In this unique season of the pandemic, many of our partners have found creative ways to advocate for the communities that they support through Hands at Work and to stay connected. From intentional times of prayer to supporting the upgrading of facilities, our partners have been lifting up the needs of those that they support even when they couldn’t physically be in Africa.
Abe & Suzette Lee (Chicago, Illinois, USA) reflect on how they stayed connected to what was happening with in Africa despite not being able to bring a team due to the COVID-19 pandemic:
“Five of the seven members of our Church of the Beloved team had never been to Africa. They had never seen the plight of the children we advocate for. After several months of planning, training and preparing to go to Zambia, we were devastated to learn that we would not be able to go. But one of our team members suggested that we meet anyway. So during the two weeks that we had planned to be in Zambia, we met online every night to pray. We prayed for every Care Worker. We prayed for every child served in Susu. We prayed for every member of the local Hands at Work team in Kabwe. The two of us who had previously gone to Africa through Hands at Work shared stories of what we might have experienced while there — stories of Holy Home Visits, attending local churches, and building relationships with long-term volunteers. At the end of the two weeks, the team realised that we would have arrived home. We agreed that we did not want to stop meeting. Another team member suggested that we continue meeting at least once a week to intercede on behalf of the children and Care Workers. Since then, for the past 6 months, we have been gathering online every Monday night to pray for the community and the children and Care Workers by name.
In addition to the weekly prayer meetings, we virtually interviewed members of our team in a 5-part Instagram Live series to promote Hands at Work and advocate for the children. We called the series, “shelter-in-place with Susu” (#SIPwithSusu). This culminated in a live-streamed prayer and worship night.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says that we are called to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, [and] give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” As much as our team had wanted to go to Zambia to meet the children and Care Workers of Susu, we were blessed and amazed by the power of prayer across the ocean. Our plan and our hope is to continue to follow the will of God by praying without ceasing for the vulnerable.”