Out of Africa

A dentist, in the suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa, Bouke Bokma wanted to find a way to spread the word of the Creator in his country, considered by most evolutionary leaders to be the “Cradle of Humankind.” He found a simple but imaginative way to spark conversations with patients—dinosaur models.

Bouke didn’t think deeply about evolution until he heard detailed evolutionary teaching in his teens. At that point, he recognized evolution was contrary to God’s Word and became passionate about creation. He has collected more than 200 models of dinosaurs and Ice Age animals, which he displays on the wall in his dental surgery room. When people ask why he has dinosaurs in a dental office, they give him an opportunity to talk about creation and Jesus Christ, the Creator.

A simple start can grow into an international outreach.

That was a start, but Bouke has bigger plans. He wants to build a creation museum on an 86-acre farm he bought near the Sterk-fontein Caves, a tourist destination where many Australopithecus fossils—supposed ancestors of humankind—have been found.

The first stage of the planned museum is a creation garden, with separate themed displays for each of the six days of Creation, and a prayer garden (representing Day Seven), where visitors are encouraged to reflect on and commune with their Creator.

Bouke hopes to finish the Creation Garden in 2015 or 2016, and then plan the museum itself. It will begin as a 33-foot (10 m) section of Noah’s Ark, totaling about 11,000 square feet (1,000 m²). More sections can be added as God provides, until the museum reaches the full length of the Ark, with fourteen 33-foot sections in all.

In addition to planning the museum, this creative dentist speaks about creation whenever he gets the opportunity in churches, schools, universities, and other gatherings. In 2011 he organized South Africa’s first creation conference in Johannesburg. Since then, he has organized conferences in the city of Centurion in 2012 and at his farm in 2014. He is preparing for another in July 2015 in the nearby country of Zambia.

When we have resolve and willingness to seek opportunities to share our faith, a simple start can grow into an international outreach.