June 2026 - God was already at work...

Worship and Praise with Kamaila Care workers

Today was a rather different day for our team.

We were unexpectedly split in two, forced to navigate separate plans and unexpected challenges. Yet despite the uncertainty, God's grace pervaded the entire day with a deep sense of peace and joy.

Peace came in the midst of the unknown. 

Half of our team had to make a 40-minute drive to the nearest immigration office at 7:30 AM to sort out a visa hiccup, hoping to quickly catch up with the rest of us in the community.

While the outcome wasn't what we had originally hoped for, the team shared a common sentiment: God had led them to exactly the right person, and a simpler arrangement was made to process the visas the following day.

Meanwhile, joy became the overarching tone for the rest of us. 

Even though we couldn't finish painting the exterior of the Life Centre, our spirits were far from dampened. It became a meaningful day of witnessing transformation not only of the building itself, but of the Life Centre's growing impact on the wider community.

Before heading out on the usual bumpy ride, we gathered in small groups as part of Hands at Work's weekly rhythm.

The women met for a devotional focusing on Psalm 1:2–3, while the men shared from John 6:53–56 on abiding in Christ and laying down self-reliance and pride.

Our discussion ended in a moment of quiet surrender as we each brought areas of our lives before Jesus.

The main activity for the day was painting the Life Centre. The intention was not only to bring colour and identity to the building, but to get the kids involved a powerful way of showing them that they, too, are capable.

While painting was underway, the younger children gathered around a bubble machine. One of the quieter highlights of the day was watching a child smile and laugh, chasing after bubbles something we had never seen from him before.

We had met him the previous year, played with him, held him, yet he had rarely expressed emotion. His breakthrough made me wonder if something in his past had locked his joy away.

With around 150 children at the care point, individual stories can easily blur together but moments like this one stand out.

My prayer is that through simple moments like these, the children would know they are seen, valued, and loved and that God's love would remain evident in every good thing they experience as they grow.

This theme of unexpected joy carried beautifully into our home visits as well.

Two of us visited a mother of thirteen who has tragically outlived seven of her children. She now cares for nine grandchildren, all of whom attend the care point.

We barely needed to ask about her story before she began sharing how much it meant to receive visitors. Since her husband passed away the previous year, life had felt especially heavy yet even in that, she continues to draw her strength from God.

She loves to dance and sing in church, and she gladly showed us this. At one point, she even refused to continue dancing until we recorded her. What began as a simple moment quickly turned into joyful singing and praise.

What struck us most was her generosity.

As a gesture of gratitude, she used her own money to buy us watermelon and onions from passing vendors. It was difficult to accept not because of the gift itself, but because of what it represented: a woman with so little, yet so willing to give.

We wrestled quietly with how to respond.

But she gently insisted in Bemba that the gift came from her heart. As she joyfully shared how Hands at Work had impacted her life over the years, something deeper became clear: this was not obligation. It was overflow.

It felt like a glimpse of the kingdom of God already at work where gratitude, joy, and generosity had taken root and were now flowing freely, even in hardship.

She couldn't recall a favourite Scripture passage, and had no Bible or radio, so we left her with one to hold onto:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  - John 3:16.

We then held her hands in prayer, thanking God for His goodness and asking that He continue to be her strength. What followed was equally moving she insisted on walking us back and carrying the bag of onions and watermelon herself.

At 79 years old, she was strong and fit, and even had a 9-month-old strapped to her back.

Another team member visited two households that beautifully illustrated how the same burden of poverty can be carried so differently.

The first home, though marked by hardship, was filled with joy and hope. The woman of the house shone with the light of Jesus, sharing scripture verses that anchor her faith. By the end of the visit, she had even spoken a beautiful prayer of blessing over our teammate's upcoming fatherhood.

The second home carried a heavier atmosphere.

A widow and mother of twelve who had endured tremendous loss, she sat visibly downcast beneath the weight of a lifetime of sorrow.

Into that heavy space, our teammate chose to sow a seed of hope, sharing the promise of Revelation 21:4 — that one day, God "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore."

These holy home visits are not merely about delivering support they are about relationship.

They offer a window into the realities, struggles, and joys that shape each household, and allow care workers to truly know the families they serve.

We felt incredibly privileged to be invited into these sacred spaces.

Before we had set out, one of our team members shared an encouragement from Matthew 11:28–30, reminding the care workers that we aren't meant to carry these burdens alone that Jesus invites us to cast our weary hearts on Him.

Reflecting on the day, I couldn't help but wonder if these holy home visits were literal glimpses of people laying their burdens before Jesus places where His yoke has become light and His peace now dwells.

Even in the heaviness of grief and despair, life continues to triumph by God's grace.

These encounters were a quiet, powerful reminder for our whole team: even before we arrived, God was already at work  healing the brokenhearted and restoring souls according to His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

May His love remain at the forefront of every good thing these communities experience as they grow.

The contents of this media represent the sole views and opinions of the author, not of Hands at Work or any other groups or persons.