“It’s been almost four years since I left Africa, having spent three years serving in Zambia, Malawi and Democratic Republic of the Congo with Hands at Work. I wasn’t sure what to expect, returning after that amount of time away. I was thankful for the things that hadn’t changed. The resilience of the Care Workers, the infectious joy of the kids, the profound depths of vulnerability in the communities: it brought me back to everything that kept me serving Hands four years ago.
I was surprised, moved, and thankful for the things that had changed. New additions to the team. New care points serving more children than was previously possible. New dreams and imaginative possibilities for partnership with the international church. All of it – what’s changed and what hasn’t – showed me that the vision that took hold of my heart seven years ago and led me to Africa, the vision that still compelled me three years later when I left, continues to shape and define Hands at Work. It’s that the urgent call of God on our lives is also our profoundest privilege, the best life we could possibly pursue: to follow the heart of God into the places the world sees as the most broken, and to meet Jesus there.
That’s a vision that can’t help but keep you coming back."
Adam Bedford spent three years serving with Hands at Work in Africa as a member of the Regional Support Team before moving to Canada where he married his wife, Emily. Now Adam serves as the mission’s pastor at Westside Kings Church, who are partnering with Hands at Work in Africa. He reflects on coming back to Africa with a team after spending three years living and serving with Hands at Work in Africa.