Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Sunday, 28 September 2014
Builds Itself Up in Love
We are back home in South Africa now. Before we left Zambia we had the great opportunity to facilitate and participate in two gatherings of Africa leaders and international volunteers.
Maranatha Celebrations
A part of Hands at Work’s holistic model of care in vulnerable communities across Africa is ensuring that our Care Workers are supported in their own personal growth and care. Our Care Workers are the men and women from local churches who have taken responsibility for the most broken, abused and neglected children in their communities. However, our Care Workers were once these children. They often have inner wounds just as deep as the children they are caring for. Through Maranatha Workshops, Hands at Work is extending to our Care Workers an understanding of the love and healing that can only come from Jesus.
Now that each of our communities has participated in a Maranatha Workshop we gathered together to prayerful seek God’s will in the way forward.
Our Lord Jesus came to show us the way forward in caring for our Care Workers, and the most vulnerable children across Africa.
It was a privilege to stand side by side with some of the most humbling and inspiring men and women. It is in these times that I am so amazed and honored that God has chosen me for this calling.
-- M
Bookkeeper Workshop
Our African Leaders who serve as Bookkeepers have come together in Zambia. Usually separated across five of the eight African countries we serve in, this week was a time to learn from each other and be together and united in their calling to serve the most vulnerable.
We come together with our bookkeepers from all across Africa to share our hearts for the most vulnerable. We took time to fellowship with each other, have times of worship and hear our Father’s heart for the children of Africa, as well as have times of training. We read in Ephesians 4:16, ‘From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.’ It was a special time of growth for all of our bookkeepers, not only in their roles but also in their understanding of our calling.
-- T
Maranatha Celebrations
Bookkeeper Workshop
Our African Leaders who serve as Bookkeepers have come together in Zambia. Usually separated across five of the eight African countries we serve in, this week was a time to learn from each other and be together and united in their calling to serve the most vulnerable.
We come together with our bookkeepers from all across Africa to share our hearts for the most vulnerable. We took time to fellowship with each other, have times of worship and hear our Father’s heart for the children of Africa, as well as have times of training. We read in Ephesians 4:16, ‘From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.’ It was a special time of growth for all of our bookkeepers, not only in their roles but also in their understanding of our calling.
-- T  |
| The Bookkeepers spending time in the community. |
 |
| Some team building activities during Maranatha Celebrations |
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| Serving communion during Maranatha Celebrations |
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
To DRC and back
It has been a busy past few weeks for us! We have travelled to new countries and met many wonderful people.
We had the great privilege of visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the middle of June. For both of us, it had been a long time coming. I have been working with our local office in DRC for over two years now and Morgan first dreamed of visiting the DRC back in 2006 after her dad’s first trip. One of Hands at Work’s core values focuses on relationships; this was the main purpose for our trip. To love, support, listen and build relationships with our brother in sisters in DRC. We were both excited to go but also a little bit nervous as the DRC/Zambia border is known for being difficult sometimes. Luckily we crossed the border very easily and met Erick on the DRC side. We still had a four-hour journey by car to Likasi where our office is located. Our time in DRC was very short, only 8 days so we tried to balance our time between the communities and the office. Hands at Work currently works in five communities in DRC in both urban and rural areas. We had the chance to visit two of those communities, Kitabataba and Kikula.
In Kikula, a home was recently renovated into a life centre for the local community. A life centre is the place in the community where children can come and feel safe and forget all the worries. It is a place where they receive one nutritious meal a day as well as life and love that they might not otherwise get at home. Morgan and I were some of the first visitors to see the newly renovated life centre in use. We spent the afternoon playing games with the children and Care Workers. As the
children where getting ready to leave for the day, we started off on a home visit. We walked home with a five-year-old boy named Paul. He lives with his father Etienne and his four-year-old brother Thierry. Their mother abandoned the family when Etienne got sick with TB. When we arrive at the house, we found that Thierry had not been at school that day because he had to go and fetch water. The closest clean water source is so far from their home that the boys have to take it in turns to collect water each day. Etienne is too sick and weak to be able to help the boys. The boys are falling behind in school and have to forgo a meal every other day to have clean water. We sat with the family for a while, before we left we prayed for them. Stories like Paul and Thierry are all too common in DRC, it is a place of great vulnerability and in need of lots of prayer.
