Written by André Viljoen
Article source: Gateway News
The cross has power that I can’t explain,” said a 72-year-old Malawian pastor who has been accompanying evangelist Reini Coetzee during the Malawi stretch of his Crosswalk Africa trek from Cape Town to Jerusalem. Pastor Bernard Frera Mlombwa, who has been with Reini for much of the time since he crossed the border from Mozambique into Dedza, Malawi, said that as soon as he helped Reini lift his heavy wooden cross, pain he had been experiencing in his legs left him. Thereafter he had no difficulty walking 21 km with Reini on the first day of his Malawi crosswalk.
A Godly partnership
On a recent video call, in the Chikangawa area, he said his spirit connected with Reini from their first meeting and he hopes to be walking alongside him and the cross when they step over into Tanzania for the next stage of the mission. Pastor Bernard is part of the logistical support backup team arranged by the Evangelical Association of Malawi, which has been facilitating Gospel outreaches in each town and village along Reini’s route. He said: “I have seen so many people giving their lives to Jesus, which doesn’t happen much in churches. But as we go along the road, there are so many people who see the cross and then come forward to say: ‘I need to have Jesus with me.’”
Running with vision
Bishop Amin Mwamulima, who was also with Reini when I called, said: “We really appreciate the vision to seek the lost and to bring hope, peace, and the love of Christ to Africa through the cross, which God revealed to Reini. As the Bible says in Habakkuk 2:2, ‘Write down the vision, make it clear so that the hearer may run with it.’ So, as the Malawi Church we are running with it. We have accepted the vision for the glory of God.”
Reaching people of all ages
Reini said that in each country he has been so far, God has raised people who have supported his mission. The backup and ministry has been uniquely different in each country. In Malawi he has been surrounded by people of all ages throughout his journey. He has been busy preaching more than ever before, praying with people who are hungry for God, and playing with children.
The warm heart of Africa
Reini said the people of Malawi he has encountered have been living up to the nation’s reputation for being “the warm heart of Africa”. Reini also said that a truck driver he had met on the road in South Africa had stopped again to greet him in Malawi. During his long walk, truck drivers have not only been his “biggest fans”, but they have also brought him food parcels sent by Maryke Fourie, who serves Crosswalk Africa’s administration in South Africa.
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Date published: 13/07/2026
Feature image: Provided by Gateway News
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