The Scriptures vibrantly affirm the supremacy of God's government. We are assured that citizens who put God first in their hearts and minds will feel His guarding, guiding presence in their daily lives. Through their efforts to live in obedience to God, they can rise above political rhetoric, conflicting ideologies and parties, and even devastating violence.

Nowhere has this been more vividly borne out than in South Africa's first all-race democratic elections in April. (See related article by Dorothy Maubane, p. 11.) Despite many delays and threats of violent disruption, that historic event went ahead, with nonwhites voting for the first time—including the supporters of Chief Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party, which decided to participate at the eleventh hour. Many people, in a nation where 78 percent of the population profess to be Christians, had been praying for a harmonious outcome, and they rejoiced in the spirit that prevailed.

In a telephone interview with the Sentinel, Michael Cassidy, founder and team leader of the evangelical organization African Enterprise, confirmed that he had made a personal appeal to political leaders to humble themselves before God, to forgive each other, and to engender a spirit of calm and tolerance among their followers as a sign of political maturity.

On another occasion he had said: "I believe we are moving into a period of history in which the church has a unique contribution to bring. We can help create the right kind of climate for the politicians to work out the way to a new South Africa .... It is not just constitutional examples we need, but examples in good human relationships. The church can help deal with fear, bitterness, mistrust and hatred. Justice, after all, is love enshrined in structures."

Mr. Cassidy also admitted to having played a "modest" role in inviting an additional mediator of deep spiritual wisdom to South Africa to try to help the main political players find a way out of the stalled negotiations that were imperiling the whole electoral process. He is Professor Washington Okumu from Nairobi, Kenya, who once studied foreign affairs and political science under Henry Kissinger at Harvard.

Professor Okumu tenaciously refused to allow the intransigence of the politicians to deter him from what he called his "God-given goal." One of the most crucial meetings was with Chief Buthelezi at Lanseria Airport as the chief made his way home to Ulundi after the negotiations had faltered.

The professor was late for the appointment, and the chief's aircraft took off, only to be turned back soon afterward because of engine trouble. As the two men came together in the airport lounge, they both concluded that God really had wanted them to meet at that time. Chief Buthelezi said, "It was as though God prevented me from leaving, and like Jonah, I was brought back." During subsequent talks the Inkatha Freedom Party agreed to join in the election.

The days of voting were filled with gratitude and hope. At one polling station, says a report in a Moral Re-Armament ^{Moral Re-Armament is a worldwide network of people in more than sixty countries seeking constructive action beyond differences of race, religion, class, and politics .} Newsletter, the election officer in charge opened the voting with a prayer, and two days later closed the voting with a prayer. Official election officers described it as a "spiritual experience, a freeing experience." A Russian observer, a former member of the Soviet Communist Party, said, "What has happened here has been a miracle."

A Christian Scientist wrote to the Sentinel from the troubletorn city of Pietermaritzburg, Natal: "We have been so happy and so uplifted by wonderful examples of caring, patience, courage, love, and reconciliation. It has been a truly humbling experience."

A white, Afrikaans-speaking South African, Professor Willie Esterhuyse of Stellenbosch University, said he felt that voting, for him, was like an act of atonement for the wrongs of the past.

A Nigerian reporter could scarcely believe the spirit of reconciliation he experienced—totally different from the reports of race hatred Nigerians had heard about.

Sam Pono, a black musician from Mamelodi, Pretoria, reached out joyously to the whole community when he said, "I feel that through the election God has given us a chance to work together, to build our new nation, and heal the wounds of the past. South Africa will never be the same again. We have found each other, and how much we need each other—despite our differences."

Agnes Hofmeyr, a white South African author who lives in Johannesburg, said: "Dignity is restored to the masses. The humiliations and hurts of the past forgiven, are the solid foundation on which the future will be built. Those who have suffered have the most to give."

Absentee votes were cast by many South Africans abroad, including several thousand in Boston, Massachusetts. At a celebration party held in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, hundreds of nonwhite South Africans shared their joy at voting for the first time.

"I'm not going to speak, I just want to sing," said one woman who joyously shared a verse of Scripture that was known to many present: "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together" (Ps. 34:3). Spontaneously—and with a swelling, rhythmic clapping of hands—members of the audience joined in.

Another woman said quietly, "We'd like to thank the international community, and especially Americans, for their support in the struggle. Now we ask you to continue to support us as we take our baby steps."

As election day approached, Stephen and Brenda Hendricks, a married couple from the Western Cape, looked forward to their first ballot with "eager joy, excitement, and apprehension about doing 'it' right." They believe that the faithful prayers, and the financial, emotional, and "physical sacrifice of many souls" made this event possible.

"We see God at work through the lives of our leaders," they said, "especially President Mandela, who, bearing no ill toward his captors, strode out on a path of reconciliation and peace for all in and outside our country."

But Stephen and Brenda have no illusions about the task ahead. "As our nation is born anew, we will have to work with gentle determination to pursue ways in which all the people of South Africa will be able to reach their God-given potential, and truly be free to worship God in Spirit and in Truth."