Kitabataba was much more urban that we expected! We walked down dirt tracks and through busy markets lined with people selling everything you could imagine! In Kitabataba the life centre has recently moved from one local church to another. In the new location children received their food under a very simple structure made of wooden posts covered by a tarpaulin. Before we arrived at the life centre, we visited one home where we met Rosie and Joseph. Their older brothers were in their late teenage years and spent lots of time away from home working. It is often Rosie and Joseph at home by themselves and Rosie taking up the role of the mother of the house. Rosie told us she enjoys dancing and singing, just like any nine year old girl. Sadly she has no-one to help her with daily chores or homework and her life is often too busy to be a normal nine year old girl. We noticed that Rosie had many dishes in her garden piled up in tubs and it was obvious that it would take her a long time to do them on top of all her other tasks. The Care Workers, Morgan and I helped out by cleaning some of the dishes. The Care Workers showed Jesus’ love in action by helping Rosie and her family, you could see the big impact it has on their lives.
One of the big differences between DRC and our other countries is the language. In nearly all our other countries that we serve in, English is spoken to some degree as long as the local language.
However, in DRC, there is very little or no English spoken but instead it is Swahili and French. We took the opportunity to practice our French with the kids. It’s amazing how little language you need to connect with children.
The time we spent in the DRC was amazing! Our team in the local office is an incredibly dedicated group of men and women; they have such compassion for the vulnerable in their communities. We look forward to spending time with them again one day.
After our trip to DRC, Morgan hosted a team of nurses from all over the USA and Canada. We have a few of these specialized teams every year; they come to “be” as well as to care for the vulnerable in our communities. It was an intense week of home visits and mobile clinic days but God did something very special in everyone during this time.
The past couple of weeks, both Morgan and I have been busy with our quarter two reporting. It’s an opportunity to share with our partners and supporters about the work being done on the ground and what they are a part of. Morgan works on the narrative side and I work on the financial side. It takes a lot of gathering of information but it is worth it in the end to know that all our partners are receiving the up to date highlights and stories coming out of all the communities we serve in.
In Kikula, a home was recently renovated into a life centre for the local community. A life centre is the place in the community where children can come and feel safe and forget all the worries. It is a place where they receive one nutritious meal a day as well as life and love that they might not otherwise get at home. Morgan and I were some of the first visitors to see the newly renovated life centre in use. We spent the afternoon playing games with the children and Care Workers. As the
One of the big differences between DRC and our other countries is the language. In nearly all our other countries that we serve in, English is spoken to some degree as long as the local language.
The time we spent in the DRC was amazing! Our team in the local office is an incredibly dedicated group of men and women; they have such compassion for the vulnerable in their communities. We look forward to spending time with them again one day.
The past couple of weeks, both Morgan and I have been busy with our quarter two reporting. It’s an opportunity to share with our partners and supporters about the work being done on the ground and what they are a part of. Morgan works on the narrative side and I work on the financial side. It takes a lot of gathering of information but it is worth it in the end to know that all our partners are receiving the up to date highlights and stories coming out of all the communities we serve in.
Saturday, 21 June 2014
Sunday, 1 June 2014
Life in Zambia
It is such a blessing to be back in Zambia again, re-connecting with friends and building new relationships. The community of people living here at the farm in Zambia is much smaller than the campus where we stay in South Africa but it means that we get to spend much more time with each person. With there being fewer people, it is easier to all get together and have communal events. One of these is
a regular event on Thursday evenings where everyone living at Kachele Farm (our base here in Zambia) comes together to have a meal together. It is known as Bring and Share Thursdays and this Thursday, we decided to theme the evening to a Mexican style. We also had the pleasure of having a team from the Forge (UK) with us and they joined us in eating Mexican food for the evening. It was great fun and the food was delicious and was great to spend time fellowshipping with others that often we don’t get to spend time with during the busy week.
The team from the Forge were visiting the community of Maposa and spending time with the Care Workers in the CBO (community based organisation). The goal for us at Hands at Work is to see international churches partner with local churches to care for the most vulnerable in their communities. The Forge is a great example of this and every year they send a team (sometime two teams) to Zambia for their congregation to get to know children and Care Workers in Maposa by name. On this visit, Morgan and I both had the privilege of joining them for a day each. The day I went to the community involved helping two of our volunteers here Devon and Mateo pick up materials for a home repair. From the sawmill and shops, we drove to the home and dropped off the materials and finalised the plans for the following week when the repairs would
actually be done. The day which Morgan joined the team was actually the day of the home repair, some team members helped out Devon and Mateo whilst others helped harvesting in the fields. Those who were not helping with the construction spent time getting to know the children and family who were living in the home. The family were so happy that they could now have a roof again which would protect them from the outside elements.
