Derek and Shea in SA

em-pow-er

1.  the giving or delegation of power or authority

2.  the giving of an ability

so often we, as Westerners, take that from local African leadership.  We come to do jobs that they can do and send a message that says we think we can do it better.  We are on a journey discovering that our role is not about “doing” but being a reminder, a mover, a voice that encourages the dreams that people dare to dream for their own communities here in South Africa.

Like our dear friend Ms. Vava.  She is a retired nurse.  She uses her skills every week by filling her nursing kit, with supplies from her own pocket to serve mama’s and children in rural villages that don’t have access to meds and or adequate health care.  Ms. Vava knows better than I ever could the challenges and the heartache that mama’s and children face in these rural areas.  So she takes it upon herself to not only care for their physical needs but to lend an ear and a prayer to each patient she sees.

And she doesn’t stop there.  She longs to give the people she serves the freeing relationship she’s found with her Creator.  That’s mostly what makes her do what she does.

That’s a woman I want to get behind…whose effort I want to support.  This week we are accompanying her at a “Health Builder conference” hosted by a couple of Doctors from the states who are passionate about the same things.   They are working to train local leaders in testing for HIV/AIDS, high blood sugar and high blood pressure…the most common health issues in rural South Africa.

We’re hoping to sharpen her skills and give her a tool she can use to train other leaders she may come across in her work.  This provides her with access to new villages all across the Transkei.  She can use her skills in nursing and caring for the sick to find people who are open to Discovering who God is and what a relationship with Him is like.

Won’t you join us in praying for our time with Ms. Vava, for her heart and vision…that she might encounter people who are open to Discovering Him and would join her on her journey of inviting life-giving change to the Transkei…