She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. – Proverbs 31:20
Hands at Work envisions the local church in Africa effectively caring for the most vulnerable. Pray for Hands at Work to connect with both churches in the poor communities where we work and churches in larger, more affluent areas in Africa who believe in our vision. Pray for opportunities to meet with pastors and other church leaders to build relationships, and for more Christians and churches in Africa to rise up to the call to care for the most vulnerable.
Boyd (left) preparing vegetables with the family he visited
Boyd Chishimba + Blessings Sambo (both members of the Regional Support Team, Zambia) spent some time with pastors in Kikula Community in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Blessings shares, “Pastors often live in the community, yet have no idea what is really going on inside homes." Boyd + a few of the pastors visited a women caring for 9 children. When Boyd and the pastors began to help her prepare vegetables, the women’s face was filled with joy. When they finished preparing cassava, the pastors asked if she had oil or tomatoes. She had nothing else. They immediately got money together to buy more food for the family. “It became a Holy Home Visit,” Boyd says, “Not because of the money, but because the pastors saw God show up when they helped. The women expressed that she felt God had visited her – her own neighbours had never even helped her.”
The following day, pastors gave their testimonies + were broken by what they saw. An unexpected level of humility was seen in the group of pastors. They said, “We can’t wait to act or children will die.” They began making plans to respond immediately to urgent situations and decided to form a committee and continue meeting twice per month. One pastor has given some of his church land (close to the Kikula Care Point) to be used as a soccer field for the children to play.