Brooke Wilson and Emma Baxter have both spent this year in South Africa being a part of the 2020 Volunteer Intake. Though the year has looked differently to what anyone expected, they have had incredible opportunities to meet families and children who have deeply impacted them. God has been so faithful in blessing their time in Africa and allowing them to live out the call He placed on their hearts.
Emma shares, “There are so many stories that have been deeply impacting for me this year. I want to share one that shows how Hands at Work is inspired by God to work together to help a vulnerable family have a chance at restoration. Some months ago I visited a family where you could literally feel the despair in the atmosphere. All hope was gone and death seemed the only way out for the mother who we found lying outside on the ground. Jane* suffers with a life-threatening illness but was too despondent to take her medication and so she was dying before her children. Her youngest children, without a mother's support, were not well cared for or able to get themselves to the Care Point. Her eldest girls are young mothers, abandoned to be single parents in stress and poverty. Little by little, hope is returning because trust and love are being created. Care Workers and the local Hands at Work team in Hazyview regularly visit to help take care of the children, support Jane with getting to the clinic and taking her medication. This has not been easy, as there is fight and resistance to returning to health but many are involved now, including neighbours who have been also encouraged to support the family. The family’s house is being repaired with a new roof, a fixed broken wall and new doors and windows to make it safe and secure.
“In the beginning, Jane was so lost in herself that she would refuse to speak and would not accept any prayer. Love, however, always breaks through when it is strong and real and when it is Jesus loving through us. She started to open up, talking and asking for prayer. It is more than a restoration, it is a resurrection because this dear lady was nearly dead. Her spirit was dead and it was only a matter of time before her body followed. Hope brings new life and people from the community have taken notice and thanked Care Workers for helping this family, as they also recognise that they are in great need. This light shines in the darkness because now the wider community sees hope where they had no vision before. Jane is being challenged to do her part and commit herself to becoming well. She remembers a time when she was strong and took care of her children. The long road back to health will not be easy but this family are no longer alone. A large family of God’s people are walking with them to show them that in Jesus there is always a better way. May all of us, including this family and community, give God the glory.”
Brooke shares, “Nine months I have been serving as a volunteer with Hands at Work. Nine months of learning how to live a life outside my comfort zone, learning how to serve people with a heart of humility. I find myself continuously learning a different culture and a new view on life. Sometimes it is messy, sometimes you are forced to deal with your own culture of entitlement, sometimes you see beautiful moves of God within the body of Christ, and sometimes you sit in the still silence with people who have lost loved ones. I often look around me at the people I get to walk a road with and I am amazed! I get to witness amazing Care Workers who look after our children at the Care Point day in and day out. Sometimes they do this in weather we would dread going outside in, and still you will find these ladies making the children a hot meal with no complaints. I get to spend three weeks a month with the local Hands at Work team in Oshoek, who consistently show me there is always a reason to laugh and enjoy life. To the people at the Hands at Work Hub who create this beautiful safe place, you can find strength, wisdom, guidance and support. I can honestly say I see so much of our Father’s heart through all of them and for that I feel so incredibly blessed to be part of the story God is writing.
“When you get to know someone, they become so much more than just a name or a story to tell people; they become something you treasure. Dansile* is one of those children for me that I find myself not just hearing a story, but being able to be part of her life in a small way. Seventeen-year-old Dansile lives with her grandmother in a two-room mud hut, with ten other children her grandmother has been left to raise with her pension of 100 dollars a month from the government. None of the children have identification, which leaves this family in a difficult situation as they do not have enough income for food and all the children's medical requirements. It especially leaves Dansile vulnerable as she has epilepsy, which has unfortunately led her to give up her education in grade 7. But instead of staying home, Dansile has made the best of her situation. She comes to the Care Point and helps the Care Workers fetch water and cook the food for the children. The Care Workers have taken her under their wing and have provided her with a safe place to spend her days. She might not have the opportunity to succeed in education, but her heart to serve the people around her speaks louder than words.”