International Mission Project
South Africa 2009

As Jesus was leaving to return to heaven He gave His followers a message of comfort and a command. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NLT.) For us as followers of Jesus in 2009 the translation might well be, “You will be my witnesses, telling people about Me in your homes and work places, throughout the city of Auckland, across New Zealand and to the ends of the earth — maybe even South Africa!”

And so, with Papsda “Contagious Christians” building relationships all over Auckland, we chose the Bushbuckridge community as a place to further serve and share our resources (and after thirty hours of travel it certainly felt like “the ends of the earth!”).

The Bushbuckridge community lies at the heart of South Africa, arid and rural, right alongside Kruger National Park, home to spectacular and endangered wildlife.

Bushbuckridge is also a community ravished by HIV/AIDS. A large percentage of the adult population is infected — and will die. Many of these people are parents. There are countless cases of orphans who have not yet reached their teens with sole charge of their younger siblings. Pastor Paul and Martha Mawela have chosen to retire in the area and operate a Community Centre-based ministry where they coordinate the feeding of over 700 children and almost 100 elderly people each day. The ministry operates from the Khomelela Community Centre. Khomelela means “hold on” — and the Mawela’s are well-familiar with the concept personally. Their ministry is totally based on donations.

So it was in early July, that after a collective effort of the Papsda Community, a team of thirty volunteers arrived in Bushbuckridge armed with $60,000 in donated funds ($30,000 of which was gifted by ADRA New Zealand) and a willing spirit! John and Liz de Beer, Liz Hurlow’s parents, live locally and liaised with the Mawela’s to coordinate the project.

The team ranged in age from 15 to 69 and skills varied from “capable builder” to “able to sweep a floor” but after initial assessment of the situation everyone was gainfully (and joyfully) employed in one of three main areas.

Building site
Initial construction of the three-room preschool was underway and a variety of skills were needed to complete the structure. David Harvey led this team that worked on bricking, painting and decorating and roofing. And for those of us with less building talent there was always cleaning and sanding.

Kid’s holiday programme
It was school holiday time and over 100 kids appeared each day for a programme of songs, Bible stories, games and drama. Audrey Harvey led this team along with Val Jones and Kelly Harvey and our Papsda Teens did a superb job of mentoring and connecting with the local kids, as well as providing lots of cuddles for kids who have no adult caregivers at home.

Home visits with community caregivers
Each day, ten caregivers based at Khomelela visit families in need in the surrounding community and provide practical support by way of food, bathing, advice or encouragement. And each day six of our team had the opportunity to accompany them and give support and much appreciated help. To us this may have seemed insignificant or even invasive of the people’s privacy, but those that we visited were incredibly grateful and honoured to have us come to their homes, and were delighted to have their photos taken. The caregivers told us that just by walking into the home of a person with AIDS we were sending a strong message to their neighbours that this person was not to be shunned, and would go a long way towards breaking down barriers of ignorance and prejudice.

Training of caregivers and preschool teachers
Liz Hurlow presented several training sessions for caregivers and preschool teachers. Most of these women have received only very basic training and were excited to learn new skills that would help them in practical ways. Major emphasis was placed on teaching preschoolers basic skills that would help them develop a solid base for learning.

Encouragement of current leaders
This project in Bushbuckridge took our concentrated effort for a couple of weeks — and a few weeks of fundraising, but I have no doubt the effect will be ongoing for a lifetime. A building was constructed that will serve the community well for years to come — but the bigger investment was in the daily lives of the leaders and children who are a part of the Khomelela Community Centre. Martha Mawela, 68, who runs the day-to-day operation said, “I was tired and ready to give this all up. I’m an old lady and should be at home looking after my grandchildren. But you people from New Zealand who cared enough to come here and invest in our community have given us energy to go on and do what God has called us to do.” She went on to say, “Please say thank you to everyone at your church for making this possible. We find it hard to believe that people from New Zealand would care about us so much.”

So… thank you Papsda! Whether you came to the gala and bought a cake, donated several thousand dollars, or supported this project in prayer, you are a part of Jesus’ command to witness and serve “the ends of the earth” — you are working as Jesus’ hands and feet, and you are making an eternal difference.