Meanwhile in Africa..‪.‬ Hands at Work in Africa

illuminate… I Will Show My Children What I Can Do
Episode 4
Thank you for listening to illuminate, a podcast by Hands at Work in Africa.
Hands at Work seeks out the most broken places in Africa to bring life to the poorest of the poor and most vulnerable people by way of His Church, both internationally and locally.For the past few weeks, we've been able to sit with the Hands family here in South Africa as George Snyman shares about the Goma region. Since his return, much has changed…
If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast, please find us on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast by searching "Meanwhile in Africa..." Learn how you can give the gift of hope. Visit www.handsatwork.org/finding-the-most-vulnerable.

illuminate... Episode 3 - God is still busy with Katembe.
We want to share about where we work, the types of communities that we are called to, to see Jesus bring life where it looks the bleakest. Just as Jesus came to bring life to a broken world, Hands at Work seeks out the most broken places in Africa to bring life to the poorest of the poor and most vulnerable people by way of His Church, both internationally and locally.
The chief, I said to him, "You take me to Katembe or I go on my own, but we are going now." So he said, "Okay, let's go."
If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast, please find us on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast by searching "Meanwhile in Africa..." 
Learn how you can give the gift of hope. Visit www.handsatwork.org/finding-the-most-vulnerable. 

During Advent, this podcast channel comes to you in the form of Illuminate.
Episode 2: Katembe - Jesus in a War. In this podcast series, we will take you to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we will visit three communities in the Goma area. Let's listen to George discussing the people and places where we work and what God is busy doing there.
If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast, please find us on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast by searching "Meanwhile in Africa..." Learn how you can give the gift of hope. Visit www.handsatwork.org/finding-the-most-vulnerable. 

Advent Podcast by Hands at Work in Africa.

George Snyman, a co-founder of Hands at Work, has spent a considerable amount of time there this year. We're about to hear George talking to a group of volunteers in South Africa on October 30th. If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast, please find us on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast by searching "Meanwhile in Africa..." Learn how you can give the gift of hope. Visit www.handsatwork.org/finding-the-most-vulnerable. 

Each year, the "Meanwhile in Africa..." Podcast becomes something new for the Advent season. Hands at Work in Africa works among the most vulnerable people in some of Africa's most vulnerable communities. Our seasonal podcast series will focus in on some of the people that we know and love in the Goma area of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hope joy, love and peace are the hallmarks of advent and these are what we pray for as we meet Jesus in these stories. You're listening to “illuminate” each Friday from December 1st to December 22nd.If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast, please find us on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast by searching "Meanwhile in Africa..." Learn how you can give the gift of hope. Visit www.handsatwork.org/finding-the-most-vulnerable. 

8/07 Today was my last day here in Goma, and it's like God just gave me the most beautiful evening to look at the sunset, and the lake is dead calm. It's like a mirror.
Early this morning, I decided to spend my last day in Buhimba. When I arrived, Laurine, our coordinator, Sylvia, Teresa, were all down with malaria, coughing, sweating, but they were at the Care Point. We sat outside this morning under the tree to try and get more fresh air around us to try and prevent more of us to get sick. And as Bindhu desperately tried to get us to worship and sing, I could just sense such a fragileness, a heaviness, among everybody as they were sick, and the toll of the ongoing war. Then they asked me to share. How do I share? How do I encourage them? What do I even say to them?
It's times like that where God's tears speak the loudest language. And I think, as we sat all together, realising that I'm leaving tomorrow, there's just the silence and, and the weeping. We said kind words to each other, we reminded each other that we love each other.
Afterwards, I got up and I walked into our Care Point and I sat in a dark room where 25 kids were sitting on a dust floor eating porridge. Boys, like Bahati, which I couldn't imagine would ever have survived if we didn't initiate the zero to five programme only six months ago.
There's a gratefulness in my heart as I watch these kids eating, and I realise how desperate their brains and their bodies need this nutrition to become strong and healthy. I looked outside and I see our Care Workers coughing and sweating. I just handed out the last bit of medication I carried for myself and I was thinking, "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, and we are so fragile."
We are so fragile. But if I look at the children sitting in front of me, it's a miracle! It's beautiful! Isn't that how it is with all of our lives? It's beautiful. It's a miracle, and yet we are so fragile. We are always only one step away from a disaster.