By Fred Stevens
About 150 people from around the world met in eastern and southern Africa during the Feast. The "Exotic Africa Festival Tour '95" was an idea from Randal Dick, director of Church Administration International, and John Halford, now regional coordinator for the United Kingdom and Africa.
Those participating in the tour met in Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct. 7 for an orientation meeting and then divided into six groups to travel to African sites.
A group of 37 people went to Mombasa, Kenya. Another 28 people kept the first five days with members in Nairobi, Kenya, and then went to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, for the last three days. Twenty people started the Feast in Nairobi, then drove several hours north to visit with members living near Meru, Kenya.
Three other groups kept the Feast in Southern Africa: 41 flew to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe; 20 traveled to Lusaka and Livingstone, Zambia; and 11 others stayed four days at the Warmbad, South Africa, site and four days in Blantyre, Malawi.
In a tape-recorded message played to the group while in Johannesburg, Mr. Halford said: "Africa is a place filled with warm friendly people just like you. The ways that they are the same are going to be so much greater than the ways you will find them different."
And it was the people of Africa that made the biggest impression on the visitors. African members gave richly to their guests in love, warmth, hospitality and fellowship.
Sid Boteler, a local church elder from Jackson, Mississippi, addressed brethren in Victoria Falls. He said that memories of the landscapes, animals and natural wonders of Africa will fade, but the memories of fellow Church members in Africa will not.
Bob Klynsmith, acting regional director for Southern Africa, said the impact of so many visitors to these sites contributed greatly to the success of the Festival. "The tour," he said, "was a success story."
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