I am nearly packed and quite excited now about being invited to visit Hands at Work outside the team season, and see the hub working in its day to day mode. I have a programme and know that I will be visiting our partner community of Mafambisa and visiting Share, another community that we have got to know well over the last few years.
I have come along way on this journey since Claire and I together with Alice and DJ ventured out on our first visit to South Africa with Jessica, Alice, Alison, Adam, Nicholas and Alexander and I often remember how apprehensive I felt, I told myself that it would just be two weeks and I wouldn’t need to go again.
But that was not the plan, well not God’s plan anyway! On almost the first day of that first trip, i had a feeling of calm, it felt right to be there. As we got towards the end of the first week out in the different communities, our young people were saying that this should not be a one off trip, we must do more to support these very inspiring yet vulnerable people.
Our young people challenged the PCC to set up our partnership, based upon supporting 15 of the 75 children at Siyathuthuka, this soon rose to 45 children as individuals from the congregation made their own pledges to support a child. Since then St Andrew’s has sent out two further teams and I am privileged, together with Rosemary, to be accompanying the Cupboard on their visit in July.
I believe that God has called us as a church together to support these communities. Often we look at the news and see terrible suffering, people trapped as refugees, people trying to exist in bombed out towns, people suffering due to drought and malnutrition and we feel so helpless, so distant. What our partnership gives us is ability to become involved directly with some of the worlds poorest people.
I am thankful for the journey that God has taken me and us on, thankful for what He has taught me and us along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment