AM BACK............
Hey guys so its been a minute since i last wrote a blog. Oh my goodness lots and lots have happened!!! So the last official post i think was the big Announcement that i will be extending my time with Hands till end of 2017. ( If you haven't seen it check out my Facebook for the video update). That was a huge step for me to make that video and commit to what i felt God was calling me into. But it wasn't that easy to make that a reality we had my sisters wedding in April which we praise God was a huge success and we needed to refocus soon after as a family to see the way forward for me. It was really important for me that my Church and My family not only supported me as person they knew and loved but understood a bit more about Hands at Work and the impact we have on the ground and how it changed the children's lives and the communities we served in.
This was quite a task how do you share with people in a space of 5-10minutes about that type of impact! How do you summarise 14 months of living in Southern Africa?? How do you help people understand that you trust God that he will provide for you as you go out serving the most vulnerable?? How do you share how you have learnt how to practically live out James 1.27 True religion is caring for the widows and orphans? How do you share your struggles in that and your growth in that? So I prayed everyday every moment that God will guide my words in the few minutes i had with people that i would be a vessel and God will water the seed. Over the 2 months i was home I SAW GOD. I remember explaining to a friend when he asked what was the biggest change over the last year being in Africa and i responded " its like i was watching God on video before Africa but now being in Africa i see God Live". I have had incredible experiences where i have seen people healed in front of me, where i have seen people receive Christ and their countenance becomes brighter, I have seen Kids stories when i met them were in a much worse situation and seeing them now i can see their story changing for the better. I have seen grandmas who have an alcohol problem slowly start being sober due to the support of our Care workers and our service center visiting and praying and encouraging them. I could go on......
But being home one thing i remember speaking to my mentor last christmas when i last visited and she said "Grace the God you see in Africa is the same God here allow God to work in the same way when you are home" though i knew that in my heart and desired that a part of me restricted "great God moments " more in Africa. But that was my Prayer that in my April-May visit 2016 that God of wonders will accompany me in all i did and oh how he did! I saw God change lives , change mindsets , set a people on fire for the most Vulnerable and the orphaned. I saw God bring people on board to pray for the poorest of the poor whom we serve, i saw people sponsor children , i saw people come forward to support me to continue to be a missionary here in Africa. My church family, My friends and family you have been my rock, my support , my prayer warriors THANK YOU, THANK YOU , THANK YOU. I pray for you and i love you. May we continue to Journey together as we partner with what God is doing here in Africa.
SO that's me at home. I then came back to Hands early July. I have been back for 2 months now. It has been great to be back in the hands community to be back on the ground. I feel incredibly at home and settled here. I feel ready for the next chapter. But i have to be honest it was a tough re-entry. Not because of doubting where i am but because it becomes very real and i miss all my people at home. But also in terms of work, you may not know this by southern Africa has been facing a drought for the last few months and it hasn't come up on the news in west at all!!! That's a discussion for another time. But as a result as Hands at work we have had to respond to this. So in some of our most affected communities we have started feeding Breakfasts and added the number of children we feed as many will not make it to the end of the year if we do not help. To find out more about this visit ( http://www.handsatwork.org/droughtrelief ). So that meant for me as project support for Zim and Moz which are hit hardest alongside Swaziland my tasks i would usually do had altered quite a lot as we had drought relief programs as a priority. So learning where we are and reconnecting with our team meant it took a while to get up to speed. But very grateful to our team for stepping up and supporting and filling the gaps while i tried to readjust. It times like this my heart is filled with Gratitude for the hands community for the team am part of in times like this we rally around and support each other and carry the burden to ensure we are all supported.
So what now, I am currently in Zimbabwe i arrived last week to support our local office to prepare for a team arriving Today. It has been great to be back and see the team and work face to face with them . Very excited for us to be hosting our International Team and thanking God in advance for how he will show his heart to us as we visit the most vulnerable kids in their homes and God breaks our hearts for what breaks his, So pray for us its a busy time.
So that is the current update of the last few months. Continue praying for me as i pray for you .
Thank you for reading,
Trust God and let GO.
Grace