One of the new people we have met this time in Zambia is called Michael and he is our new bookkeeper with the Regional Support Team (RST). Some of my time over the past few weeks has been training him in how we keep our finances within Hands at Work.
For Morgan, one of her communication team members Ashley, has joined us in Zambia for the remainder of our time. They can now have meetings and do work face to face rather than over the phone or internet.
On May 11th Morgan and I celebrated our first anniversary. It was a special time as we got reflect on our first year together in all that we have done and grown together. We celebrated by having an outdoor movie ‘drive-in’ with a ploughman’s type dinner. We have also planned to go to Paris for a couple of nights in October as part of our anniversary.
Once a month on a Friday morning we have the chance to go to one of the communities we work in and encourage and pray with our Care Workers. This month we went to a community called Kamakonde (in Kitwe, near one of our local service centres). I was asked to share a word of encouragement with the Care Workers, sharing scripture that focussed on God’s faithfulness. We then spent time in small groups with each Care Worker getting to know their stories and praying for them and their families and children.
Next week, Morgan and I have the pleasure of travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for 10 days. For both of us, it will be a first time visit although we have heard so much about the communities there and just how amazing the Care Workers and SC team are. Our bookkeeper in DRC, Angel, is someone who I have been working with for two years now so it will be great to spend time with her in her own country and also visit her family. Please pray for us as we travel and get to experience this beautiful country.
Finally, an update on our new house in South Africa. The roof is nearly finished and the internal walls are taking shape. Friends from the HUB in South Africa are keeping us up to date with photos so we feel like we are part of the building process.
The team from the Forge were visiting the community of Maposa and spending time with the Care Workers in the CBO (community based organisation). The goal for us at Hands at Work is to see international churches partner with local churches to care for the most vulnerable in their communities. The Forge is a great example of this and every year they send a team (sometime two teams) to Zambia for their congregation to get to know children and Care Workers in Maposa by name. On this visit, Morgan and I both had the privilege of joining them for a day each. The day I went to the community involved helping two of our volunteers here Devon and Mateo pick up materials for a home repair. From the sawmill and shops, we drove to the home and dropped off the materials and finalised the plans for the following week when the repairs would
One of the new people we have met this time in Zambia is called Michael and he is our new bookkeeper with the Regional Support Team (RST). Some of my time over the past few weeks has been training him in how we keep our finances within Hands at Work.
For Morgan, one of her communication team members Ashley, has joined us in Zambia for the remainder of our time. They can now have meetings and do work face to face rather than over the phone or internet.
On May 11th Morgan and I celebrated our first anniversary. It was a special time as we got reflect on our first year together in all that we have done and grown together. We celebrated by having an outdoor movie ‘drive-in’ with a ploughman’s type dinner. We have also planned to go to Paris for a couple of nights in October as part of our anniversary.
Once a month on a Friday morning we have the chance to go to one of the communities we work in and encourage and pray with our Care Workers. This month we went to a community called Kamakonde (in Kitwe, near one of our local service centres). I was asked to share a word of encouragement with the Care Workers, sharing scripture that focussed on God’s faithfulness. We then spent time in small groups with each Care Worker getting to know their stories and praying for them and their families and children.
Next week, Morgan and I have the pleasure of travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for 10 days. For both of us, it will be a first time visit although we have heard so much about the communities there and just how amazing the Care Workers and SC team are. Our bookkeeper in DRC, Angel, is someone who I have been working with for two years now so it will be great to spend time with her in her own country and also visit her family. Please pray for us as we travel and get to experience this beautiful country.
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Friday, 2 May 2014
Hands at Work in Africa: An update from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
Our Care Workers and their own families are barely surviving. Yet they recently came together with our local leader, determined to keep the most vulnerable children in Goma alive. For the first time in over a year, Care Workers cooked a meal for the most vulnerable children. This is the face of a little girl who received a bar of soap and a mug of porridge at the Care Point.
