PAUL MSIZA from the

President The door is WIDE OPEN The congress has come and gone, but the experience is still

fresh in our minds and spirit. As part of the local team it was like a dream when we saw people arriving through our airports and seeing those long lines at the registration desk. It reminded me of 1994 when the majority of South Africans

stood in very long lines to cast their votes for the first time in the history of the country. In 1994 I was privileged to be responsible for one of the voting stations. As an official I had to be at the station as early 5:00 a.m. to make preparations before the station opened. The official day for elections was April 27. However, senior citizens, people with disabilities and expectant mothers were allowed to cast their votes on April 26. I was surprised to find people already waiting in the line to cast their vote. Even after attending a training workshop, we still had no clue what to expect. The main challenge was to assist persons who were semi- or totally illiterate and those who had problems with their sight. Voting is supposed to be by secret ballot, but there were elderly men and women who were hearing impaired and had vision problems. Some could not read. For those persons, voting was not a secret. When such persons received a ballot paper they declared

that they could not read or see properly. My responsibility was to call the party representative and international observers to listen to the person’s choice and to help to make a cross next to the political party of choice. What made matters worse was that some elderly people would say very loudly, “I want Mandela, show me Mandela.” There would be an outburst of laughter from officials and those standing in lines. Even when I would ask them to whisper their choice, they whispered very loud. After casting their vote some would shout for joy and do a traditional dance, rejoicing that they had voted. Some shook my hand and thanked the staff as they departed the polling station. This was the joy that finally South Africa was free. Some of those elderly people were in their late sixties up to even their nineties. They were voting for the first time! Their joy was much deeper than the younger generation. These people felt that God gave them an opportunity to vote before they departed, unlike their parents who died under the era of segregation. South Africa was like a giant prison for its inhabitants. In 1994 on April 26 and 27, the lock of the door of apartheid fell off, the door was swung wide open and the people were free. When I saw the congress delegates standing in the lines to

register, and as they went into the halls for the worship services, focus groups or Bible studies, it was an emotional experience and

true testimony to the goodness of our God. During the apartheid era there were places we were not allowed to enter, or we would be under tight police guard because we were deemed to be trespassing. The International Convention Center (ICC) would have been infiltrated by secret police who would register for the congress to make sure that every preaching, teaching and discussion was taped and sent to the special security police force. We would not have had the privilege to

listen to presenters like Frank Chikane because he was among those who were not allowed to speak in public or even travel outside Soweto. That part of our history is now behind us and we can testify that indeed “Christ opens the locked doors.” Some doors look like they are made of steel and that they will remain forever. But the hosting of the congress in South Africa, the gathering and the celebration of hundreds of people from 82 countries, is a powerful testimony. The singing and the dancing in the corridors of the ICC is a testimony to our God. In the past, the dancing and the African traditional worship were labeled as uncivilized and were prohibited in the church. Today we testify that it is possible that Christ opens closed doors. This is the message of hope we will carry through until 2020. We need to continue to declare this message that Christ gave to the church in Philadelphia. “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Rev 3:7). Christ is indeed the door.

OCTOBER/DECEMBER 2015

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