthropist. He fed the hungry; he clothed the poor and always had time for anyone who made time. He coached young boys in sport. He was excellent on his feet. He was fast and supple, a great dribbler on the field. His nickname on the soccer field was Sharpshoot. During practice he would tell of the great teams he had played for in his young days and the many great goals he has scored. The stories were interesting and judging on his performance on the field, it sounded very possible.

He told of how full stadiums would cheer out his name. He wanted to go far with soccer, but there were no channels, so for him it remained a hobby. He trained the locals hard every Saturday. Every year he entered one player into the annual novices’ tournament and some people he put through did very well.

Except for this he had quite a past himself. He lived all his life in service to the country. His priesthood began in prison. He was a political prisoner. All the greats that have supposedly come past our town and left, he knew them all.

“Times were tough for us in prison. Times were tough for all.” He would often say. “So I began to pray a lot to ask God for a change in our situation in this country,” he said. “But God wanted me to serve Him with worship and not with political combats; I have not stopped praying since my release in prison.”

He loved the Lord and he loved his calling as a Bishop that was very clear to see. His dedication to his ministry far surpassed what anyone would ever expect of him. At the beginning of every New Year, the Bishop descends the pulpit and finds a place somewhere where he can be alone with God. He will remain at that particular place to fast and pray until such time as the Lord delivers a message to him and tells him to go back home. He does this in preparation for the year ahead.

He asks God for wisdom to help him Shephard His people. Upon one such a time, the Bishop was led by the Spirit of the Lord to go and pray in the local forest. However, the pirates were hiding out in the forest after their shipwreck. No one in Kasilami knew about their habitation in the forest. Every day, the Pirates worked tirelessly like ants digging holes and hiding their treasures that they had come into the forest with. The Pirates were rich in things of material value. They had all types of mineral, gold, silver and bronze. They had rubies and other valuable stones. They had spices, and perfumes and rich oils and they also had deadly missiles.

The Bishop had been in the forest for 29 days and in that time he had not had a single crump to eat or a drop to drink nor heard the sound of God’s voice addressing him. He was weary and faint and desperate and with the scorching of the sun against his weak body, he collapsed.

The Pirates were going about their business in the forest, setting up shelters, laying down branches to sleep on, when they stumbled into the Bishop. He was weary and desolate. The Pirates that found him panicked. They assumed the locals had discovered their arrival and had heard of their hidden treasures. The Pirates picked him up and took him back to their leader.

When the Pirates arrived with him at their camp, all the other Pirates panicked, fearing that their treasures were dangers.

“And that?” the leader asked before they even put him down.

“Alien,” they answered. “Found him hiding in the forest.”

“Kill him,” another shouted.

“No,” said the leader sternly. Pointing to the spot where they must put him down. “Put his body down and pass me my stick,” he commanded.

He poked the Bishop’s body with his stick. He searched his pockets and found nothing of value to the eye.

“Poor man,” he muttered to himself and the rest of the Pirates laughed.

“Makes sense why he would come after our treasure,” remarked another.

“Bring me a barrel of water and many tins,” instructed the leader.

No one moved. All surprised that he wanted to spare his life and not shoot him down like a dog.

“NOW!” He ordered grinding his teeth.

The Pirates went and did as they were instructed. Found the water and many tins and returned at once. They stood still, hurdled together waiting to see what their leader was going to do. He took the tin, drew water from the barrel and splashed the Bishop carelessly. His cloak was drenched and dripping with water. But he lay still – motionless.

“This man is dead,” said another.

“He breathes still,” replied one of the pirates that found him.

“Quiet please,” said the leader.

He bend a little, drew some more water out of the barrel and splashed the Bishop again and still nothing happened.

The Pirates oooohed and aaaahed as the water hit the Bishop’s body.

The Pirates began to whisper amongst themselves.

“He really is dead,” said one.

“He is poor and dead,” remarked another and the Pirates laughed out loud.

“QUIET PEOPLE QUIET!” shouted their leader and they became quiet as mice.

“Can one of you hold his mouth open,” he asked.

Two leaped forward. The one pirate held his body down and the other forced his mouth open. The leader poured water into his mouth and the Bishop began to gag and cough and so he was awakened. At first he was dazed and confused but later frightened at the size and the sight of the Pirates.

The leader interrogated him profusely about his whereabouts and his interest in the forest when he has a home. The pirates did not believe the Bishop when he tried to explain who he was and what he was doing out there. They nursed him back to life by forcefully giving him food and water. They tortured him for many days in the forest forcing him to tell them how he found out they were in the forest or knew of their calculative plans to put Kasilami under siege and take over. They beat him and beat him. It was not the pain of the beatings that was killing him, it was the fact that they broke his fast and he could not hear from God that was torturous to his soul.

The Bishop went on praying in his soul for clarity and for aid from God. He asked God to reveal to the Pirates whom he was. They could not read, nor had either one of them ever seen a Bible, nor heard of God – so the words he told them made very little impact on them. He sat tied up to a tree and was loosed up for interrogations and beatings. He continued to pray in his soul for the people of Kasilami. He heard how the Pirates were planning to siege the town and take over the land. He prayed that God must intervene for the sake of the little children.

The day of the attack finally arrived and the Pirates implemented as they had originally planned. The town of Kasilami was caught under heavy fire, unaware, unprepared. They stopped everything and everyone. The take-over was bloody. People lost their lives. People lost their treasures. As the pirates enjoyed total reign of the town and the forest, it was then that they learnt from photographs they saw in the mission house and interaction with the locals, whom the man they keep torturing in the forest was.

The locals quickly figured out that the Pirates had the Bishop under their captivity. The town of Kasilami went into totally mourning. The Bishop was their leader, their light. The locals were angered greatly by this discovery. They began to rise up under Madiba and retaliated against the Pirates and they were victorious. But where was the Bishop, where were the Pirates hiding him?

***

Tell us: Where do you think the Bishop is? What did they do to him?