Join us in praising God for the hope seen in her beautiful face! We thank you for your prayers that have brought our leaders, Care Workers and children in Goma to a place where they can begin to rebuild. Please continue to pray for God to provide, keep peace, and continue to turn despair into hope.
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Season of Change
Over the past month or two, there have been a few changes for the Malsters. Both Morgan and I have had changes individually and as a couple.
The first of these changes is to do with where we will live. At the beginning of the year (and in our last update) we had said that for the next little while, we would be living and working out of South Africa. However, as with many things in life, change happens quickly. So, a few weeks ago, we found out that we would again be spending a good chunk of the year in Zambia and this year it will be from the end of April until mid-September. As I now write this update, I am sitting in the beautiful garden of our farm in Luanshya where we stay in Zambia. We will both be doing similar roles compared to last year but much more of a focus this year of being a part of the community. When I say this, I do not really mean the communities (villages) in which we work, but more of the community of people that live in Zambia on the farm where we are based.
Some other fun news is that on our return to South Africa, we will be moving house. In the last update I mentioned that there had been lots of construction in front of our current house, well it turns
out, one of those new houses will be ours. It will mean going from one room bedroom/kitchen/living space to a small house with 3 rooms. We feel very blessed to be given the opportunity to live in one of these new houses and we will continue to post photos of how the construction is going.
Our respective roles have also changed in the way in which we are serving with Hands. Morgan has taken on leadership of the Communications team. She has been on the Communication team for many years, and is looking forward to his new challenge. For myself, I will now oversee other Project Accountants with the aim to eventually lead the team. Right now, it is still in a transition period as we are training up people to take on more Project Accounting roles to take some of the work I am doing currently.
As with every month, we have also been up to other things outside of the office. We had the privilege of going to community prayer. This
is where many of the Hands volunteers go into one of our communities and share encouraging words with the Care Workers in the CBO (community based organisation). This month, we went to a community called Siyathithuka, which is the community where I stayed overnight in orientation so it was good to be back again. During the morning, we sang songs and shared scriptures and prayers together. After, some of the Hands at Work team spent time individually with one Care Worker and got to know them personally. Then, we would know their stories and be praying for them. I chatted with one of the local pastors and learnt how he had become involved with the Siyathithuka CBO (community based organisation).
We also had a time of hearing testimonies from some of our trainings from our communities. Over this past 6 months, we have been focusing on something called Maranatha workshops. Maranatha means ‘Come Lord’ and in these workshops, the focus is on bring the Jesus we know to our Care Workers. This workshop has been facilitated in 20 of our communities and the other communities will receive this training throughout the next 6 months. You can read more about them here.
Many of you will know that in the past month I turned 25 and so got to celebrate another one of my birthdays in South Africa. It is always a special time and I feel so blessed as part of the Hands community on a day when I especially miss my family and friends.
This year, a group of us went to a near-by campsite and set up for a 2 night stay. However, with it being a ‘British’ inspired camping trip, of course the rain showed up and we ended up putting up our tents in the rain and by the time we had finished it was also dark. All, that being said, it was a lot of fun and it was definitely good for team building. Over the weekend, we had lots of braais (South African barbeques) and played games.
And finally some great news about our friend Silo. He was the guy I stayed with when we stayed in the community on our orientation back in 2011. Ever since then, Morgan and I have been visiting him regularly to see how he is doing. He competed his schooling last year and ever since then has been looking for a job. Over these past few weeks, he decided that he would like to do a training course in forklift truck driving. We investigated a little bit and found that there were courses in Nelspruit (our nearby major town) and the course lasted one week. We set him up on this course and we found out last week that he passed! So now he can drive forklifts and will give him a huge advantage in the job market. Over these next few weeks, he will continue to distribute his CVs to hardware shops and warehouses to see what jobs are available.
Our plans have changed a bit for coming to the UK and Canada this year. Instead of coming home at Christmas, we will be in the UK the last 2 weeks or so of October and in Canada the first 2 and a bit weeks of November. We look forward to catching up with everyone then!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! Love T+M
The first of these changes is to do with where we will live. At the beginning of the year (and in our last update) we had said that for the next little while, we would be living and working out of South Africa. However, as with many things in life, change happens quickly. So, a few weeks ago, we found out that we would again be spending a good chunk of the year in Zambia and this year it will be from the end of April until mid-September. As I now write this update, I am sitting in the beautiful garden of our farm in Luanshya where we stay in Zambia. We will both be doing similar roles compared to last year but much more of a focus this year of being a part of the community. When I say this, I do not really mean the communities (villages) in which we work, but more of the community of people that live in Zambia on the farm where we are based.
