After a three-year gap due to the pandemic, our team from St Andrew’s, Biggleswade, was finally able to travel again to South Africa and visit our partner community of Mafambisa. I had supported from home my two eldest children and my wife, who were part of previous teams, and seen the effect it had in their lives. However, hearing stories and seeing the change in others didn’t quite prepare me for the impact of actually being there….
The whole experience, from our initial arrival at the Hands at Work Village, where we were overwhelmed by the welcome from our hosts and a group resident for Foundation Training, to the Care Point and community visits, the times of prayer and worship, and the interaction with the children, gave our visit added impetus and purpose.
The obvious presence of God with us on the trip led me into a depth of relationship with Him that I hadn’t realised I had drifted from over the last couple of years. The thread running through our journey was God’s positive power underpinning our very human, and sometimes feeble, endeavours, to serve Him in the communities which we visited. This was seen most vividly in the words from Paul’s letter to the Philippians 4:13, ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength’, which consistently recurred in our prayer, thought and song. He did indeed give us the strength, gifts and encouragement to do His will in all aspects of our trip.
Each day at the Care Point, and each Holy Home Visit, was surrounded with God’s presence. The days were all so different – often with laughter, sometimes with tears, sometimes with hard graft and sometimes waiting and listening, but each full of God’s blessings.
A new dynamic for our church was under-eighteens being part of the team this year. Ben, aged fifteen, and Jack, eleven, contributed greatly and played a big part in every facet of the team. Their mature approach to preparation and prayer, and their insight into the joy and needs of children, were inspirational and valuable lessons to us adults. As one of the local Pastors from White River said, “they are the church of today”.
During our time in South Africa, Jack often led us in poetic prayer. Here is the prayer he composed at the end of our visit:
As we have been at the Care Point
We have played and sung
Which was really great fun
It has been wonderful to be here for two weeks
Some children have been a bit of a cheek
So all I want to say is
Thank you Lord for this amazing opportunity.
God, before I came here I knew some about you
But as I have been here I now know what you always do
You have blessed us all
Who are big and small
So here is a prayer for you to say
Thank you Lord for being here today
Amen
