Hi my name is Chris and I am returning to Mafambisa, after only a year. I visited last year with my daughter Alice after visiting her in her digs in Durban. Alice was half way through a sabbatical year working as a volunteer teacher! I met Sam in Mafambisa during our visit. He was the son of one of the Care Workers. But life is tough in Mafambisa if you are 18, there is virtually no work and so no income, very little food. Sam however is a great guy and great to spend time with! He has turned his hand to song writing and a studio within the community has made a few recordings of his work. I am looking forward to see how he is getting on.
I had the privilege of accompanying our first team to South Africa in 2015. It was our young people that first led us to Mafambisa, then called Siyathuthuka. Their thirst to “make a difference”, their faith in God, their obedience to follow their calling was the reason that we first travelled out to South Africa. In that visit, our young people heard the call of God, they followed that calling they visited care givers in their homes, they walked alongside, they made a difference to the people that they met! The visit changed them, it drew them closer to God.
That first visit to me was so right, visiting the communities, worshipping with the care workers, playing with the children. Visiting the amazing care givers in their homes all just felt right - it all felt relaxed, it all felt like home.
I have now accompanied 6 teams to South Africa, some of them adult teams, some of them youth teams, some a bit of both. Each has been different, each unique, all led by God, all bringing the members closer to God.
This year we have another fantastic team, which it has been great to watch God put together. at this stage we do not know what we will be doing, who we will be visiting, what stories we will hear, what children we will encounter.
We put the next two weeks into Gods hands, we pray that he will lead us where he wants up to go, we pray that we will hear that call, follow where he leads and at all times shine Gods love!
Thank you so much for your strong, committed, principled, enduring leadership of this and other parts of St Andrew’s mission, Chris. It is one of so many important core roles you play in our worshipping community and much more widely too! Those many of us who have been to Siyathuthuka and Mafambisa, experienced and then committed ourselves to supporting Hands at Work, both directly and indirectly, are greatly indebted to you and other members of your family, in particular, Lesley, David & Alice. Our thoughts and prayers for yet another successful life-changing stay will be with you throughout.
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