Six months into his mission to wheel a wooden cross from Cape Town to Jerusalem, Reini Coetzee’s epic trek is getting very real: he will soon be entering uncharted territory in Zimbabwe.
“It’s like a big doorway that I’m going to go through — into the unknown, into Africa,” said the veteran of thousands of kilometres of crosswalking in a tele-interview as he was approaching Polokwane. He has been out of SA once before, when he walked from Cape Town to Windhoek, Namibia.
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In 2020, when he walked from Cape Town to Mussina — he stood on Beit Bridge, the border between SA and Zimbabwe. But his imminent bridge crossing will mark the beginning of a long, solo trek up the African continent.
“I’ve got peace in my heart to walk fearlessly in the Lord. So I am excited and ready to trust the Lord,” said Reini.
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He said he believes the cross will speak to people on his long walk through Africa as it has in SA — bringing a message of salvation and of hope.
“This is a different crosswalk. There is something different about people,” said Reini about his walk so far. “I think it’s the time that we are in — that makes people hunger. A lot of people stop at me and pray or want prayer. There’s a lot of salvation happening on the road as well.”
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He said truckers, who greeted him, stopped for a quick chat, and gave him water, continued to be “my biggest cheerleaders”.
He said he is physically well. His left shoulder was a bit bruised and tender from pushing the cross but he was bearing up. Sometimes there were “long stretches of loneliness”. But he said God was meeting all of his needs for food and accommodation through kind people. Sometimes he even got to soak in a bath, which he loves.
He said that along the way he had already made some contacts which had led to promises of accommodation in cities in Zimbabwe and Tanaznia.
In June, an old crosswalking friend, Sivenkosi Njoli joined Reini in Colesburg, with the intention of walking with him all the way to Israel. But Reini said “Sive” had to leave him about two months ago as his family needed him to help on their farm.
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