“My first trip to Africa was when I was 20 years old. The stories I heard, the people I met and the things I experienced on that three month trip, are still with me today…
I get to serve some of the most incredible, courageous, kind, gentle and humble people that exist on this planet. You will have unlikely heard of many of them, but I get to know them. I get to call them an uncle, an aunt, a brother or a sister.
My first trip to Hands at Work in Africa was when I was 20 years old. It was on that trip that the beauty, the pain, the joy, the sadness and the richness of Africa seeped deeply into my bones. The stories I heard, the people I met and the things I experienced on that three month trip, are still with me today. It was during this trip that I met Jesus for the first time. I grew up in a Christian household, however it took moving half-way around the world to meet a God that has such a deep care and affection for the most vulnerable in our world. They say the layer between Heaven and Africa is paper-thin. This rings incredibly true for me – especially being someone that is so easily distracted and happy to live in my own little bubble. Africa taught me that our world is very big – and my view of it was extremely small. It forced me to confront my selfishness, my entitlement and the greed that so easily permeates my being. As I confronted these things, I was surprised with how deeply they went in me. None of us think we are THAT selfish. None of us think that we are THAT entitled or THAT greedy. But I was (and honestly still am). It was my desire to follow the biblical mandate that we are called to care for the orphan and widow that wound me up in Africa. I hope as you are reading this, that you don’t think I did this happily. I actually went kicking and screaming. But as I submitted to opportunities I was presented with, in serving some incredible people, God did something big in me. He began to shift my focus from being inwards to outwards. This is an ongoing process and is far from complete.
One of the beauties of the Hands at Work model is that I get to serve some of the most incredible, courageous, kind, gentle and humble people that exist on this planet. You will have unlikely heard of many of them, but I get to know them. I get to call them an uncle, an aunt, a brother or a sister. I get to learn their story. I get to learn how to do my walk with Jesus better. I get to hear stories of God doing miracles (and sometimes get to see them first-hand). One such hero is Futhi, from the country of Eswatini. Getting to know her over the last few months has been such a gift for me. She is a strong, brave, funny and kind woman who cares for the children in Eswatini with a fierce passion. I would hate to see what would happen to someone that comes between her and a child in one of our communities. She has taught me what an authentic relationship with Jesus can look like and I have learned so much in a short time from her.
I couldn’t write anything without including the story of a child – because ultimately, that is why I am here. I always try to do justice by the child when I share their story, but ultimately, this is an incredibly difficult task. As you read this, please take a moment to pray for this child. That would make me feel a lot better in inadequately sharing their story. I met this girl on a recent trip to Eswatini. Emelia* is a 17-year-old girl. She recently had a child and is currently pregnant with her second child due in the next couple of months. Emelia made some pretty typical teenager mistakes, however, the consequences for her were pretty large. She was rejected by people in her community. Her grandmother was frustrated and upset because it meant there were now more mouths to be fed (in an already desperate household, more mouths is a significant challenge). Emelia felt so alone. She was also scared about having to raise a second child, when she is basically still a child herself. Fortunately, one of our African leaders here in South Africa (Audrey) heard about Emelia and went to Eswatini. She listened to the grandmother’s frustrations. She listened to the anger of the mother-in-law. Perhaps most importantly, she listened to Emelia. What she found was a broken child, facing a challenging situation with many difficult intricacies. Emelia’s story speaks to the common situation facing many of our young girls. Unlike Emelia, however, not all of our young girls have an Audrey to fight for them. Although Emelia’s story is not completely resolved, it is looking the most positive it has for the entirety of the time that we have known her. This is likely because of the prayer, care and the way in which people have made Emelia’s life personal.
Although stories like Emelia’s can be confronting and sometimes discouraging, I am fortunate that I get to learn these stories. I am fortunate I get to fight alongside some incredible people. Most importantly, I am so grateful for the work that God is doing in me, as He uses Africa as the backdrop to that change being able to take place. If there is anything in this piece of writing that has triggered something within you, can I encourage you to dig into what that might be? Ask yourself some big questions. Ask others around you some of those same questions. If being a part of the work that Hands at Work is doing is something that interests you, I would encourage you to reach out to Hands at Work in Australia.
Email: info@au.handsatwork.org
*Name changed to protect child’s privacy