After returning Sears and family moved to South Africa where they bought a farm. They helped elect the local assembly of Johannesburg and he was appointed to the Auxiliary Board for Africa under Hand of the Cause Músá Banání. Sears gained a job with the South African Broadcasting Corporation pre-recording radio programs and using the free time for trips to support the religion. There was another brief trip to North America - Sears in Canada possibly while adjusting passports for a longer stay and gave a talk while Marguerite was in Illinois. Returned in 1956 Sears was elected as chairman of the new regional assembly for South and West Africa. Among many trips Sears drove into Zulu territory seeking out a pioneer with John Quigley and also managed a quick trip to the States for a July televised program on the religion for Chicago educational television where he served as off-camera announcer as well as one of the interviewees. However a new law in South Africa, the Industrial Conciliation Act, 1956, set a standard that mixed groups could only have one race governing the group. The Baháʼís chose to elect only black African leadership. While in South Africa circa September 1957 Sears finished off the preface to his first book - "Release the Sun". Sears was briefly in the States in October, before returning to South Africa and learning he was appointed a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi, along with Enoch Olinga and John Robarts, with responsibilities for west and South Africa. The telegram arrived late in October from Músá Banání, just before Shoghi Effendi died Nov 4.