Sorry but it has been a while since our last post. Last week we had the honor of having a team from our home church here. Brentwood Baptist Church in TN sends a team every February that serves in all the areas of Living Hope. They do eye clinics which fit people with reading glasses. In addition to the eye glasses they check blood pressure, sugar levels and Living Hope sets up HIV and TB testing tents. At the end of all this we wash their feet. During every stage of this they are loved, prayed over and prayed for.
I was so grateful to spend part of each day with the team. My job was to fill in wherever they needed me. Well, let me take that back...even if I'd been asked there would have been no way for me to prick someone's finger and test their sugar....I would have passed out.
Most days I got to wash feet. I'll be honest. I was not excited at first. I was worried about the condition of feet and what I might encounter when the shoes and socks came off. I have never sat down and washed someone feet. It was nothing fancy....a bucket of water...most times really COLD water. But for most of the people it was a treat. A luxury none of them had ever experienced. And I am sure it was even more odd that we were white. We are in South Africa and there is still a lot of separation between races. The bottom line for us was we are all the same in the eyes of God and we wanted them to feel that as well.
Needless to say, I was more moved by the time with these precious people than them, I am sure of it. I got to hear from their heart, their struggles, their joys. Most of the problems were the same...they wanted good jobs, they wanted families safe. We might live different lives and look different but when it comes to the heart, we all seem to want the same things.
The team consisted of our Life Group leaders from Brentwood, George and Julie, and another close friend Teri Calmus. All the others were new people to us but by the end of the week it was family. We were loved on, our kids were loved on and we felt the hurt of saying good bye once again. But as we learned in Colorado at training, it is a good thing to hurt because it means we have loved and been loved.
I was blessed to have them pour into us last week and be reminded and encouraged about why we are here...to serve...to love....and to share. We thank God for their time and filling our cups this week.
Brooke
I was so grateful to spend part of each day with the team. My job was to fill in wherever they needed me. Well, let me take that back...even if I'd been asked there would have been no way for me to prick someone's finger and test their sugar....I would have passed out.
Most days I got to wash feet. I'll be honest. I was not excited at first. I was worried about the condition of feet and what I might encounter when the shoes and socks came off. I have never sat down and washed someone feet. It was nothing fancy....a bucket of water...most times really COLD water. But for most of the people it was a treat. A luxury none of them had ever experienced. And I am sure it was even more odd that we were white. We are in South Africa and there is still a lot of separation between races. The bottom line for us was we are all the same in the eyes of God and we wanted them to feel that as well.
Needless to say, I was more moved by the time with these precious people than them, I am sure of it. I got to hear from their heart, their struggles, their joys. Most of the problems were the same...they wanted good jobs, they wanted families safe. We might live different lives and look different but when it comes to the heart, we all seem to want the same things.
The team consisted of our Life Group leaders from Brentwood, George and Julie, and another close friend Teri Calmus. All the others were new people to us but by the end of the week it was family. We were loved on, our kids were loved on and we felt the hurt of saying good bye once again. But as we learned in Colorado at training, it is a good thing to hurt because it means we have loved and been loved.
I was blessed to have them pour into us last week and be reminded and encouraged about why we are here...to serve...to love....and to share. We thank God for their time and filling our cups this week.
Brooke
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