iZania Blogs

Today was a full day of enriching experiences. We started the day worshipping with the Athlone Church of Christ. Athlone is a former Colored Township outside Cape Town. The minister there is Peter Manuel. We were honored guests for the worship services there, and Ernest Cato, the minister traveling with us, was the guest speaker. We enjoyed the singing and fellowship tremendously. I met Peter Manuel in 1995. He has worked diligently with this congregation and it has grown into a very strong and active congregation with many outreach programs in the local community. The most ambitious work that they are engaged in is a missionary outreach to the nation of Namibia.

Namibia is an almost forgotten country bordering South Africa to the Northwest on the Atlantic Ocean. It has a small population and is relatively poor. They gained their independence from South Africa in 1990 and its capital city is Windhoek. It is named after the Namib Desert.

Following worship services, we took a ferry to Robbin Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 17 of his 27 years in prison. We had the unique experience of visiting the cell where he stayed, and I was able to actually enter and close the bars in one of the single cells. The brief experience of such a small space with no toilet or other amenities except a thin mattress on the floor was quite chilling. We toured the group cells, and our tour guide was a former prisoner who told us about the harsh