This month we visited one of our more distant communities. On the border with Swaziland lies Oshoek community. Sinani supports this community together with Hands at Work. Thursday morning we left Nelspruit in the early morning together with a team from Hands. This outreach consisted of the finishing touches of painting the colorful center in Oshoek (on an outreach in April the center was painted in bright colors), Holy Home Visits, worship and spending time with the kids and the care workers, all in two days.
Arriving at our overnight stay, two wonderful local Mamas welcomed us warmly together with the team of Hands at Work that was already there. We started with worship together with all the people at the care center. The first day was spend painting the final lines – and because by now these kids and care workers were professionals, it went very well and quickly. After a nice shared meal we went out in three groups to go on Holy Home Visits. We each carried something with us to give to the family that welcomed us.
One of the families was living next to the busy road leading to the Swaziland border. There was a man, three children and a highly pregnant woman. Since they were from Swaziland and didn’t have any papers, it was hard for them to work and provide for their expanding family. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking to see how much these parents cared for their children and how much these children loved their parents, while knowing the struggles they were facing. It is terrible to be unable to provide for your own children.
During the visit we separated with the men and the women in a natural way as the men went to cut some fire wood. It was good to be able to spend some quality time with them and hear their stories apart from each other. We were able to encourage them in different ways. Mama N, who was visiting them for the so many’d time, invited them to the care center. As she has done many times, for them to escape their lives and have fellowship with others at the center. However, so far they had never visited the center.
That night we debriefed together with all the groups and heard about the different home visits. Talking together and sharing our high and low points of the day was great to help process of all that we had seen and experienced that day.
On Friday, we went back to the center to share a word of encouragement with the care workers. At the end of games, a Word and worship we had the privilege of handing out gift bags to the ladies given by the sponsor of the trip: local farmer Mark Mason. The activities and the bags were very well received by the women and answered by warm hugs. One highlight of this day was seeing the whole family we visited the day before at the care center joining in with fun and games and sharing a meal with them.
After a day filled with playing with the kids and talking to the care workers it was time to say goodbye. It was an amazing time where God showed up and led us to the right place and the right people.
Would you like to be part of an outreach like this? Contact us here.
