Thursday, 26 November 2020
Corey and Amber serve in Africa, along with their three children. Corey is a qualified tradesman and is the Property Manager of a health centre that specialises in the health needs of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. Although COVID-19 has impacted the centre and Corey and Amber’s day-to-day activities, they are both finding creative ways to serve during this time.
Recently, Amber and another mission worker made face masks for the compound workers. When Amber gifted the workers their new face masks, their faces lit up. Corey said, “We hope to be able to make more masks in the coming weeks so we can also give them to their families and other locals who need them.” During lockdown, Amber was also appointed as the Project Manager for part of the health centre. This role entails understanding the intricate workings of the centre, writing quarterly reports and making the needs of the centre known to those in the wider Christian community who can partner with the centre through finances and prayer. Amber said, “I am very excited about this role with my passion to see the marginalised restored not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually. There are so many needs at the centre at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Corey has been keeping busy, working on property maintenance and improving the safety of the health centre. A recent experience reminded Corey that God is at work in all things, even property management. The overflow pharmacy store at the centre is generally only accessed by medical staff about once a month. The temperature of the room must remain at 25 degrees to ensure the medications stay in good condition. Corey doesn’t usually go into this room, however, he recently felt compelled to check the room for no obvious reason and discovered the air-conditioning wasn’t working. He was quickly able to replace a faulty relay on the switchboard and prevent the room from overheating. Corey shared, “Praise the Lord for His guidance and enabling in all the things that we do.”
After assessing the spread of COVID-19 in their community and the added factor of surgeons being unable to fly into the region to perform specialised surgeries, the decision was made by SIM to temporarily close one of the specialty health centres. However, Corey and Amber continue to see the faithfulness of God at work in their community. Thanks to a generous gift from Australia, Corey and Amber were able to take the opportunity to reach out to those most in need in this season. After identifying the needs of local people, 11 families struggling to buy food were brought to their attention. Corey and Amber purchased an initial 11 x 100kg sacks of millet to give to these families.
Corey shared, “Most of these families are affected by leprosy and struggle to work or cannot work due to their injuries. This is the time of the year, before the next harvest, that many families are struggling to make ends meet so the people who normally help these families are struggling as well. Please pray that our eyes will be opened to the genuine needs of those around us and how we can share Jesus in meaningful ways.”
Since then, they have been able to buy another 35 bags of millet on behalf of a generous supporter. Corey said, “We are so thankful to the people who support the ministry here in so many ways. There are so many requests, we cannot meet them all, but we continue to trust the Lord to guide us with opportunities of grace and love in the name of Jesus.”
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