Hi friend! I am in South Africa! I am so happy that I can be with family and friends for this holiday time. Unfortunately, it's not at all a very sunny South Africa (at least not in the East Rand). It has been chilly and overcast and raining. Although we are always grateful for rain, I am hoping that sunshine weather will be more abundant as the month progresses.
I had such a pleasant journey to South Africa! I traveled from Mongu to Livingstone, where I had my co-vid test done, and then I flew from Victoria Falls airport (in Zimbabwe) to Johannesburg. The highlight by far is that I was able to go see the Victoria Falls. The park was really quiet and the water was very low so I was able to view the falls from the top. It was so special. Also, how beautiful is the purple lily found growing in the water?
I am reminded of this lovely psalm...
Second Workshop
We have hosted our second workshop for caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. One of the highlights for me is that during the workshop, in one of the devotions, we were talking about disabilities, why bad things happen on earth and subsequently we could share with the mothers about God's kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Through that we could discuss how Jesus (and ONLY Jesus) is God's plan for salvation. I continue to pray that each family on our program with receive a revelation of God's plan for salvation for their life.
Mercy is a member of Hope Church Mongu. She is very bilingual so she was able to study the workshop lessons in English and then present it in seLozi. She has three children of which one is a ten year old daughter named Grace. Grace also has cerebral palsy, which means that Mercy was able to teach the lessons from a place of shared experience. The caregivers who attended the workshop were able to connect with Mercy in a way that they couldn't connect with me. Here is a picture of Mercy and her daughter.
A year of great expectations
Hope Church Mongu's theme for 2021 was "A year of great expectations". For me, while waiting for my work-permit for six months - I honestly felt that it was a year of NO expectations. I thought I would get back to Mongu and then just finish the year so that I could start new initiatives in 2022. However I learnt that I need to submit my to-do list to God and my mind is blown by how God orchestrated meeting the right people at the right time so that we could drive His vision for our special needs program forward. In five months in 2021 God enabled us to: - Double the amount of children we see. We now reach 45 special needs children and their families - Get volunteers for our program so that we can start cell groups for the families of special needs children. - Start four cell groups - Hosted two workshops which means that 8 families of children with CP are fully equipped with information to care for their children in everyday life. Our theme for the staff year end function was "Celebrate the Good". We have much to celebrate! Here is a picture of Connie and myself at the function.
Gift of a Bible
In this festive season, when we remember that God gave us the gift of Jesus, I think a lovely way that we can show our gratitude is by sponsoring Bibles. You can click here to help us provide Bibles to people with no access to the Word by sponsoring a Bible for only R120 ($10) per Bible.
Until next month! :)
It has been a fantastic year and I am dreaming and looking forward to an even better 2022. My heart is full of gratitude for your support and generosity towards the work that God is doing in Mongu. It is an immense privilege to do His work WITH Him.
Enjoy this year-end holiday time by spending quality time with your loved ones.
With much love and joy 🌻 ,