LIV-ing The Mission
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to St Giles’ and St George’s for supporting me as a mission partner in South Africa over the past few years. As many people will know, I’ve been long-term volunteering at LIV Village, a children’s charity in Johannesburg, working in particular with the teenage girls from the neighbouring area of Joe Slovo. This is an informal settlement with around 3,000 people living in shacks with limited water and no legal electricity, struggling with high unemployment.
It’s been a huge privilege to lead the teens in discipleship groups, bible study, Youth Alpha, the BeMe project, girls’ days, and children’s holiday club 3 times a year for over 250 younger children. Many teens have chosen to give their lives to Christ, and being part of that has been such a joy and has inspired and encouraged me in my faith, too.
It’s been an amazing time of spiritual growth for me to serve God’s people overseas and it was a really hard decision to come to the UK, but my husband and I really felt God was calling us to start this new stage of life. I’ve just begun postgraduate training as a social worker, and as we step out in faith, we are excited to see what God has in store in this new chapter of our lives. Having been deeply involved with LIV village since joining their gap year programme 9 years ago, LIV will always be a part of me, and I’m so grateful for the support, both prayerful and financial, that Ashtead Parish has given me - you really have blessed me and so many in South Africa, thank you!