Today marks my first 12 months of living in Africa! 🙂 To celebrate I want to share with you 12 people who have significantly impacted my life this past year (and there are many more people I could have chosen…!). February 2013: Thembi Thembi, my sesi and the Co-ordinator of our Community Based organisation in one of our communities called Welverdiend.  I had the privilege of staying with her and her family for my first community stay during Orientation and keep visiting.  Thembi continually challenges and inspires me by her continual faithful and unwavering service and genuine love for the kids in her

Its been a fast start to the year!  We arrived back from our Christmas road trip on 5th January (some pictures below), just in time to celebrate my birthday (I was super spoilt by amazing friends here :-)) and launched back into the office from 8th January.  However our real kick off for the year occurred on Friday 10th January where our Hands family from South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe all joined together to hear the launch of our ‘Watch Word’ for the year. I hear you say, what is a ‘Watch Word’?  For the start of each new year,

At 12pm on Wednesday this week our offices will close for the Christmas period signalling the end of the year.  I wanted to take this opportunity therefore, to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported, prayed for and encouraged me this year as I have embarked on what is now almost a year in Africa! It is difficult to even know where to start to sum up my year; however there is a scripture that comes to mind.  Psalm 9:18 in the message translation says “no longer shall the poor be nameless”, and for me that sums

Single file we climbed through the small door to enter the home for our first home visit.  As I made my way inside my eyes took a few moments to adjust to the darkness that now surrounded us.  I felt my way to sit next to Barbra as I was instructed and began to take in my surroundings.  We had entered the home of a family of 5.  As I looked around me I took in the dimensions of the one room house, we were now sitting in.  The width of the room was no more than 1.5 meters wide,

November has been a HUGE month!  But I probably say that every month! 🙂  It has been a month of goodbyes (as many of the international volunteers head home for Christmas); reflection and wrap up of 2013 activities; planning for 2014; and so many Christmas celebrations (and Christmas is still 5 weeks out!!) With my housemates, we celebrated Christmas a few weeks ago with a roast Chicken dinner and some yummy Canadian baked Christmas treats (Butter Tarts are DELICIOUS!  Definitely importing them back to Aus as a new Christmas tradition 🙂 and put up our Christmas tree (yes – it