Written by André Viljoen
Crosswalk Africa evangelist Reini Coetzee, who is currently in Tanzania, continues to be amazed by how God has been going ahead of him on his mission trek from Cape Town to Jerusalem. In an interview he said he did not expect that his time in Tanzania would be like his time in Malawi, where every step of his way he was supported in a coordinated way by the Evangelical Association of Malawi and The Way of the Cross. “Maybe the Lord wants something else to happen here?” he mused.
Blessed with a car
He shared God does, indeed, seem to have another plan. Veteran Tanzania-based missionary Rudi Korda has donated his personal Land Rover to him to use as a backup vehicle for the rest of his journey to Israel. The 70-year-old missionary preacher, who is originally from Brakpan, South Africa, said his heart was stirred when he heard that many people had come to faith in Jesus along the road travelled by Reini and the cross. Then, in a dream, God told him to give his car to Reini. He said that in his dream he had “such joy” about giving away the car which was dedicated to the Lord for the work of the ministry. The vehicle is 46 years old and he has owned it for 23 years. But with some work on it, it could complete the journey across Africa, said Rudi, who is a construction plant mechanic by trade. He said that at first his family was sceptical about his decision to give away his only car, but now they have a peace about it.
Rudi’s missionary journey
Rudi, whose missionary journey began in Namibia, said he and his family headed to East Africa over 25 years ago in response to a calling from God. At the time he set out by road with his wife, Mariette, and four children, he had two Namibian cents to his name, knew nobody in East Africa, and had no letters of introduction. But he said God has always met their needs and led them well. While pursuing his calling of ministering to “the lost in the house of the Lord” (Matt 10:5-13), he said there have been times when he reached a group in a remote area and found they had been expecting him. For most of their time in Tanzania, they had been based in the coastal town of Tanga in the northeast of the country, where his wife and a daughter had sensed God calling them. In recent years Rudi and Mariette have moved to Mbeya in southwest Tanzania to be closer to their family.
Searching for a backup driver
Before Reini arrived in Tanzania, Rudi’s daughter, Amelia, had asked her father if he was interested in backup driving for Reini during his time in the country. He agreed to it but had to withdraw after he injured his legs in a motorcycle accident. Reini said there is a possibility that somebody from South African will join him in Tanzania and drive the vehicle all the way to Jerusalem. Maryke Fourie, a police captain from Pretoria, who handles Crosswalk Africa’s administration, is working on the driver matter. She is in Tanzania now after flying to Lilongwe, Malawi, to join Reini as he crossed the border into Tanzania.
This article appears in the October 2026 issue of JOY! Magazine. Read the digital version of this magazine here: joygifts.co.za
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Date published: 16/09/2026
Feature image: Sourced from original article published in the October issue of JOY! Magazine
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