Day 4 - Mafambisa Holy Home Visits

Today we visited 4 different homes. Here are the stories of the homes we visited… 

Visit 1: Ben, Matthew and Chris W

We went on our first Holy Home Visit today.  Ben, Matthew and I went on a visit to a house a short walk away from the Care Point accompanied by Audres, Rosie, Ketiwe and Nyiko. 

The family we visited was a single mother with two sons.  The two sons were regularly attending the care point.  The younger son, who was only 13 went off to initiation school at the beginning of June.  Young men get a lot of peer pressure to attend initiation school and some people say it is part of becoming a man - but it encourages behaviours that the Christian faith would consider to be bad or inappropriate.  Since he left, the older son has not been attending the care point.  The care workers believe he is angry with his younger brother for going to initiation school because it will cost the family a lot of money,  He is also missing his younger brother and being at the care point is a reminder that he has ginger away.  The younger brother is due back next week and it is going to be hard for the family. 

Before we left we formed a chain around the mother and all prayed for her and her two sons.  We prayed that the brothers would be able to forgive each other, and the younger brother would return to Church and the Christian teaching that his mum and older brother are following.

Visit 2: John, Harry and Adam 

Revisiting a home we visited two years ago with four siblings, one of whom had two young children. The mother had left for Johannesburg and not returned, leaving her older children to look after the family. Since our last visit the mother did come back, but only to bring another child to be cared for by her elder siblings; meaning there were five girls and two boys living in one room with an additional lean-to corrugated shed. 

The younger children, including a boy who befriended Carolyn on our last visit, are still attending the Care Point, and are well. Hands have addressed some of the family’s immediate needs by building an extension to create two rooms - one for the boys and one for the girls - and also a cooking shelter, with plans to develop a kitchen for the family to prepare meals. While this has addressed the family’s physical home situation, the relationship status of the elder two girls is complicated. The second eldest is eight months pregnant and the father of her baby is being evasive in his support of her and the child. While the eldest, having two children, has become involved with a married man who has four children of his own. These relationships are causing concern among the Hands family, and they are urging the girls to make the right choices for the wellbeing of themselves and their family. While we sat in the shade of a mango tree and heard all about the situation, we prayed for the family: for their safety, their wellbeing, the safe delivery of the new baby, and a positive outcome for their relationships.

Visit 3: Alice and Pippa 

We visited Peter’s house where he lives with his mother, grandma and sister. Peter does not attend school as he has special needs so was at home when we went to visit. He was attending a Government School until Grade 8 which is free to attend but after having to leave is now unable to attend a local special school due to having to pay high fees. We sat with him and his mother outside their house where they are having another room built onto their home. The Care Workers and Hands team are concerned about what he is doing now as he does not attend school. 

Peters father left the family when he was three years old and has recently returned to Mafambisa 15 years later and the family are unwilling at present to forgive him for abandoning them. His father is very unwell and has spent time in the clinic. When he awoke Peter and his Mum were there but there was no remorse or thanks from the father for helping to save his life which is adding to the unforgiveness. The father is currently staying with his brother who also has a brother who is a local pastor. The Hands Team challenged the family to forgive him so he can be part of the children’s life and also so someone can look after him as he is unwell. They shared that it is not the role of the pastors wife to do this but the family’s. She is a Christian so has taken on this role.  The Grandma used to be a cleaner at the Care Point (Siyaththuka) which is now a pre-school however cannot do this anymore as has pain in her leg. We went down to where she was sitting under a tree and laid hands on her and prayed. It was then great to see Peter at the Care Point later in the afternoon.

Visit 4: Mark, Sally and Chris P

Chris P, Sally and Mark were joined by Prudence and Lucia on a visit to Josh’s home. We met with Josh’s dad and step mother (who was looking after a friend’s 4 month old baby). We sat in semi-circle and we heard that they had arrived at the house 5 years ago when Josh was 8 and that Josh has 4 siblings aged from 6 to 17 years old. We heard that Josh was finding school challenging and does not enjoy any subjects. Josh does, however, have good friends and maybe there is some hope if they are able to support him? We learned that Josh has resorted to stealing, including from a taxi, which had placed him and his father in some danger. As a consequence, they were both beaten. Josh’s dad explained that he could not get piece work as he does not have South African papers. We thanked the family for welcoming us into their home and I (Mark) left a photo of my family with them with words of kindness on the reverse and on behalf of St Andrews. 

Please join us in praying for the children and Care Givers that we met today.