Life is a journey.

We see but we do not see.

When I was 67 years old, journeyed to South Africa, with an Exchange Program in pursuit of my Master of Divinity Degree.  There were fifteen other members of the Divinity Program of Drew University on this journey

This was the first time that I had ever been on the continent of Africa.  When I disembarked from the plane and walking on the tarmac, I felt that I had gone full circle and had completed a part of my journey.

We arrived in Johannesburg and visited Soweto. There was a great contrast between the modern builds of Johannesburg and the shanty town of Soweto.

We then went to Pretoria and saw the 9-meter-tall statue of
Nelson Mandella, just down from the Union Building. (“Like an ancient temple adorning over the city it governs, the Union Buildings are a modern-day acropolis, built at the highest point of South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria, it forms the official seat of South Africa’s government and houses The Presidency.”)

In Pietermaritzburg, we had joint meetings with students and faculty from the Ujamaa Centre UKZN at UKZN Pietermaritzburg.  With Pietermaritzburg as our anchor, we journeyed to Nelson Mandela Capture Site, Howick.  Here in the mountains the stillness of nature surrounded me.  The beauty of the countryside at sunset was inspirational.

We also visited Ozwathini.  There were attended a religious service of the Shembe, Nazareth Baptist Church.  Next, we took a trip to Durban.  This ocean front resort city is beautiful.  Again, the same contrast in the life of the people was evident as in all of South Africa.

At the Shembe, Nazareth Baptist Church I took this image of the church leaders talking to our bus driver.

Years later I decided to digitally process this image that I had captured.

This is the result, Spreading the Gospel.

Now that our paths have crossed let us travel together on this collective journey of wonder and beauty.