Day 22 – Supporting Our Primary Caregivers

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2

Across Africa the most vulnerable children are being cared for by their Primary Caregivers. These can be their parents, but in most situations it is their grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, older siblings or sometimes neighbours who take on this responsibility – often with families of their own to provide for. Pray that they will feel supported by the Care Workers and know that they are not alone in raising the children who they care for. Pray that as they experience God’s love, they will be set free from the brokenness in their lives.

“The Care Workers started helping me care for my grandchildren when no one else in the community would. Through the Holy Home Visits that the Care Workers have done, I have come to know and accept the Lord Jesus. Through their constant encouragement, I have hope and trust in God.” - A testimony from one of the Primary Caregivers living in Susu Community, Zambia

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Day 12 - Care Workers

“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t do anything to help you?’ Then he will answer, ‘I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.’” – Matthew 25:44-45

Thank God for the volunteer Care Workers and their families, who are committed to sacrificially giving of themselves to serve the most vulnerable children. Pray that they will have the courage to advocate on behalf of the children and their families, even when this goes against the cultural norm. Ask God to give each Care Worker the spiritual eyes to see what is happening in the lives of the children. Pray that they will build relationships of trust and love.

The local Hands at Work team in Nigeria reflects on Sis Moji, one of the Care Workers in Temitope Community, Nigeria, who is caring for some of the most vulnerable children.

“When we first met Sis Moji, she was really struggling. We did a Holy Home Visit at her home and told her about the ‘Jesus We Know’ and also what God wants us to do for the orphans and the most vulnerable children in our community. After hearing about the vision, she decided to join as a Care Worker. And since she joined, she has not regretted it because God is always making a way for her.

She is always happy when she is playing with the children and when they are close to her. The children are happy when they see her, and that makes her happy. She sees the Care Point as her home. She loves caring for the children.”

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Day 9 – Climate Change

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23

Over the last several years there has been an increase in natural disasters and extreme weather events. Without the support infrastructure in place, and with little means to gain additional security, the most vulnerable are most affected when a crisis comes. Pray for each person who has been impacted by these crises. Pray for Hands at Work to continue to find creative ways to build resilience and self-sustainability in our communities, so that when a crisis comes they are better equipped to withstand it.

In February, many areas in Southern Africa experienced high winds and heavy rainfall. In Zambia, the Kabwe and Chisamba regions were hit very hard. There has been significant damage caused to a number of homes within the communities where Hands serves. In some cases, homes collapsed in the night, leaving families with nowhere to go. Mary, pictured here, is the Primary Caregiver for one of these families in the Chisamba region.

When the local Hands at Work team in Chisamba, alongside the Regional Support Team and the Care Workers, began walking in the community, they discovered that there were families whose homes were in danger of collapsing.

Mary’s home was one of those homes. What had been a small crack in her mud-brick home was getting worse as the rains came down. Care Worker Brenda came to check on Mary and her family and invited them to come and stay in her own home for a few nights, out of concern that Mary’s house would collapse.

The next morning, when they returned to Mary’s house, the roof had caved in and one of the walls had crumbled in the night. It was an answer to prayer that the family had been in the safety of Brenda's home when their house fell.

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Marys home when it collapsed.

Mary and her families temporary home.

Day 2 – Our Journey

But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. – Isaiah 43:1

30 years ago, God called George and Carolyn Snyman, co-founders of Hands at Work, out of their ordinary lives and into the unknown of serving the most vulnerable and knowing them by name. Ten years later, Hands at Work was started. Mwete represents these children. As we begin 40 Days of Prayer, reflect on Mwete’s story and other children who you know by name. Praise God that each child is known by name and has been seen by Care Workers. Pray that they will know God’s love and will experience a sense of belonging and hope for their future.

As the Snyman’s conviction grew, so did their unsettledness. They soon realised that the trajectory of their privileged lives could never accommodate a response to the poor and destitute. “We realised that everything that seemed to give us security, were the very things that kept us away from dealing with the poverty,” George says.

Read more about George and Carolyn's journey that lead them to starting Hands at Work: https://www.handsatwork.org/history

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Day 40 - Easter Sunday

He Is Risen!

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! – Revelations 22:20

Arising from the dead, Jesus has shown us that there is no wound too deep, no scar too unbearable that He cannot heal. As we await His triumphant return, He is still ‘binding up the broken-hearted, proclaiming freedom for the captives and releasing from darkness the prisoners.’

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Day 29 - Holy Home Visits

We love because he first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

The core of a Holy Home Visit is in what Christ has done for us. It is recognising the state of brokenness in which He found us, and then understanding the call that He has given for us to help find others. Visiting families in their homes is one of the key ways that we can identify what is happening below the surface. Pray that, together with the Care Workers, we will be bold in sharing the gospel and that, in everything we do, we will be attentive to the guiding of the Holy Spirit. Pray against any fear people may have in visiting or allowing people to visit them.

We read in scripture about how and why Jesus came into the world not only to fulfill what was written, but to bring a message of hope and peace to all who would receive him.

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