Angels in South Africa
I have the privilege to share with you a series of angel photographs taken by a man named Excellent Mtshali in KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa who lives in a small town called Eshowe.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Under the former system of apartheid, or racial separation, Natal province contained the nonindependent black state of KwaZulu, which served as the legal homeland of the country’s Zulus. Following the repeal of apartheid and the resorption of KwaZulu in 1994, Natal was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. For the history of the province, see Natal.
How I came to speak with Excellent Mtshali and share these photos with you is a story in itself.
Excellent had found my series of angel photos and article about them on www.catherinecarrigan.com. You can see my angel photos at this link.
The fact that I had taken a series of angel photos was basically an accident in and of itself. My very first photo of an angel occurred when I was obsessively and reverently photographing the orchids in my home studio.
Over the years I have now begun to pay greater attention and have delighted when the angels show up in simple photographs I take with my iPhone.
One day recently I was preparing to teach my evening yoga class when I received a call from South Africa.
It was about 7:20 p.m. and my yoga class generally starts at 7:30.
I was loathe to answer the phone so close to the start of my class but I saw that whoever was calling was taking the trouble to ring me from South Africa so I figured I had better pick up.
“Hello,” Excellent said.
“I have photographs just like yours.”
Since he was calling from South Africa and I wanted to tend to my yoga students I figured it would be easier to email him, but his email was so long I made an error in typing it up and my initial message to him bounced right back.
After speaking briefly Excellent Mtshali asked me if I would ring him the next day.
We really had not enough time to discuss what he was talking about. I don’t usually return international phone calls but my guidance insisted that yes, this was important, and that I should call him back.
The next day I rang Excellent from my iPhone while I took my dog Dixie out for her 35 minute walk in our nearby Tanyard Creek Park.
It was a glorious fall day here in Atlanta, the sun shining as Dixie and I walked through the forest along the creek, and Excellent quizzed me about my spirituality and my faith.
Yes, I assured him, I pray all day long — so much and so often in fact I don’t even really think about it. You can read my blog about the Inner Habit of Prayer at this link.
Excellent Mtshali explained that like me he took his angel photos on his iPhone in the small garden of his home in Eshowe.
As a devout Christian he prays regularly and takes great solace in his work providing housing to underprivileged people in KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. The area is so impoverished that not only do many families lack basic housing the area also lacks roads and electricity.
You can read about the challenges of this area at this link.
“The primary housing backlog in uMlalazi municipality remains in the tribal/rural areas, where housing projects will have to be implemented. Based on the current housing demand for uMlalazi area, the demand is estimated to be 5 500 in the urban areas,whereas in the rural areas it is estimated to be an average demand of 8 198 households.”
In fact, the first time I tried to call Excellent back he had been unable to answer because he was on the phone talking to a woman overjoyed with the news that her family was about to receive their first home.
Excellent and I agreed that there are many ways to heal people.
Being able to provide basic housing for a family no doubt is God’s work and of tremendous benefit to overall wellbeing.
During our phone conversation I asked Excellent if he would email me his angel photographs but he asked if he could first message me through WhatsApp.
It was a week or two before we communicated again.
I sent him this photograph that I had just taken about 30 minutes before we messaged each other and asked him what he thought.
“Spiritual State,” Excellent responded.
“God through his son Jesus Christ our savior is an awesome loving God! This is touching.”
He sent me back a photo of a pink orb he just took that morning in South Africa.
Following our WhatsApp text conversation Excellent Mtshali sent over the angel photos he has taken over time in his garden in Eshowe.
Please join me in enjoying these beautiful, uplifting photos and know that where ever you are in the world you are loved by God, you are guided by angels and you are surrounded by heavenly hosts.
Even if you can’t see the angels you have around you, please allow Excellent and myself to show you the angels who are present every day all the time loving all of us.
What is healing? Healing happens when you embrace the unconditional love of the angels all around you.