Some other fun news is that on our return to South Africa, we will be moving house. In the last update I mentioned that there had been lots of construction in front of our current house, well it turns
 |
| construction on our new house! |
Our respective roles have also changed in the way in which we are serving with Hands. Morgan has taken on leadership of the Communications team. She has been on the Communication team for many years, and is looking forward to his new challenge. For myself, I will now oversee other Project Accountants with the aim to eventually lead the team. Right now, it is still in a transition period as we are training up people to take on more Project Accounting roles to take some of the work I am doing currently.
As with every month, we have also been up to other things outside of the office. We had the privilege of going to community prayer. This
We also had a time of hearing testimonies from some of our trainings from our communities. Over this past 6 months, we have been focusing on something called Maranatha workshops. Maranatha means ‘Come Lord’ and in these workshops, the focus is on bring the Jesus we know to our Care Workers. This workshop has been facilitated in 20 of our communities and the other communities will receive this training throughout the next 6 months. You can read more about them here.
Many of you will know that in the past month I turned 25 and so got to celebrate another one of my birthdays in South Africa. It is always a special time and I feel so blessed as part of the Hands community on a day when I especially miss my family and friends.
And finally some great news about our friend Silo. He was the guy I stayed with when we stayed in the community on our orientation back in 2011. Ever since then, Morgan and I have been visiting him regularly to see how he is doing. He competed his schooling last year and ever since then has been looking for a job. Over these past few weeks, he decided that he would like to do a training course in forklift truck driving. We investigated a little bit and found that there were courses in Nelspruit (our nearby major town) and the course lasted one week. We set him up on this course and we found out last week that he passed! So now he can drive forklifts and will give him a huge advantage in the job market. Over these next few weeks, he will continue to distribute his CVs to hardware shops and warehouses to see what jobs are available.
Our plans have changed a bit for coming to the UK and Canada this year. Instead of coming home at Christmas, we will be in the UK the last 2 weeks or so of October and in Canada the first 2 and a bit weeks of November. We look forward to catching up with everyone then!
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! Love T+M
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
40 Days of Prayer
Prayer for Africa’s vulnerable children & Hands at Work in Africa
Join us as we unite in global prayer, interceding for the most vulnerable children in Africa and our work both on the ground and internationally.
We invite you to pray with us each day for the next 40 Days. Commit in faith and hope to be a voice for the voiceless.
There are many ways you can participate:
Print our 2014 Daily Prayer Guide
View extra content in our Prayer Room
Connect with our global prayer family in our Facebook Event
Watch videos of our local and international leaders and volunteers
Follow the #40Days2014 hashtag online
My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place – 2 Chronicles 7:15 (NLT)
May God Bless you this Easter season.
Love T + M
Join us as we unite in global prayer, interceding for the most vulnerable children in Africa and our work both on the ground and internationally.
We invite you to pray with us each day for the next 40 Days. Commit in faith and hope to be a voice for the voiceless.
There are many ways you can participate:
Print our 2014 Daily Prayer Guide
View extra content in our Prayer Room
Connect with our global prayer family in our Facebook Event
Watch videos of our local and international leaders and volunteers
Follow the #40Days2014 hashtag online
My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place – 2 Chronicles 7:15 (NLT)
May God Bless you this Easter season.
Love T + M
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Beginning of a New Year - Jan 31st, 2014
After being back for a few weeks, we now have a little bit of time to write an update. Between being in the office and taking part in meetings, we have been having dinners with people and have been able catch up after the Christmas break. It has been great to hear how other people spent their Christmas break. One group went for a trip to Cape Town and had a road trip through South Africa. Many other people travelled to their home nations to spend time with family and friends. One family on particular had a very special Christmas. Alicia and Tyler, a Canadian couple who we volunteer with, went home in June last year to have their baby. They returned this year with their beautiful baby boy called Hayden Tatenda (which means thank you in Shona, a local Zimbabwean language). Everyone was so excited to see him and have a cuddle with him.
