Fishes, Loaves and a Multiplication of Blessings Contributed by Dan Hoffman
Christ had compassion on the many people that had been with Him and proceeded to take seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, pray, and then feed 4,000 people. It amazes me how Jesus can take something and multiply it in such a great magnitude that thousands of people are impacted by it. In the past four months, God has provided in ways that have continued to multiply and go from America, to Sunbury Camp, to our workers, and then to the local village of Sans Souci.
Sunbury Camp received a grant to re-roof the library building and replace portions of the roof on two residences. The grant money Sunbury received was used to hire a contractor who had been without income for two months. In addition to the grant, extra donations came in which COMPLETELY covered the cost of the contractor to do ALL the roofing. The contractor was able to rehire his men and provide salaries for several families. The story DOESN’T end here.
The roofers carefully removed all the old roofing allowing us to “reclaim” the old tin, fiber cement boards, even the screws and nails! Our employees informed us Sans Souci has an old community center building in dire need of repair, including a damaged roof. The reclaimed tin from our roof was the same as the tin ro
of on the community center SO… we connected with the local Induna (the man responsible for overseeing Sans Souci) and received approval to donate the tin. One of our ladies, Ntombifuthi, brought her husband to Sunbury with a big truck to pick up and deliver the roofing materials to the community center. The story DOESN’T end here.
A different employee called explaining “everyone” was working on the community center and they needed glass for some broken windows. Surprise! Not really a surprise…Sunbury had a stack of old glass that did not fit any of the current windows so Tucker and I loaded up the bakkie and headed to Sans Souci (complete with full masks due to COVID-19). When we arrived at the community center, we saw five of our employees with several villagers working together in honor of Mandela Day (July 18th is Mandela Day in South Africa. It is celebrated on the birthday of Nelson Mandela who fought for social justice for 67 years. It is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that everyone has the power to transform the world…the ability to make an impact. The idea is to dedicate 67 minutes a day to bring together people around the world to fight poverty, promote peace, promote reconciliation and cultural diversity.)
We unloaded the glass as the old roofing was already being put up in place of all the damaged roofing. Our ladies were busy taking out broken glass pieces from the windows and someone began cutting and installing “new” glass into the windows. While we were there, we saw the door lock protecting the electricity supply was damaged and needed replacing. (Who can resist not jumping in on the fun? Tucker and I love power tools! What guy does not?) Another quick trip back to camp and we returned with power tools and parts in hand. I don’t know that Tucker and I worked 67 minutes, but what started as a grant from America to repair and replace roofing at Sun-bury turned out to be provision enough to provide for a contractor and his family, five of his employees and their families, repairing and replacing the roof on a community center and seeing a community come together because they now had the materials to begin repairs. That community center was once home to a clinic and I have been told that the lock we fixed will be the area where the clinic will be located once repairs are complete. The story DOESN’T end here.
Although Sunbury Camp remains closed, we continue to build relationships with our employees and the community of San Souci. We trust that as the storm of the virus rages around us in South Africa, we will be able to re-open our Bible School and the Camp as a whole. Thank you for your prayers and tremendous generosity.