“The Lord brought Hands at Work into my life in 2008. I had been advocating in the United States for orphans and vulnerable children and felt that I should specifically help the vulnerable children of Africa. To make a long story short, after a few short-term trips, our family felt called to serve at Hands full time. Craig and I served for over three years when we felt our season at Hands was done. We thought we would go back to America, but the Lord told us He wasn’t finished with us in Africa. After much prayer and speaking with the leaders of our local church, our sending church back in America, and Hands, we knew the Lord was calling us to stay in South Africa and serve in our local church. It was there that we were asked to lead our main outreach branch, called Sinani. Sinani’s heart is similar to that of Hands, and in fact, we partner with Hands in 2 communities.
Craig and I could not be doing what we are doing now if it weren’t for our years at Hands. It was there that we learned to fight for the most vulnerable and to never give up. We have had several situations where kids from our life centres were being abused in their homes. Unfortunately, the systems in place in South Africa aren’t always quick to respond. We have learned to run towards the problem. So instead of letting the system just work its course, we’ve had to push and fight for our children and never give up.
The other thing we’ve learned is that the best gift we can give to people, besides Jesus, is our time. Our desire is that all of our Care Workers catch the heart of doing home visits. We want them to understand that we don’t just arrive, see how people are, and then leave; we spend time, hear their stories, and wait until God shows up. These are precious pearls of wisdom that we have learned from our time at Hands at Work, and for these, we are most grateful.”