Crocodile Surfaces During Baptisms in Namibia

A giant crocodile surfaced only a few feet away from a Seventh-day Adventist pastor as he prayed for God’s protection during the recent baptism of 57 people in a river in Namibia. The crocodile, observed only by a man recording the baptismal ceremony on his cellphone, gazed silently at the pastor for several seconds before slipping under the water and disappearing.

The pastor, Daniel Matanga, could not believe his eyes when he saw the video footage, and he thanked God for holding the crocodile’s mouth just as He held the lions’ mouths from eating the prophet Daniel.

“I just felt that the power of God was with me,” Matanga said in an interview. “By His mighty hand, He has saved me from the crocodile.”

Brian M. Mundia, president of the Adventist Church’s Namibia North Conference, where the unusual incident happened, said he would encourage churches in his conference to start constructing baptismal pools to avoid any risk of a similar encounter.

“We praise God that we have not experienced the misfortune of croc and other attacks in the history of baptisms in our conference,” Mundia said by WhatsApp. “We, however, are planning to work toward encouraging our churches to begin constructing baptistries in our communities and churches.”

Rivers have been used for baptisms since biblical days, and it is a tradition to baptize in rivers in northern Namibia, where few if any Adventist churches have baptismal pools. Namibian rivers are home to dangerous creatures, including crocodiles and hippopotami, but they are rarely seen during baptisms, especially at close range.

Matanga, who is pastor of 34 churches in Namibia’s northern Linyanti district, waded into the water of the Linyanti River on Saturday (Sabbath) afternoon, October 12, to baptize 17 people who had given their hearts to Jesus after evangelistic meetings at Sangwali Seventh-day Adventist Church, located six miles (10 km) away, and another 40 people from various other churches.

When he was waist-deep in the water, Matanga opened the baptismal ceremony with a prayer of dedication, and he also asked God to protect him and the baptismal candidates from dangerous creatures in the water. The river is a tributary of the great Zambezi River.

As he prayed with his eyes closed, a huge crocodile emerged from the water several feet away from him. Everyone had their eyes closed except Haskens Sinasi, an Adventist church member who was recording the ceremony on his cellphone.

Sinasi did not panic or scream.

“I knew that God would save the pastor from the terrible crocodile,” he said.

Indeed, the crocodile only watched the pastor praying for a moment and then disappeared under water before the pastor finished the prayer by saying, “Amen.”

It is highly unusual for a crocodile to leave a person at such a close range in the water without snatching him for a prey, said Albert Lushetile, a friend of the pastor and a retired Namibian diplomat, who is well acquainted with the habits of crocodiles in his native country.

“But this time a miracle happened, and God protected His man from being eaten by a crocodile,” he said.

After the prayer, Matanga baptized the 57 candidates without knowing what had happened. The ceremony ended up lasting more than an hour. The 40 candidates from various churches were baptized first, and the 17 candidates from the evangelistic meeting arrived an hour later after their bus was delayed. The pastor stayed in the water the whole time, waiting for them. He explained that he had dedicated the water for the entire ceremony and didn’t want to leave until everyone had been baptized.

As Matanga wrapped up the ceremony, he made an appeal for observers also to consider giving their hearts to Jesus. Several teens working in a vegetable garden on the opposite bank of the river had stopped their work to watch the baptisms. To the pastor’s delight, they were among those who raised their hands.

Matanga only learned about the crocodile the next day when he met Sinasi at a funeral. The man with the cellphone asked the pastor if he had noticed the miracle during the baptism. Matanga thought that Sinasi was referring to the teens who had raised their hands. Sinasi then showed him the video of the crocodile. The footage was shaky and badly pixelated, but the crocodile was clearly visible.

At that moment Matanga remembered stepping onto something that felt like a tree stump covered with rubbery material while wading into the river for the baptisms. He had stepped back from the object and ignored it.

Albert Lushetile contributed to this report.