“God has really shown up in community this week, seeing how people provide for each other and rely on each other to have a functioning trust built community, and to see the healthcare workers care for people and how they are able to be a light in a dark place.” -Reese
The “Big C Church” has been very present within all of South Africa’s communities. The people of the communities differ in circumstances and home situations but rely on each other and have tremendous faith in God to supply their needs for them and their families. Our experience has been eye-opening. We had the privilege of accompanying nurses in home visits to check vitals for elderly people and to check on new mothers.
It was a blessing to see how the community relied on Living Hope, our partner ministry for these two weeks, for healthcare visits and care for their children as well. The community treats Living Hope with such gentleness and tenderness because of the trust Living Hope has built with them. The visits themselves were inspiring because the people exhibit tremendous faith and speak of how God has provided for them in the past.
This week has brought a tremendous shift in gratitude for me, to see people living with less while I am allowed to live with my wants and more. It has taught me to appreciate what I have and has shown me how America places too much value on our possessions. It has brought me a new perspective on types of poverty. While the people of these communities may live in material poverty they live far from spiritual poverty and are close to God in every situation. One patient said sometimes she feels as if her faith is the only thing that holds her up. In this she found tremendous joy because she would always have something to hold her up rather than nothing!
It was inspiring to see how much work is done on a weekly basis within Living Hope, from the tremendous amount of gardening, to how many people it takes to bag vegetables, the many home visits that take place daily among the many nurse teams, back to a few people spending hours weeding the gardens so that proper vegetables can be grown. Living Hope functions in so many ways on a daily basis. It really brought so much joy just to see how many ways God is working uniquely throughout a single day!
Join us in praising God for the amazing work he is doing in Cape Town, South Africa.
Garrett McNeil
Class XIX Fellow