The office is very busy at this time of the year. At the end of January, Hands at Work sends out its end of year reports (one from each community) to all of our partners who have supported the work over the past year. These reports include lots of information that many people all over Africa help to collect and then use that
information to create our reports. Each report has a story of a child that has been impacted by the 3 essential service project over the past year. This story also comes with a photo of that child, some highlights from the work in that community and the breakdown of where the funds have been spent. The aspect in which I am involved is the financials. This means helping our bookkeepers to ensure all of their data is correct and accurate so partners can see where their funds have gone, from their pockets right to the local office in one of our 8 countries. Morgan is involved in one of the final stages where the reports all come together in our Hands at Work format which is sent out all over the world to our partners. She, along with our other communication team members, handle the story and highlights section of the reports. It is a huge job to collect information and create the 60+ reports within the space of 3 weeks. Every person has their role and it is amazing to see the transformation of all this information from the local offices to the final reports that go out to international partners. The day after we arrived back on South African soil, we had our annual Watchword launch here at the Hub. It is a scripture that George and Carolyn have been prayerfully considering for a few months and gives the Hands at Work family guidance for the year ahead. This year the Watchword for us is Rev 3:8, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” For me, it sets the challenge to take steps with God and place the faith in Him to go deeper into a relationship with Him. Even though we know we do not have enough strength to do it ourselves, God is standing beside us to lead us ‘through the door’ to take the next level with Him. In our work, it means going to new places and striving to find more vulnerable children even in the face of opposition. We can push on because he will not let anyone shut the door on us. There has also been some new construction at the village and so in a few months, the view from our house will have changed. There are 2 new 1 bedroom houses being built in front of our little home and so each day, we wake up to a construction site. But it is incredible to see how much can happen in only a few hours. We walk down to the office in the morning and when we come back up for lunch, another layer of bricks has been added. The building team is doing an incredible job and it is so great to see all of them working so well together as a team. For the next few months, we will be based in South Africa, with Morgan continuing on the communications team and myself continuing to support our bookkeepers in Nigeria, DRC and Malawi. We do not have any plans to travel yet but we will keep you all updated as and when we find out about any new travel plans.
Have you ever wondered where we actually live or what it looks like? Check out this blog by fellow volunteers and friends Kristi + Daytona for a closer look.
information to create our reports. Each report has a story of a child that has been impacted by the 3 essential service project over the past year. This story also comes with a photo of that child, some highlights from the work in that community and the breakdown of where the funds have been spent. The aspect in which I am involved is the financials. This means helping our bookkeepers to ensure all of their data is correct and accurate so partners can see where their funds have gone, from their pockets right to the local office in one of our 8 countries. Morgan is involved in one of the final stages where the reports all come together in our Hands at Work format which is sent out all over the world to our partners. She, along with our other communication team members, handle the story and highlights section of the reports. It is a huge job to collect information and create the 60+ reports within the space of 3 weeks. Every person has their role and it is amazing to see the transformation of all this information from the local offices to the final reports that go out to international partners. The day after we arrived back on South African soil, we had our annual Watchword launch here at the Hub. It is a scripture that George and Carolyn have been prayerfully considering for a few months and gives the Hands at Work family guidance for the year ahead. This year the Watchword for us is Rev 3:8, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” For me, it sets the challenge to take steps with God and place the faith in Him to go deeper into a relationship with Him. Even though we know we do not have enough strength to do it ourselves, God is standing beside us to lead us ‘through the door’ to take the next level with Him. In our work, it means going to new places and striving to find more vulnerable children even in the face of opposition. We can push on because he will not let anyone shut the door on us. There has also been some new construction at the village and so in a few months, the view from our house will have changed. There are 2 new 1 bedroom houses being built in front of our little home and so each day, we wake up to a construction site. But it is incredible to see how much can happen in only a few hours. We walk down to the office in the morning and when we come back up for lunch, another layer of bricks has been added. The building team is doing an incredible job and it is so great to see all of them working so well together as a team. For the next few months, we will be based in South Africa, with Morgan continuing on the communications team and myself continuing to support our bookkeepers in Nigeria, DRC and Malawi. We do not have any plans to travel yet but we will keep you all updated as and when we find out about any new travel plans.
Have you ever wondered where we actually live or what it looks like? Check out this blog by fellow volunteers and friends Kristi + Daytona for a closer look.
Monday, 20 January 2014
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