Prayer for Peace during D.R.C. Elections

Hello friends,

We would like to ask you to join with us in prayer for Democratic Republic of Congo today, their election day.

Violence is expected and poorest most vulnerable always suffer the most.

Please pray for the communities we work in, especially the most at risk in the Goma area in Eastern DR Congo where rebels are ready at any spark of conflict.

Henri Ladyi, director of the Centre Resolution Conflits in DR Congo, was quoted by the The Observer in London as saying: ''The election motivates many people and many armed groups to go back to using guns as a way to try and gain power... Many ex-combatants are going back to the bush now: Violence is what they know.''

Read more about the elections in DR Congo here. 

Thank you for lifting up the most vulnerable with us at this time. We pray for peace—the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding and brings about an outcome that could only be God.

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Fighting a Cholera Outbreak

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War-torn, rebel-ridden, poor and down-trodden Goma: It's hard to believe that things can get worse for the vulnerable communities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). After refugee camps closed across the DRC and in neighboring countries on the eve of the country's 50th independence anniversary, groups of stunned and, again, displaced people congregated to form makeshift communities.

Here is an extract from the account of Hands at Work founder, George Snyman's, first visit to the area a little more than a year ago: "The eight-year, bloody war has been over for seven years, but the fighting continues. Despite this, the government which is celebrating its 50th year of independence, has closed most of the refugee camps scattered across the eastern provinces of the DRC leaving millions of people homeless. Left with little choice, refugees are returning to their burned-down, vandalized towns often without family members. Stunned, groups of people - unrelated other than sharing the same adversity - congregate to from huddles of make-do communities." (Read a second letter about Goma here.)

One such community is called Luhonga. It is remote, poor and extremely vulnerable. George and Hands at Work DRC representative, Erick Rukang, made a follow-up trip to this community a few months ago and started work in the area. Erick is presently back in Luhonga and found the village awash with a cholera outbreak. Known for his compassion towards suffering children, he wrote a letter to the Hands at Work Hub yesterday:

We found the village of Luhonga in a big crisis. The entire village is in profound distress, but they were strengthened when they saw us. One care worker lost her child in this incident.

The Luhonga people were very grateful for George's last visit. They said that if he did not come at that particular time, teaching about emergency medication to fight diarrhoea, all the children could have died at this time; perhaps even the entire village! So far only one child has died though the clinic is full of patients laying everywhere, even on the floor. Almost everyone--from the leaders to the children--has been affected. Tomorrow [Monday, 31 October] we will look for a way to purify the water.

We are so grateful for your prayer support. Your prayers are effective: It is amazing to see children surviving in such critical conditions, a situation of desperation. All the people are frightened because of death on their doorstep, especially in light of the other challenges they are facing.

We invite you to intercede with us for all those residing in Lahonga: the widows, orphans, leaders, clinic staff and Hands at Work representatives. Let's pray for no more deaths, for a quick and effective intervention, for wisdom and strength for Erick and his team, and that God will use this seemingly hopeless situation to transform and strengthen the community.

Equipping and new beginnings

Greetings to all who faithfully pray

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”    - Isaiah 40v29

Please pray for:

Four teams from the US will be coming to Zambia during August and September. We trust for travelling mercies and that they may be obediant to what God wants them to do AFTER their visit to the care workers in Zambia.

We are running a training workshop in Malawi on the Walking with Wounded Children programme with participants from four African countries. Pray that those attending, would be committed to the vision to see many vulnerable children experiencing compassion and acceptance.

On 12 August we are running a workshop in South Africa on how to improve our parental home visits. We pray that the team will be inspired to improve on their personal work.

George is leaving Goma tomorrow after a ten day visit. Erick, our coordinator in the DRC who joined George in Goma, will be staying on for another week. Pray for the relationships that have been birthed with local churches.

God's blessings,

Oumie Snyman

Prayer for those serving in Zambia

A note from Zambia:

Hi,

To all who have recieved him and are called children of the most High God, what a priveledge we have.
We are asking you to stand with us in prayers as we go and do training in Kalende community with the care workers starting tomorrow. 

May the good Lord be with you all, as we are together and learn from one another in going deeper with Christ and our nieghbours.

Stay blessed.

Juliet.

Also, a prayer request just came in for 2 people in our Luanshya, Zambia Service Centre team, Paul (our accountant) and Wilbroad (who works with our community schools). They both have malaria now. Please pray for strength and healing for them – and a quick recovery.

Prayer for South Africa

Good morning/afternoon/evening to you,

I just wanted to thank you once again for all the prayers you sent up for Kelvin Zulu. I’m happy to tell you that he was discharged on Friday only one week from his near death admission in to the hospital. This is a complete miracle and the nurses and doctors in the hospital were proclaiming this too. Praise to our God!

Unfortunately this week we got news that our bookkeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo has kidney stones. She is going through much pain now. Please pray for her and also pray for the doctors and hospitals that we are entrusting for her care—for their compassion towards her and for excellence in her treatment.

As Oumie Snyman is away enjoying her extended family around South Africa, I am sending out the prayer requests.

This week we are praying for South Africa. Tomorrow South Africans are heading to the polls to vote in their local government elections. As we pray for them here are some scriptures we can reflect on: 

Rom 13:1-7 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

-       Ask God in His wisdom to reveal and appoint the leaders He approves of and who will best serve God’s purposes for South Africa.

Deu 1:15 “So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.”

-       Pray that leaders of wisdom and understanding will be raised up to lead South Africa as a nation in righteousness and justice.

Please also pray for:

-       the local leadership in Wvelverdiend, in the Bushbuckridge area of South Africa. That there will be understanding and oneness in vision to care for the most vulnerable in this poor community.

-       For more field staff in our 2 local offices in Bushbuckridge and Clau Clau, to guide and support the work in our communities.

-       For a poor rural community, Oshoek, bordering Swaziland that we’ve begun a relationship with, that Hands at Work will be granted the resources and time to go and support Oshoek and help them to build a team to care even more for the poor and vulnerable in their community.

-       Lastly, for a grandmother and her 4 year-old granddaughter she cares for in Cork, Bushbuckridge area. Last night their house was burned down and they lost everything in it. Their names are Grandmother Bethaniya and granddaughter Buhle. Four-year-old Buhle attends our care point in Cork. They are doing ok because they were not hurt and their concrete house is still standing and protecting them, but they lost everything they own in the fire. Please pray that God will bring forth generous hearts to help them in this time of need.

 

Thank you for standing with us in prayer, have an amazing Spirit-revealing week.

“Seek God while he's here to be found, pray to him while he's close at hand.” –Isaiah  55:6

 

Prayer for Kelvin Zulu

Dear friends,

We have just received news that Kelvin Zulu, our bookkeeper at the Hands at Work HUB offices, has cerebral malaria, the most serious form of malaria which acts very quickly and can cause permanent damage. He was ill for several days but was misdiagnosed. He is in the intensive care unit at the nearest hospital, Themba. We praise God that he has been diagnosed and is stable at this time.

As the friends of the paraplegic man, tore off the roof of the home Jesus was sharing in to present their friend at Jesus’ feet (Mark 2), let us with the same commitment, enter in to prayer for our friend, presenting him at the feet of Jesus, our Healer.

Please pray now, especially in these next critical hours.