The last three days of our journey were spent at The Mpumalanga Lectureship of the Churches of Christ in Southern Africa.  This the 27^th annual gathering to build a stronger community of believers and expand the kingdom of God in Southern Africa.  The lectureship began on Friday Morning, and continued through Sunday. More than 3,000 participants in the conference hailed from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Malawi.  We were very proud to represent the USA among these faithful saints.  The theme of the lectureship in 2008 was Building and restoring true and uncompromised faith. 

   

We were welcomed to Mpumalanga by the honorable Linah Malatji, Executive Mayor of Emalahleni Local Municipality, which includes the City of Witbank where the lectureship was held.  Among the guest speakers was Brother Ernest Cato and Roger Madison.  Those attending the lectureship from the USA were filled with three days of workshops, sermons, presentations, and wonderful fellowship with our Southern African brothers and sisters in Christ.

                    

There are few words to describe the emersion into the culture of Africa that we experienced during this time of mssionary outreach.  We were welcomed warmly, but also reminded of the great need that still remains for those struggling to uplift a nation.  I am reminded of the passage from 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, where Paul speaks about the Macedonian churches --

"Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and

Today was a very busy day for me and for our group of travelers. I spent the day in business meetings exploring opportunities that are the result of connections made through iZania. These meetings confirmed that business opportunities are available in Africa for those who can add value, and are willing to work at building quality relationships needed to forge profitable outcomes.

Our primary content today comes from a thirteen year-old traveler who visited Soweto. Below are her own words to describe that experience.

Going to Soweto was an amazing experience! We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. The most touching part of those three was the ugly. Seeing families live in one room when their house is so bad that it's not even considered a house being made out of whatever they could fine really got to me. Waving at the children that lived there and just looking at how their clothes are and their environment compared to mine just made me feel truly blessed. But every time I think about the children I just want to do something about it because no one deserves to live like that.

Another part that touched me was going to our tour guides parent's house and seeing his niece. She was 13 just like me but yet something seemed different about me and her. When I looked at her closely I noticed that she was a lot smaller than me. From an American point of view she would look like an 8 year old American girl. It made me wonder why there is a difference between us. The best part of all is

 

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

"They invited us into the tent!  Regular tourists wouldn't get to see this part of South Africa." That was the most apt description by one of our travelers of the reception that was organized by our South African brothers and sisters from the churches of Christ in Tshwane. 

We visited the Church of Christ  in the Atteridgeville Township for a welcome reception after a long day of travel and relocation from Cape Town to Pretoria.  The former townships are now incorporated into the metropolitan government council.  Yet the township citizens still experience a deprived life.  Much progress is being made, but the churches are still struggling.  This congregation worships in a tent, and they are working hard to raise the funds for construction of a church building. 

                                    

 

Brother Ernest Cato delivered a Gospel message of support and encouragement with the aid of interpretation from Brother Tebogo Ramatsui, the minister in Atteridgeville.   We were entertained by a choir of young South Africans, and their melodic a capella voices brought some of our travelers to tears.  Darien Flowers, one of our teenage travelers said, "I wish I could bring all of my classmates here to see the real South Africa."

 

Just when we thought the trip couldn't get any better, we were lifted to a higher level of connection with our African heritage.  Even though it is not likely that any of us are direct descendants of the nations of Southern Africa,

Monday, March 17, 2008

We started our day at the top of Table Mountain. The view defies description. It is as if the mountain is sheltering the city of Cape Town as it is tucked into a bay looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean. The cable car ride to the top is a breath-taking experience, as it appears that we were scaling the shear face of the mountain. The cable car ascended 1,036 meters in about five minutes. Nothing prepared us for the view the harbor and of Robbin Island from the top. The look out over Lion's Head Peak toward the Atlantic Ocean was like the lion was almost watching the mountain protectively. Now we know why the local people call this God's country. Only God could endow a location with such majestic beauty.

It was hard to follow such an act, but we enjoyed the scenic trip to the Cape of Good Hope, the Southwestern most point of the continent of Africa - facing the Atlantic Ocean. Not much farther away is where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. To mark the occasions we took a picture at Cape Good Hope, and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Two Oceans Restaurant.

 

The tour to the Cape of Good Hope was highlighted by views of Ostriches, Baboons, and a fascinating visit to a colony of African Penguins. Perhaps, like me, you probably never thought of Penguins in Africa. This was the highlight of the animal life we encountered without visiting a wild game reservation.

Our evening ended with a wonderful visit to a restaurant in Cape Town - Mama

South Africa is the Land of Ubuntu. When challenged to build a new nation following the end of Apartheid, Nelson Mandela challenged the nation to embrace the spirit of Ubuntu. This challenged all people Black and White to work together to craft a better future for everyone. The result is that the people of South Africa ask all visitors with a warm smile, "How do you like our new South Africa?"

Our community at iZania is inspired by the spirit of Ubuntu - an African concept of unity and sharing with other people that celebrates the success of others because I can only become the person I am because of who you are. This concept is important in a highly connected world built on the kindness of strangers. Ubuntu refers to the spirit of our community.

For the next ten days I will be traveling with a group of people from the USA representing the South Africa Outreach Program, a missionary outreach group formed by my wife and me in 1996, during the three years that we lived in South Africa. We have been helping disadvantaged people in South Africa and assisting with cultural exchange visits and church growth for over 12 years. This is the 4^th group that we have hosted on a trip to the motherland of Africa. I will be sharing our experiences in my blog post. Please check daily, or subscribe to this blog to receive my daily updates .

Friday, March 14 

                                         

We gathered from places far and near at our rendezvous at Dulles International Airport in